The Secret Bookshelf in Carrickfergus has been selected as one of 20 Bookshop Champions for Independent Bookshop Week 2026.
It takes place from Saturday 13 to Saturday 20 June across the UK and Ireland.
The Booksellers Association made the announcement on Thursday.
The Bookshop Champions will represent the independent bookselling sector’s commitment to reading for pleasure throughout the Independent Bookshop Week 2026 campaign.
The 20 Bookshop Champions were selected through an open submission process across the Booksellers Association membership.
The final group reflects the breadth and depth of independent bookshops today, and the shared values and strengths that underpin the sector: encouraging reading for pleasure, bringing people together around books, connecting online audiences with in-shop experiences and building strong local partnerships that benefit their communities.
The Secret Bookshelf is a vibrant independent bookshop serving a population of around 55,000 and surrounding towns. The shop features two rooms – an adult space and a children’s room – and stocks a wide range of titles, with specialisms in science fiction, fantasy, horror, Irish interest, and children’s literature.
Reading for pleasure is at the heart of The Secret Bookshelf. A monthly book group engages with a broad range of genres, while the shop’s cosy seating, garden, and nearby coffee shop create inviting spaces to read. The shop hosts regular events, from author talks to themed evenings, and runs a summer book festival, expanding in collaboration with conventions and local literary events.
Key initiatives include a redeveloped children’s room, funded by Books at One, featuring bespoke shelving, a graphic novel corner, noise-cancelling headphones, sensory elements, and a play-focused reading area designed to encourage young readers of all abilities. The book festival has hosted events such as a YA summer garden party, a visit from Hazel McBride, and an Irish writers’ showcase.
Strong online engagement via Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok encourages in-store visits, with content ranging from “What’s in the Box” videos to displays and staff recommendations. The Secret Bookshelf also works with schools, providing vouchers, pop-up World Book Day stalls, and prizes, and partners with the local council on heritage events.
This year, Independent Bookshop Week marks its 20th anniversary year, celebrating two decades of bringing together booksellers, writers, artists, publishers and readers across the UK and Ireland to champion the vital role independent bookshops play in bringing communities together locally, supporting the creative industries nationally and inspiring reading for pleasure for everyone.
Independent Bookshop Week 2026 takes place within the wider National Year of Reading in the UK, reinforcing the campaigns’ shared ambition and vision to expand access to books and encourage reading for pleasure.
As part of the 2026 celebrations, poet and author Matt Goodfellow will write the official Independent Bookshop Week campaign poem, while campaign ambassadors Kit de Waal, Katriona O’Sullivan and Katie Clapham will help champion the importance of independent bookshops and reading for pleasure throughout the anniversary year.
Jo Zebedee of The Secret Bookshelf said: “To be told by so many people – including the young! – that we are their favourite shop, means so much. Growing up, there was no bookshop in our town, and I would have loved there to be one – I’d have found it a safe space, one to escape to. To be able to support that now means the world to us.
“Reading is an escape – one that’s needed even more in dark times. And book spaces nurture and sustain reading, building the communities we need – we see that, every day, and are supported in turn. We have never felt so connected to our place as we do now.”
Emma Bradshaw, Head of Marketing and Communications at the Booksellers Association, said: “Independent Bookshop Week 2026 marks 20 years of celebrating the incredible role independent bookshops play in bringing people together, providing local hubs for the creative industries and inspiring a love of reading across the UK and in Ireland.
“We’re honoured to announce The Secret Bookshelf as one of our Bookshop Champions, following an open submission process across our membership. The quality of entries made the selection incredibly challenging, and the final selection beautifully reflects the variety, creativity and value independent bookshop bring to readers of all ages.
We cannot wait to see the fantastic work they do be an integral part of our celebrations.”
The full list of Bookshop Champions is: Green Pastures (Dereham); Teasel & Skylark (Dorchester); Of Books and Love (Islington); The Portobello Bookshop (Edinburgh); The Castle Bookshop (Castlebar); The Book Centre (Waterford); Daydreams Bookshop (Milngavie); Kenilworth Books (Kenilworth); Travellers’ Tales (Marylebone); Tipsy Books (Bideford); The Secret Bookshelf (Carrickfergus); The Hellenic Bookservice (Kentish Town); Book Space (Cardiff); FOLDE (Shaftesbury); Seven Stories Bookshop (Newcastle); FORUM Books (Corbridge); Book Vault (Barnsley); Truman Books (Farsley); Chapters (Dublin); Ink & Ember (Stamford).