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Opt indie books

why opt indie?

Opt Indie Books is a celebration of bookshops, books and the people who read them.

We champion small press publishers from across the UK and Ireland & shine a light on the incredible work booksellers do within their communities, for their high streets & for all their readers.

When you choose to support Opt Indie Books you choose to support real people with a passion for great stories​.

With bookseller interviews, monthly publisher features 
& a carefully curated list of new books each week.

OPT INTO INDEPENDENT THINKING, 
​INDIE BOOKSELLING
& INDIE PUBLISHING

featured five

OPT INTO NEW BOOKS . . .

Take a chance with one of our Featured Five
​

Break out of your comfort zone and pick up something new from us.
​Put you feet up, dive in and enjoy!
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Choose one (or all five!) from our list above to get inspired, get lost, or get motivated this week. 

Click on the image for more details.

EVENTS

Explore our upcoming events and the authors we’ll be welcoming to Newcastle and the North East this Autumn.
Click on any image below for full book & event details.

Tell it to the Bees

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The Water That May Come

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Magadh

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TAKE A LISTEN BACK TO SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE RECENT EVENTS.
WE'RE WORKING ON FINDING A BETTER HOME FOR THESE RECORDING, SO KEEP YOUR EYE'S PEELED ON OUR SOCIALS FOR WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE EVENT HIGHLIGHTS - COMING SOON.

IN CONVERSATION WITH ​
​KARIM KATTAN

AUDIO RECORDING
Listen back to our event with Karim Kattan as we celebrated the tour of his debut novel, The Palace on the Higher Hill, a powerful and lyrical exploration of memory, loss, and the enduring presence of the past - published April 2025 by Foundry Editions.

At the event, we explored the journey of bringing the book to publication in the UK; the layered themes of memory, place, and resistance within the novel; and his experiences as a Palestinian writer living and working in France. We also discussed the translation process and what it's like to see his work in English for the first time, the differences in touring a book in the UK compared to France, his time featured on Sky News the night before - and plenty more.

The event lasts for roughly an hour and 20 minutes, with a short break followed by 10-15 minutes of audience Q&A. This was recorded on Tuesday 29th April 2025 at Deep North, Newcastle. 

​Click below to listen to the full recording below.
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IN CONVERSATION WITH ​
​MICHAEL BIRD

AUDIO RECORDING

Listen back to our Halloween-Eve event with journalist and author Michael Bird as we celebrated the launch of Modern Gothic.
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The event lasts just over an hour with 10 minutes of audience Q&A and was recorded on Wednesday 30th October at The Lit & Phil, Newcastle - where we explored the gothic tradition and legacy in literature, the impact of social media and AI on the genre, the importance of the short story format, and where we think 'gothic' will venture in the future.

​Click below to listen to Parts 1 & 2.
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IN CONVERSATION WITH ​
​WYL MENMUIR

AUDIO RECORDING

Listen back to our recent event with Wyl Menmuir as we celebrated the tour of his latest book, The Heart of the Woods.
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The event lasts for roughly an hour with 15 minutes of audience Q&A and was recorded on Saturday 22nd June at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre - where we discussed the enduring legacy of iconic trees, and how our relationship with them has changed over time, and the ways in which our future is interconnected with theirs.

​Click below to listen to Parts 1 & 2.
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​In conversation with
​Tone Schunnesson

AUDIO RECORDING

Listen back to our event with critically acclaimed Swedish author Tone Schunnesson as we celebrated the 2024 tour of her novel, Days & Days & Days, with an evening in conversation with North East writer & facilitator, Sarah Davy. Days & Days & Days is published by Heloise Press, a champion of world-wide female talent. Héloïse’s careful selection of books gives voice to emerging and well-established female writers from home and abroad. With a focus on intimate, visceral and powerful narratives, Héloïse Press brings together women’s stories and literary sophistication.  ​
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The event lasts for 50 minutes and was recorded on Thursday 29th February at Newcastle City Library's Bewick Hall in front of a live audience. Click below to listen to the full recording for free.

​​Click below to listen to the full recording below.
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COMING SOON!

Take a look ahead at some of the biggest new titles coming from indie publishers in 2024. Featuring some of the best writers and translators from across the globe - in fiction, non-fiction & children's - brought to you by some of the very best small presses here in the U.K.

​While we continue to bring you our Featured Five each week, here you can get a glimpse of the bookshop bookshelves of the future.
Get ahead of the crowd & take a virtual browse today!
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​Click on the image for more details.

spotlight

shining a light on the UK's best bookshops

Emma & Chris Murphy

nomadic books, Ambleside

For Independent Bookshop Week, we caught up with a pair of booksellers who’ve taken a truly unique path into the world of indie bookselling. In this interview, we catch up with Chris and Emma of Nomadic Books, who started out selling books from a converted van and are now putting the finishing touches on their brand new shop in Ambleside.
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We chat about life on the road, favourite reads and bestsellers, the challenges of market trading, and the joys of building a brand new space that’s part bookshop, part wine bar, part community hub. It’s a funny, warm and open conversation about what it takes to start something from scratch - and why independent bookshops are such vital parts of their communities.
Join us we talk books, bookshops and booksellers for this year’s Indie Bookshop Week.

Click here for the full interview
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This is the part of opt indie books where we celebrate an independent bookshop from across the uk & Ireland and the amazing work they're doing; highlighting the vital role indie bookshops play in their communities and on their high streets. 

Booksellers are on the front line of the industry. Faced with an endless range of choice, each & every bookshop has their own unique selection of books and their own unique way of representing & presenting them. You won't find two bookshops alike, just like you won't find two booksellers who share the same experiences or backgrounds.

A bookshop is only ever as good as its workforce, and a bookseller's knowledge & passion for books 
is what brings readers back to their shop time & time again. 

Each month we showcase a different bookshop & interview one of the booksellers who calls that shop home...
sometimes both literally & figuratively!

Go take a browse through all our past bookshop features here.

press of the month

We don't just support independent bookshops. we also love indie publishers.

Each month Opt Indie Books features an independent publisher or small press from across the UK and Ireland, helping showcase their eclectic, sometimes radical, often overlooked but always unique and carefully curated stories to a new audience.
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The Emma Press

meet the publishers: James Trevelyan & georgia wall

For our Press of the Month feature, we’re delighted to shine a spotlight on The Emma Press, an independent publisher known for its lyrical, innovative, and carefully curated books and pamphlets. This interview was recorded live during our first in-person Meet The Publishers event on Monday 23rd June, in Newcastle upon Tyne, where we had the chance to talk in depth and openly with Georgia and James about the press’s journey and vision.

​From their early days championing poetry and translated children’s books, to expanding into fiction and creative nonfiction, The Emma Press balances artistic risk-taking with a genuine commitment to supporting emerging and underrepresented voices. We hear about the realities and rewards of small press publishing—from the joys of editorial care and design collaborations, to navigating funding challenges and the thrill of prize success.

Rooted in Birmingham and dedicated to fostering community, The Emma Press is not just publishing books; they’re creating connections - between authors, readers, and the wider literary ecosystem. Whether you’re a writer curious about submitting your work or a reader eager to discover fresh voices, this feature offers insight into a press that values craft, care, and diversity at every step. 
Read the full interview here
IGNORE THE MAINSTREAM MACHINE. PICK UP SOMETHING INDIE . . .

Cloud Soup : Poems for Children

£8.99
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Tiny Moons : A Year of Eating in Shanghai

£9.99
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After the Rites and Sandwiches : Poems

£7.99
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The Skeleton in the Cupboard : and other stories

£8.99
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Wain : LGBT reimaginings of Scottish folktales

£12.00
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The Book of Clouds

£12.00
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Please Don't Read The Footnotes Please

£9.99
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Mate Arias

£7.99
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Daughter of the Sun

£10.99
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Bound

£9.99
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How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart

£8.99
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Wild Boar

£10.99
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  • OPT IN
  • Featured Five
  • Spotlight
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  • Books of the Year 2024
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