From launching their own festival to championing marginalised voices, Sheffield’s indie booksellers have found strength in working together. Ruby Deakin meets the people putting community before competition.
Sheffield wouldn’t be Sheffield without its independent businesses. Across the city, our local shops, cafés, pubs and community hubs are fighting to keep the streets busy and bustling, adapting to new challenges and building resilience year on year. It’s no shock that Sheffield is now listed as one of the best places in the country to grow a business in 2026, with its supportive communities known for nurturing new ventures and making every start-up feel at home.
When it comes to bookshops, there’s a lot to learn from the city’s unique approach. While competition is often rife between ‘rival’ local sellers across many UK high streets, Sheffield’s indie bookshops couldn’t be more different in their style. Instead of battling over shoppers or racing to snatch up events with touring writers, our sellers are committed to a collaborative model that works for the mutual benefit of everyone.
Made up of La Biblioteka, Juno Books, Novel, and Hillsborough Bookshop, as well as partner groups and event collaborators, the Steel City’s evolving indie bookshop collective is reinventing how small businesses can work together to bring people together in the process. They are united by a shared goal of putting diverse representation and local stories into the hands of every visitor, all while preserving their own distinct identities and personal styles of bookselling.
Back in April, the group launched the first Sheffield Indie Book Festival (SIB Fest), which brought together thousands of visitors to explore the enormous variety of voices championed by the community. The weekend kicked off with a programme of fringe events at each bookshop on the Saturday, followed by a day of workshops, speaker talks and a makers’ market on the Sunday, hosted by The Mowbray and Victoria in Neepsend.
“Collaboratively, we all agreed to represent the people it’s aimed at in our approach,” said Sophie from Hillsborough Bookshop. “You can get a big corporate festival, you can get big names in, but we wanted to create a festival that was meeting people where they actually are, bringing independent bookshops, publishers and authors all under one roof.”
“When others said, ‘you must have a nightmare in Sheffield because there are so many of you,’ I was like, ‘we’re actually putting on a festival together!’” Novel’s Kate noted. “There’s just such camaraderie in it – it was really cool to work on a project with everyone.”
SIB Fest’s success is testament to how collaboration can foster new relationships, with each shop working to ensure that the bookselling community is open and accessible to as many people as possible. The group have secured its renewal for a second installation in 2027, with dates still to be confirmed.
“We’re very lucky for it to feel so collaborative,” said Sarah from Juno Books. “I love the fact that I don’t feel like I’m in competition with anyone. They’re our peers and our friends and we ask each other for advice and support. We all bring something slightly different – it’s like we’re all wee bits of a jigsaw coming together.”
Juno Books on Chapel Walk opened in 2022 with an unwavering commitment to championing the voices and stories of marginalised people. Its curated selection of feminist and queer literature alongside local and self-published books has made it a revolutionary space for hope and positive change, and its programme of events and writer talks has established it as a vital cultural hub in the city centre.
Sarah continued: “We want people to come in and be like, ‘I can see myself here’ or be able to understand someone else’s perspective through what they are reading, perhaps one that they might not necessarily have encountered before. It’s so important that these voices have a space to exist.”
Not only does each shop bring its distinct flavour of books and events to its local area, but these spaces have quickly become hearts of their communities. Sophie explained how they bring together other small businesses, from coffee shops to pubs and makers’ markets, transforming areas into lively indie ecosystems.
“One of the things I find nicest is working with other businesses. You go out a bit into the suburbs, and you see these little pockets where there’s hustle and bustle. Hillsborough is one of those places; we’re all singing each other’s praises and checking in on each other, and we want that to come through in the shop. If we feel safe in our areas, then we can do that for our customers. I think having a bookshop is a catalyst for those spaces to naturally come to be.”
The indie bookshops of Sheffield also serve another vital purpose. In an increasingly digital world, the social aspect of in-person shopping is quickly being lost in favour of at-home browsing. But by getting to know sellers, exploring their hand-picked collections and chatting with other booklovers, visiting these small spaces is crucial for keeping Sheffield’s sociable, community spirit alive.
“People are seeking community in a world where we’re so isolated. Yes, you’ve got everyone at your fingertips, but do you feel like you’re actually connected to them in a deeper way? That in-person connection is really missing in the world,” said Sophie.
She continued: “Most often, especially in an indie, it’s the curation, it’s the note underneath a book that says how much the person loved it, it’s those little moments that you can give someone. It really takes something to get someone off their chair, out their door, in their car or walking down the street and into your shop. We wanted to create a space that serves a purpose, putting the right book in the right person’s hand and having those important conversations.”
Kate, who closed the doors of Novel’s bookshop back in January, is taking the social side of reading to a new level. Collaborating with the minds behind Cloud Coffee Co, she has now reopened the bookshop’s premises in Crookes as Proof, a first-of-its-kind bookshop bar in Sheffield.
“Reading is a very solitary hobby, but also it can be one of the most impactful experiences we have,” Kate said. “It can be really transformative, and yet you don’t really talk to anyone about it, so I love having those conversations with people.”
Sheffield’s indie bookshops are demonstrating every day that partnerships and solidarity are key to their success, and local businesses everywhere should take note.
“There are just so many wonderful people,” Sarah added. “In Sheffield, there’s such an appetite to use independent shops, and people make the most of what we’ve got here. It’s very special.”
@junobookssheff
@novelsheffield
@hillsboroughbookshop
@labiblioteka
