New leaf for bookshops

THE number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the first time in 22 years.

Since 1995, more than 1,000 independent traders closed their doors – but the decline was finally reversed this year, with an overall increase of one to 868 stores.

A total of 24 opened in 2017, including one in the remote town of Fort William, in the Scottish Highlands, where sales have been ‘absolutely fantastic’.

Tim Godfray, of the Booksellers Association which released the figures, told the Guardian: ‘Booksellers have shown themselves to be among the most pioneering, creative and resilient retailers on our high streets.’