Bookshop Day is a yearly celebration of bookshops in the UK and Ireland that takes place on the first Saturday of October. Through this event, the Booksellers Association highlights the significance of local bookshops and encourage people to read more, and buy books they love. Reading is important.
Living in the UK’s smallest county, Rutland, Angela Harding works from her garden studio in Wing and her studio in Oakham. She has received commissions from most of the UK’s major publishers, including illustrating Simon Armitage’s collection of poems, Blossomise, and creating an illustrated version of Isabella Tree’s bestselling book, Wilding. She has published two books with Sphere, A Year Unfolding in 2021 and Wild Light in 2022, and her new book Still Waves & Wild Waters out on 26 September 2024.
This year, she’s been selected to design a beautiful Limited-Edition bag that will celebrate Bookshop Day. She’s following in the footsteps of illustrators, artists and designers Poonam Mistry, Jackie Morris, Yehrin Tong, Sir Peter Blake, Grayson Perry, and Tracey Emin among many others.
Her inspiration for the design comes from the scenic landscape of Shetland. The Shetland Islands are home to the highest density of the Eurasian Otter in Europe. “I hope book buyers and sellers alike will enjoy this otter design I have done for Books Are My Bag, which I was honoured to have been asked to do. I created the image when I was in Shetland last summer, which is a place of great inspiration for my artwork. I hope I have conveyed the powerful experience of standing by the sea and watching a Shetland otter playing in waves.” Angela Harding said.
Bookshop Day will draw attention to the role that booksellers play in encouraging literacy and a love of reading with audiences. Booksellers, publishers, authors, illustrators and poets work collaboratively on the campaign to encourage consumers to shop in their local bookshop and ensure their high street is thriving. Participating retailers include Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell’s and numerous independent bookshops across the country.
Bookshop Day launched in 2016 and is part of Books Are My Bag, a consumer-facing campaign run by the Booksellers Association to celebrate and promote bookshops in the UK and Ireland. By supporting these stores, the event helps maintain vibrant local communities and ensure that diverse voices are heard in literature. We can’t wait!
“We’ve been asked by numerous Booksellers Association members to invite Angela to design a Limited-Edition Bag for us, so we were thrilled when she agreed to do so. We know that booksellers and book-lovers alike will be delighted by Angela’s beautiful design, and keen to get their hands on the bags. These bags will be flying off the shelves from Saturday 12th October, so that’s one more reason to make sure you visit your local bookshop on Bookshop Day!” Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the Booksellers Association wrote.
–
Image: Angela Harding, Cornwall. Photography by Joanne Crawford and Limited-Edition bag.
ART IS ALIVE 