Book Lovers Bookshop in Newington crowned UK Independent Bookshop of the Year

A small Southside bookshop has taken one of the biggest prizes in British bookselling. Book Lovers Bookshop has been named Independent Bookshop of the Year at the British Book Awards, known in the trade as the Nibbies, winning the title along with a £5,000 prize from Gardners.

The shop specialises in romance and is the first bookshop of its kind in the UK. It opened in August 2024, during the Edinburgh Fringe, and in March this year it won the Scotland regional title in the same category, ahead of a shortlist that included fellow Edinburgh bookshop Argonaut Books and Far From The Madding Crowd in Linlithgow.

Book Lovers was founded by 25-year-old author Caden Armstrong, who is originally from the United States, where specialist romance bookshops are more common. Caden worked at The Edinburgh Bookshop in Bruntsfield before deciding to open a shop of their own. The business now employs three members of staff and aims to create a fun, safe and diverse space to celebrate all kinds of romance fiction.

In less than two years, the shop has held more than 300 author events and runs a popular fortnightly book club. It was also named Romance Champion of the Year for 2025 by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Tom Tivnan, deputy editor of The Bookseller, said the 2026 winner had raised a high bar up a notch. He praised Caden's knowledge of the genre, expert stock curation and dizzying number of events, and noted that the shop has become an unmissable stop on global authors' book tours while giving unstinting support to new and emerging writers.

Caden said the team were incredibly honoured, describing the win as recognition of everyone's hard work and of romance fiction in general. They dedicated the award to the authors, publishers and readers who have supported the shop. Speaking after the regional win, Caden said being the UK's first bricks and mortar shop for romance had been an honour, and that they were excited to see the romance community showcased.

For a genre that has often been overlooked, it is quite a moment, and a reminder that Edinburgh's independent bookshops continue to punch above their weight.

Opening hours, events and the book club schedule are listed on the shop's website and social channels.