Havant MP Alan Mak has shown his support for Bookshop Day on Saturday (8 October) by visiting two local independent retailers, and has encouraged everyone to read a book in October.
The visits were part of the national Books Are My Bag (BAMB) campaign, with booksellers all over the country celebrating the vital role bookshops play in the community.
Mr Mak made visits to two independent bookshops in the Havant constituency – Bookends in Emsworth and The Hayling Island Bookshop – backing the role they play in encouraging reading.
BAMB is a nationwide campaign, endorsed by publishers, retailers and authors to celebrate high street bookshops, which collectively sold 108million books in 2015.
The Havant MP said he was a strong supporter of getting more people reading, and backed the BAMB campaign to support local bookshops.
Mr Mak said: “I encourage everyone to visit their local bookshop and we are incredibly lucky to have two excellent independent stores in the constituency. They are successful businesses and great community hubs. Bookshops remain the best way discover new books and I am delighted to get behind such an excellent campaign.”
“Local bookshops have seen a resurgence in recent years, which is excellent news as books broaden our horizons and help us become more socially engaged. From my experience as a school governor, I know children especially benefit from regularly reading at home so I hope parents and carers will join me in backing our local bookshops.”
The BAMB campaign is running throughout the whole of October with celebrations, events and promotions in bookshops.
Marie Telford from The Hayling Island Bookshop said: “It was great to welcome Alan to our bookshop again and for him to back the Books Are My Bag campaign. We will be working in schools for the next month to try and boost reading amongst children, as reading has been shown to be good for your health. We would welcome everyone down to the bookshop over the next month to have a browse and celebrate in our shared love of books.”
Customers and booksellers will also be invited to get behind the campaign on social media with the hashtags #OnlyOnTheHighStreet and #BookshopDay.
Carol Waldron from Bookends of Emsworth said: “It was good to hear from Alan that he was strong supporter of independent bookshops. We stock a wide array of books, including many specialist books on the local area. We would particular welcome children as to come in and browse so they can experience magic of books.”
Picture one: Alan Mak at The Hayling Island Bookshop with Marie and Colin Telford
Picture two: Alan Mak at Bookends of Emsworth with owner Carol Waldron