Championing Books: The Book Centre’s Independent Bookshop Success.

Bookshop Champion Bookselling Ireland (the Booksellers Association (BA) in Ireland) is delighted to announce that The Book Centre in Waterford has been selected as one of 20 Bookshop Champions for Independent Bookshop Week 2026, taking place from Saturday 13th to Saturday 20th June across Ireland and the UK. The Bookshop Champions will represent the independent bookselling sector’s renown innovation, community impact and commitment to reading for pleasure throughout the Independent Bookshop Week 2026 campaign. The 20 Bookshop Champions were selected through an open submission process across the Booksellers Association membership. The final group reflects the breadth and depth of independent bookshops today, and the shared values and strengths that underpin the sector: encouraging reading for pleasure, bringing people together around books, connecting online audiences with in-shop experiences and building strong local partnerships that benefit their communities. Family Run Business Located in the heart of Ireland’s oldest city, The Book Centre, Waterford is the flagship store of a small family-owned bookselling group, serving readers across the Southeast and nationally through its other locations in Kilkenny, Naas, and Wexford. As a large, multi-department bookshop, it offers fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, YA, Irish writing, educational titles, gifts, and a welcoming in-store café space. The shop is particularly renowned for its strong children’s and YA offerings, its support for Irish authors, and its close partnerships with local schools. Memorable Experience The Book Centre actively encourages reading for pleasure through creative and personal initiatives. The Book Professor - Children’s Gift Package pairs one-to-one recommendations with a gift card, tote bag, keepsakes, and a hot chocolate, turning book selection into a memorable experience for young readers. Its curated book subscriptions provide sustained engagement from newborns to adults, nurturing lifelong reading habits. Community Based Community engagement also includes the inclusive Let’s Talk Books book club, where participants bring their current reads, and a full programme of author events and signings that connect readers with local and national writers. Social media amplifies these initiatives, bridging online discovery with in-store visits, while collaborations with schools, libraries, and cultural events ensure the bookshop functions as a civic hub.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.