New report warns about the fragile future of bookshops in Wales

Gosia Buzzanca

A major new report has revealed the extraordinary role Wales’s bookshops play in sustaining local communities, nurturing culture and strengthening the Welsh language.

At the same time, however, the report warned that this vital contribution remains at risk without targeted support.

The Cultural and Community Role of Wales’s Bookshops, published by the Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland, was launched at the Senedd today (21 January) and paints the most detailed picture yet of how bookshops across Wales operate far beyond the boundaries of retail.

Wales is now home to 116 bookshops, including 64 independents, which is a significant increase since 2017. Yet the report finds that this growth is fragile.

Rising operating costs, structural pressures on high streets, and limited access to cultural funding mean closures continue, even as bookshops deliver an extraordinary range of community, cultural and educational activity, often at their own expense.

Drawing on survey data from nearly half of Wales’s independent bookshops, alongside in-depth interviews with shops across the country, the report shows that Welsh bookshops act as community anchors and cultural hubs.

They host author events, support schools and libraries, nurture children’s literacy, champion Welsh writers and publishers, and provide crucial infrastructure for the Welsh language.

Every bookshop surveyed runs activities for its local community. Nearly nine in ten host author events.

The same proportion stock Welsh-language children’s books and support Welsh-medium schools. More than four in five stock Welsh-language titles for adult learners.

Many work with libraries, run book clubs, organise school book fairs, support local charities and collaborate with festivals, including Eisteddfodau.

Yet the report also highlights the barriers threatening this work. Almost three quarters of bookshops would like access to grants to support community engagement.

Most offer free events and absorb the costs themselves. Only one in five has successfully navigated public funding systems, with time pressures and complexity acting as major deterrents.

Among its key recommendations is the introduction of a Culture Voucher Scheme for 16–21-year-olds in Wales, modelled on successful European initiatives.

Valued at £250 per young person, the scheme would improve access to cultural experiences, reduce inequality and provide direct economic support to bookshops and other cultural venues.

The report also calls for further reform of business rates, better recognition of bookshops as cultural spaces, and stronger partnerships between bookshops, libraries and Welsh language bodies.

The Senedd launch, sponsored by Hannah Blythyn MS, brought together booksellers from across Wales with Members of the Senedd to discuss the findings and what can be done to sustain this “remarkable contribution”.

Speakers included report author Howard Davies, Bookselling Wales Chair Jo Knell of Cant a Mil, novelist Caryl Lewis and former National Poet of Wales Gwyneth Lewis.

Meryl Halls, Managing Director of the Booksellers Association, said: “Across Wales, bookshops are doing far more than selling books — they are creating spaces where culture is shared, language is sustained, and communities connect.

“This research shows the scale of that contribution, from supporting children’s reading to championing Welsh writers and publishers.

“Bookshops are essential civic assets, and their impact warrants greater visibility, protection, and long-term support.”

Jo Knell added: “This research reflects the lived reality of booksellers across Wales.

“Bookshops support reading and creativity while helping sustain cultural life in both the Welsh language and English language.

“The research particularly underlines the importance to the Welsh language of Welsh-language and bilingual bookshops in supporting children, learners, and fluent speakers day in day out.

“Wales’s bookshops are cultural and social assets for the nation. Their distinctive role deserves to be better known, celebrated, and supported.”

Howard Davies, the author of the report, said: “Working with bookshops across Wales has highlighted just how much cultural value they generate on a daily basis.

“I was powerfully struck by the close relationships enjoyed by Wales’s bookshops with schools, libraries, authors, and festivals, meaning they play a fundamental role in maintaining Wales’s literary ecosystem.

“The report provides clear evidence of their importance and why continued recognition and support are not just essential for Wales’s booksellers but imperative to a flourishing Wales.”