11th December, 2024, Steyning Bookshop
The Steyning Bookshop is a small family run bookshop in the beautiful Sussex Downland market town of Steyning. We stock a wide range of new fiction and non-fiction, with a particular specialisation in children’s books and local-interest books, maps and guides. We have a large, well-stocked children’s area featuring a big, red, wooden book-train for children to clamber on – the highlight of a visit for many of our younger customers! Our staff are avid readers and delight in being asked for recommendations and helping customers find the right book! We have a fast, often next-day ordering service for books not in stock. We also sell a beautiful range of cards, wrap, stationery and book-related gifts and toys, by suppliers such as Art Angels, Cambridge Imprint, Roger La Borde, Lagom and Cath Tate. We also stock children’s games, craft kits and toys by the very artistic and tasteful French company, Djeco.
The bookshop is a community hub, acting as the box-office for most local events including the biennial Steyning Festival. We run several book groups and organise regular author events, talks and book-signings, both at the bookshop and using hired venues such as St Andrews Church, the Methodist Church and local halls, and we programme the literary events for the biennial Steyning Festival. Here are just a few of the incredible authors we’ve welcomed to Steyning over the years: Julia Donaldson, Elly Griffiths, Rev Richard Coles, Peter James, John Boyne, Chris Riddell, Matt Haig, Liz Pichon, Vashti Hardy, Frances Quinn, Mary Berry, Kate Humble, Kate Mosse, James Naughtie, Edward Stoughton, Ben McIntyre, Nick Sharratt, Emily Gravett, Steven Lenton, Guy Parker-Rees and Adam Stower…! Please see our ‘Events’ section for more information on our past and future events. To keep up to date with our programme of events, please sign up to our monthly email newsletter by emailing us on info@steyningbookshop.co.uk
Elly Griffiths, Liz Pichon, Chris Riddell & Matt Haig, Sara with Nick Sharratt, Vashti Hardy, and Julia Donaldson signing in our garden marquee!
We love working with schools and organise many author visits for local schools, we also run school book fairs and offer discounts for school book orders. We can advise on recommended book lists and topic lists for school orders, and consult and order books for library restocks. We put on regular children’s workshops and events at the shop and as part of the Steyning Festival. Please see our ‘Schools’ section for more information on how we can bring books to life at your school!
THE STEYNING BOOKSHOP STORY
The Steyning Bookshop was opened by Sara and Robin Bowers on Saturday 8th December, 1984, so in 2024 we are celebrating our 40th BIRTHDAY!! In 1984, Sara and Robin Bowers purchased a crumbly old 18th Century High Street house, hoping to turn it into a bookshop and a family home. Sara, an ex-primary school teacher and avid reader, with 3 young children at the time, had always dreamed of opening a bookshop and was inspired by an old family friend who’d opened a bookshop in the Forest of Dean, where the family had previously lived. After 3 gruelling months of DIY by family, friends and the odd tradesman, the almost derelict old house was transformed into a bright and lively village bookshop, as well as a home for their young family. A few years later, an extension was built to house an increased selection of children’s books, and Sara extended the bookshop’s reach by bringing bookfairs and author visits to local schools. From 2002, Sara and Robin’s daughter Gudrun joined the staff, and Sara, Robin and Gudrun now run the bookshop jointly, ably aided by a small team of part-time booksellers.
In 2015, we received a boost when the acclaimed children’s writer Julia Donaldson moved to the town. Julia had been a frequent visitor to our bookshop ever since her first book came out, and Julia & her husband Malcolm decided to relocate to Steyning from Scotland once Malcolm retired from his active duties as a consultant paediatrician in Glasgow. So, since 2015 we have been able to offer online ordering of SIGNED copies of Julia’s books via our website, and have been incredibly fortunate in having hosted countless book-signings with Julia at the bookshop.
Over the years we’ve weathered huge changes, going from microfiche readers to computers, from cheques to card machines, from ads in the local papers to Facebook, Instagram and a website. We’ve had lots of challenges along the way, the shop was struck by lightning in 1990, we’ve coped with the end of the Net Book Agreement in the 90’s heralding the start of book discount sellers, then the rise of e-readers, Kindles, and online retail competition, but thanks to our wonderfully supportive community of readers we are still here!
Gudrun and Sara in the bookshop