'We are absolutely thrilled to bits': Cork bookshop longlisted for ‘Bookshop of the Year’

KERR’S bookshop in Clonakilty has been listed as one of the 12 best places in Ireland to buy a new book in the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ category at this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards.

Customers were asked to vote online for their favourite bookshops and to write a brief explanation of why they have chosen it.

The bookshops that received the most votes were then longlisted. Each will now enter a written submission, and mystery shoppers will visit the 12 bookshops as part of the judging process to narrow it down to a shortlist of six bookshops.

Speaking to The Echo, owner Trish Kerr said: “We are absolutely thrilled to bits.

“Just to get onto the longlist is an honour, when I look at the list there’s such great bookshops on it, we are in such good company.

“It’s all down to everyone who voted us and to the staff — there are five of us in the shop, we work part-time and everybody does their bit, it’s great fun and a lovely place to work.”

Kerr’s is a privately owned and managed small bookstore right in the heart of Clonakilty town where proprietor Trish Kerr has 25 years’ experience managing the business and she has created a warm, friendly atmosphere where locals and tourists are invited to browse at their leisure.

You can get everything there from the newest bestsellers to esteemed classics, with a wide range of children’s books and non-fiction titles also available, along with a particularly good selection of books on local history, Irish history, and general Irish interest, along with maps and local walking guides.

The six bookshops on the shortlist will be revealed on October 19, and the overall winner of the award will be presented with a trophy and a prize of €15,000 at the An Post Book Awards on November 22.

The longlist of 12 bookshops is: Bridge Books, Dromore, Co Down; Bridge Street Books, Co Wicklow; Castle Book & Card Centre, Castlebar, Co Mayo; The Clifden Bookshop, Connemara, Co Galway; Halfway Up the Stairs, Greystones, Co Wicklow; Kerr’s Bookshop Clonakilty, Co Cork; Liber, Co Sligo; Little Acorns Bookstore, Co Derry; Maynooth Bookshop, Co Kildare; O’Mahony’s Booksellers, Co Limerick; Tales for Tadpoles, Bray, Co Wicklow, and Tertulia, Westport, Co Mayo.