by Emma Joniken
This year has been hard on the economy, and while bigger businesses can often weather the storm, smaller companies have been going under. Independent bookstores were already struggling, and they need our support now more than ever. So if you’re looking for your next read, shop small! To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of independent bookstores across Scotland. Hopefully you can find one to your taste in your area.
Aberdeen
- The Old Aberdeen Bookshop: second-hand academic, classic, modern and Scottish books
- Books and Beans: coffee shop and bookstore
- The Mercat Bookshop: second-hand books, CDs, vinyls and DVDs
Aberfeldy
- The Aberfeldy Watermill: bookshop, art gallery and café
Bo’ness
Dundee
Edinburgh
- The Edinburgh Bookshop
- Lighthouse Bookshop: activism, politics, feminism, LGBTQ+ writing and more
- Golden Hare Books
- Transreal Fiction: sci-fi and fantasy
- Armchair Books: second-hand and rare books
Glasgow
- Hyndland Bookshop
- Aye-Aye Books: contemporary art
- Voltaire & Rousseau Books: second-hand books
- Good Press: self-published and independently published books
- Category Is Books: queer literature
Highlands
- Cairngorm-Books, Aviemore
- Picaresque Books & Galerie Fantoosh, Dingwall: books and art
- The Dornoch Bookshop, Dornoch
- The Highland Bookshop, Fort William
- The Bookmark, Grantown-on-Spey
- Leakey’s Bookshop, Inverness: second-hand books
- The Nairn Bookshop, Nairn
- Carmina Gadelica, Portree: specialist bookshop stocking outdoor, natural history and Scottish books and maps
- Gilleasbuig Ferguson Books, Skye: early science, highland, Gaelic
- The Ullapool Bookshop, Ullapool
St Andrews
- J & G Innes: books, stationery, art supplies and gifts
Stirling
- Stirling Books: second-hand rare and antiquarian books and Scottish Cultural Press
Good luck in the book-hunt, and remember to stay safe and social distance when venturing out!