The British Book Awards, or Nibbies, have revealed the regional shortlists for the 2020 Independent Bookshop of the Year.

Four Welsh book shops are competing to be named the country’s best independent retailer for books, including Griffin Books in the Windsor Arcade, Penarth.

Griffin Books will compete to win the Welsh region first before vying for the overall prize which will be given out at the British Book Awards Ceremony, at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday May 18.

Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller’s managing editor, said: “There has been a resurgence in the last few years for the indie books sector with a growing number of stores and an increased market share. You can see why people are looking more towards indies by the brilliant shops on our regional shortlists. The high street in general may be struggling but indie bookshops are thriving in this challenging environment because of the expertise of staff — which can beat an Amazon algorithm any day — but also that they are true hubs of their communities".

Mel Griffin, owner of Griffin Books, has been involved in various initiatives with the local community in Penarth.

Earlier this year, 21 independent stores supported a reading scheme run by Griffin Books which encouraged children to read for pleasure.

To mark World Book Day next month, Mel will bring a pop-up book shop to Dinas Powys Primary School where children can buy a book for £1.

She said: "We're thrilled to have been shortlisted once again for the Independent Bookshop of the Year Wales Region.

"This UK award recognises the efforts we and the other wonderful bookshops on the list make day in, day out, to provide excellent customer service whilst also organising author events, running book clubs, visiting schools and supporting our local communities in all sorts of ways. "All of us here at Griffin Books love what we do, but we couldn't do it without the support of our lovely and loyal customers, so thank you all for your support".

Griffin Books will be competing with three other book stores in Wales - including Cover to Cover, Swansea, The Chepstow Book Shop, and Book-ish, Crickhowell.

The winners of each region will be announced on with those nine shops then battling for the top prize at the Nibbies ceremony on Monday May 18.

Sponsor Gardners Books will once again present the overall winner with a cheque for £5,000 to be put towards the running of the shop.

For further information on upcoming events at Griffin Books, visit: griffinbooks.co.uk