Visit our bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

North Books in Hay-on-Wye

Selling shiny new books plus beautiful cards, ceramics, candles, tote bags and more, North Books opened in the autumn of 2022.

We offer cosy spaces to browse and comfortable nooks to nurture your love of reading.

We host regular author events, book signings and two book groups and operate a pop-up cafe on a Friday from 10-12pm. For all our up to the minute news, please follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We send quarterly newsletters - please do sign up - simply scroll down and add your name and address.

Explore our eclectic selection

Find inspiring new fiction including contemporary women's voices, fantasy, young adult and children’s. Browse our range of non-fiction titles focusing on the environment, nature, sustainability and politics, plus our selection of Welsh literature and books by local authors.

If you can’t visit in person you can buy from us online via bookshop.org.

Search on bookshop.org

Independent bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

We host regular book launches in the shop

OUR next event in the bookshop…

On Thursday 5 December from 5-6pm local artist Helen Arthur will launch her new book, The Winding Light.

Discover our new gift idea

Bookshop Breakfast

Are you looking for a special gift for that bookish friend or relative? In which case, we are delighted to present The Bookshop Breakfast voucher which entitles you and your guest to spend time together in the bookshop ahead of opening hours. Read more…

North Books recommends…

Hay Reads suggested December genre - detective fiction!

Stitches & Stories December choice

PRE-ORDER by email Jules@northbooks.co.uk

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

This is the life-affirming and hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, the New York Times bestseller

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it

To compliment the range of new fiction we have in stock, we now have a range of Persephone press.

You may be familiar with the distinctive grey covers and end papers (beautiful inside covers) and they can make the perfect present for the voracious reader as these titles are reissues of once forgotten titles with plots and characters that remain timeless. Everything about Persephone smacks of authenticity rather than gimmicks. They celebrate 25 years and 150 books this year.

Fans of Anne Tyler will look forward to a NEW novel out on 13th February 2025. You can pre-order the forthcoming title Three Days in June from North Books through @bookshop_org_uk now!  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10764/9781784745752

Order The Proof of my Innocence by Jonathan Coe and @VikingBooksUK and get an extra 10% off with code PROOF when you order through our @bookshop_org_uk link:  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10764/9780241678411

Committed to sustainable business

It's really important to us that all of our suppliers and the goods that we sell are as sustainably sourced as possible.

This includes things like packaging and display materials as well as the miles that an item has travelled to reach us.

When we can, we buy locally and would encourage you to as well. Where we spend our money matters. An example of this policy is with our in-house tote bag which was designed by Hay-based print designer Prints of Hay and printed by a Cardiff-based community-based screenprinting workshop Printhaus. The bags themselves are made from ethically sourced organic cotton which is lighter on the planet.

Gifts and books in Hay-on-Wye