12 bookshops across the country have been longlisted for the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ category at this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards, the annual literary event that celebrates and promotes Irish writing and authors to the widest range of readers possible.
The ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ category is designed to acknowledge the significant role played by independent bookshops and local branches of bookshop chains in helping their local communities to find and savour the titles of their choice. Previous winners include:
- Chapters Bookstore, Dublin 1 – 2025
- Little Acorns Bookstore, Derry – 2024
- Halfway Up the Stairs in Greystones – 2023
- Bridge Street Books, Wicklow – 2022
- Kennys Bookshop and Art Gallery, Galway – 2021
An Post Bookshop of the Year Longlist
The longlist of twelve bookshops around Ireland for 2026 in alphabetical order are:
- Bantry Bookshop, Co. Cork
- Books at One, Louisburgh, Co. Mayo
- Bridge Books Dromore, Co. Down
- Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, Galway
- Genius Juniors, Co. Clare
- Leaf and Bower, Co. Cork
- O’Mahony’s Booksellers, Limerick
- Philip’s Bookshop, Mallow, Co. Cork
- Tales for Tadpoles, Bray, Co. Wicklow
- The Book Centre, Waterford
- The Bookshelf, Newry
- Woodbine Books, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare
Customers were asked to vote for their favourite bookshops, with the bookshops that received the most votes then being longlisted. They have now been invited by the judges to submit a written entry. For more information on the process, visit https://www.irishbookawards.ie/an-post-bookshop-of-the-year/
The shortlist of six bookshops will now be selected by an independent judging panel, the judges for 2026 are:
- Judging Chair – Maria Dickenson
- Sheila O’Reilly – Project Manager for Booksellers Association
- Ronan Richmond – Sales Director at Argosy Wholesale
- Cian Byrne – Managing Director of John Byrne Books Ltd. and Chair of Bookselling Ireland
- Jacq Murphy – Senior Sales Manager at Gill Hess Ltd.
- Mick Finucane – Chief Executive Officer at Chapters Bookstore
- Lauren Murphy, Social Media Manager at An Post
The shortlist will be officially announced on the 22nd October. The overall winner of ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ will be presented with their trophy at the An Post Irish Book Awards event on 1st December along with a prize worth €5,000 from An Post Commerce.
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