THE BOOK NOOK
Stewarton’s Community Hub
Sarah Skelton
It is five years since The Book Nook Stewarton opened the doors of its tiny shop in Stewarton. I’d always wanted to open a bookshop, but could it succeed in a small Ayrshire town? My vision was for the bookshop to be not just a shop, but a hub that would have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing and be an asset to the local community – economically, culturally and socially.
The Book Nook is now so much more to Stewarton than a book shop. During the last five years, The Book Nook has become a much-loved and well-established part of the Stewarton community, running numerous author events, workshops, activities and clubs, and in line with my ethos to be as accessible as possible, these are nearly all free to attend.
One local councillor said: ‘I am passionate about all community initiatives in Stewarton. In my experience, the Book Nook has been a huge success in that respect.”
The Book Nook has been proud to welcome an incredible range of well-known authors to Stewarton. There are too many to list them all but they have included Andrew O’Hagan, Chris Brookmyre, Ann Cleeves, Quintin Jardine, Alex Gray, Liam McIlvanney, Donna Ashworth, The Hebridean Baker, Billy Sloan, Sally Magnusson, Jenny Colgan and Graeme Macrae Burnet – plus three events with Nicola Sturgeon.
Many attendees comment on how appreciative they are to enjoy these events locally, rather than having to travel to Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Customer comments include:
“A fantastic asset to Stewarton.”
“What you’re doing for the community is fantastic. There’s always something happening. Well done.”
“Love all the author events, the drawing workshop and the kids events.”
“So well organised and always friendly and welcoming. Thank you so much!”
There is a strong focus on children in The Book Nook, with author events, weekly storytimes for babies and toddlers, a book club for primary school children and play areas in the shop. The shop provides World Book Day books to five primary schools and takes authors into the schools for events which inspire and delight the children. There have been lots of children’s events in the shop – author events, writing workshops, poetry workshops and storytimes. Together with East Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership, The Book Nook holds workshops and events for care experienced young people.
One head teacher said: “Over the years, Sarah has supported events in our school for World Book Day and has provided books free of charge to every child in the school to promote and encourage a love and passion for reading. She visits our school, holding fun story-telling sessions and has even helped us develop a new school library.”
The BookNookers book club is a lively and popular monthly event. Members love finding new books, sometimes stretching their reading taste into new genres, but above all enjoying sharing the joy of reading with others in a warm and friendly social environment where strong friendships have been forged.
And talking of strong friendships, I was excited when one of my favourite authors, Douglas Skelton, agreed to participate in the annual Mini Book Nook Book Festival in June 2022. Fast forward to December 2024 and Douglas and I were married in The Book Nook!
The success of The Book Nook was recognised in The British Book Awards when the shop won the prestigious Independent Bookshop of the Year Award for Scotland in both 2024 and 2025 – a real coup for Stewarton, as the publicity brought customers from far afield into the town.
So come along and support The Book Nook Stewarton – read, chat, browse, drink coffee, play, listen, enjoy, rest, and maybe even fall in love!
6B High Street, Stewarton, KA3 5AA
Tel: 01560 482374
enquiries@booknookstewarton.co.uk
www.booknookstewarton.co.uk
