The magic of bookshops! Amy Sparkes guest blog and a sneak-peek inside Peters

March 10th 2023

About Amy Sparkes Amy is an award-winning children's picture book and young fiction author. She was born in Eastbourne and enjoyed a magical childhood by the sea, filled with fairies, witches and ghosts. Her books have appeared on CBeebies Storytime and been shortlisted for awards including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Book Trust Best Books Awards. She writes articles and short stories for Writing Magazine and Aquila, and runs author events for children and writing workshops for aspiring children's authors.  DISCOVER BOOKS BY AMY SPARKES

From the world's oldest bookshop (Portugal's Livraria Bertrand, founded in 1732) to the exciting new stores opening each week, there is something truly magical about bookshops that we book-lovers can't get enough of! In her latest children's fiction novel, The Bookshop at the Back of Beyond, author Amy Sparkes weaves a fantastical tale about friendship, spells and the secrets of a bookshop's basement. 

"Bookshops hold a very special magic": Amy Sparkes

Described by our expert team as "lots of fun with plenty of magic, action and adventure", Amy's new book is aimed at 9-11 readers and follows Nine and her friends as they try to rescue Professor Dish from the greedy witch Ophidia, who has trapped him in the basement of a particularly marvellous shop. 

"When I write, experiences and memories usually work their way into my stories and that is definitely the case with The House at the Edge of Magic series," Amy told us. "And so it was only a matter of time before a bookshop made an appearance. When I was a child, I loved bookshops. At school, if you won a prize for a subject or something special, you were given a book token. I often used to spend mine in the most beautiful-sounding place called Unicorn Bookshop, a promise of magic if ever there was one. Browsing the books and deciding which one would be coming home to live on my shelf was a real treat. I still have all these books in my bookcase now. 

"But perhaps the most intriguing bookshop I visited as a child was a second-hand one. I remember being quite young and feeling absolutely dwarfed by the piles of  books that literally filled every nook and cranny in the shop. They were even piled high on the staircases linking the different floors. My favourite experience was going down into the basement, where there were thousands more books. It was just that little bit darker, quieter and more magical.

"I knew a magical bookshop could only be brilliant fun and I couldn’t wait to explore it. I have loved writing a story featuring a bookshop, and I’ll be writing about bookshops again in a future story; there is a wealth of material to explore there. Bookshops certainly hold a very special magic of their own."

  
Amy's books often explore themes of magic, including spells and witchcraft

More books by Amy Sparkes

Inside our very own magical bookshop!

A one-stop-shop for your book requirements Nestled in central Birmingham, our incredible bookshop boasts over 30,000 titles from bestselling, diverse and inclusive authors. A wonderland for schools and libraries, this unique space also provides an opportunity for you to get free, bespoke advice from our librarians and curriculum specialists. You may even bump into one of our visiting authors, like Aisling Fowler or Alake Pilgrim!  Visitors who book into our showroom (open by appointment only, 9am - 4.30pm Monday-Friday) will also receive a range of competitive discounts. In addition, we have a dedicated section where you can pick up free promotional material for your library, including posters, activity sheets and bookmarks. And if you need a break from browsing our shelves, head to our Reading Cafe for complimentary tea and coffee.  To book a visit, click the button below, call us on 0121 666 6646 or email bookshop@peters.co.uk.  VISIT OUR BOOKSHOP

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