Shaun Bythell

‘Wonderfully entertaining … Bythell is a true believer, who makes a passionate case for the importance of books’ – Observer

Shaun Bythell owns The Bookshop, Wigtown – Scotland’s largest second-hand bookshop. It contains 100,000 books, spread over a mile of shelving, with twisting corridors and roaring fires, and all set in a beautiful, rural town by the edge of the sea. A book-lover’s paradise? Well, almost…

In The Diary of a Bookseller, Shaun charmed even the most cynical of people with his tales about the eccentricities and wonders of working in the book trade. It was entertaining, uplifting, and hilarious in equal measure – and we never wanted it to end. As such, we’re delighted that Shaun is back with a new book, Confessions of a Bookseller. A voice this funny should never go unheard; we can’t for this new volume to land, and to hear all about it from the man himself, who joins us to launch it here in St Andrews.

‘Warm, witty and laugh-out-loud funny, this gently meandering tale of British eccentricity will stay long in the memory’ – Daily Mail

‘I tore through the pages, but I was also rather sad when it finished – I could have read much, much more. Any bibliophiles should race to get a copy.’ – Shiny New Books

‘Gentle, … funny and immensely soothing’ – Alan Bennett