📖 Bookshop.org and Bookbanks ‘Books that Give’ drive supported by Vic Hope 📚

 

Bookshop.org and Bookbanks launch third Books That Give drive, supported by Vic Hope

 Booksbank supporter Vic Hope
Photo credit Women’s Prize Trust

In the National Year of Reading, Bookshop.org will be donating 10% of all book sales from 22-25 October to the charity Bookbanks, in its third Books That Give campaign, supported by ambassador Vick Hope.

This October, anyone who buys a book from Bookshop.org – the online retailer that supports independent bookshops – will help Bookbanks in their mission to provide free books at food banks across London, East Anglia and the North West, with plans to expand further to reach the North East, opening in Newcastle from Thursday 4 November, at the Newcastle Foodbank's Church of the Venerable Bede distribution centre.

Since launching in 2024, Bookbanks has distributed over 25,000 books to people accessing food banks, as well as training 140 volunteers with a background in books to run the stalls, holding 21 author events inside food banks (with more scheduled quarterly). Each of the 11 locations to which it has now expanded also provides 200 hours of conversation time between food bank guests and trained volunteers annually.

A happy Booksbank guest
Photo credit Booksbank 

In December 2025, the charity partnered with The Sunday Times for their ‘Get Britain Reading’ campaign, which significantly raised the profile and funds for the charity. In March of this year, Founding Director Emily Rhodes was also a finalist for the new Queen’s Reading Room National Reading Hero Medal, which was celebrated with a Royal Reception at Clarence House.

Every £1,500 raised allows Bookbanks to set up in a new food bank, including recruiting and training a team of 10 local volunteers, as well as sourcing and delivering over 500 books. With the charity growing fast, Bookbanks aims to reach 30 food banks nationwide by 2030.

Vick Hope, Author, TV presenter and Bookbanks supporter, said: “Books can inspire confidence, spark curiosity and help people dream big, whatever their own story. As someone who's incredibly proud to be from the North East, it's brilliant to see Bookbanks coming to the region, giving people using food banks access to free books. Everyone deserves the chance to fall in love with reading, and I know from my own experience just how life-changing that can be.”

Emily Rhodes, Founding Director at Bookbanks, said: “To have this support from Bookshop.org for the third year running is a huge honour. The Books that Give drive has already made such a difference to the number of struggling families we are able to reach. In the next three years, we want to have established our free book stalls in 30 food banks across the UK and this new drive will make a real difference to our ability to expand, reaching more of the many communities who would benefit from the transformative power of books.”

Nicole Vanderbilt, Managing Director of Bookshop.org UK, said: “Bookshop.org is proud to partner with Bookbanks once again this year, for our third Books That Give charity drive. This feels especially important in the National Year of Reading, the UK-wide campaign designed to inspire more people to read. When customers buy books from us, they can be sure their money contributes to good causes, and helps support independent bookshops all year round. As part of Books That Give, we’re proud to donate a further 10% from all our sales between 22-25 October to Bookbanks. We hope that through our fundraising efforts they will have the means to grow even further, expanding their activities in Newcastle, widening access to books to those who can’t afford them.”

Find out more about ‘Books That Give’ here, and follow the latest developments on social media.

About Bookshop.org

Bookshop.org is an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.

Bookshop.org first launched in the USA in January 2020 and has already raised over $46m for independent bookshops in the States. Bookshop.org launched in the UK in November 2020, and currently has over 650 independent bookshops and over 11,000 affiliates using the platform. The UK site has generated over £5m for independent bookshops since its launch, being named Retailer of the Year in the British Book Awards in 2022.

Independent bookshops receive full profit on the sales and subscriptions they generate from their shopfront on the platform. On all other sales, 10% of the cover price is added to a pool distributed to independent bookstores. Print books are offered to consumers at a small discount, with free shipping on orders over £25, and in stock books are delivered within 2-3 days. Ebooks can be read and audiobooks listened to on Bookshop.org’s own app.

Bookshop.org is a Certified B Corporation and has received the prestigious status as a B Corp Best for the World 2022.

For more about Bookshop.org, please see www.bookshop.org or visit their social media channels on Instagram @bookshop_org_UK, X @bookshop_org_UK, Facebook @BookshopOrgUK, Threads @bookshop_org_UK, and Bluesky @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social.



About Bookbanks

Bookbanks partners with food banks, creating weekly pop-up stalls of free books inside them. Trained volunteers, all with a background in books and a passion for widening access to them, help people find titles that suit their interests and use the books to spark conversation.

Bookbanks also hosts literary events at food banks, including author readings, children’s activities, writing workshops and librarian visits.

Since launching in June 2024, the charity has grown to partner with 13 food banks across the country. It now boasts more than 140 trained local volunteers – including authors, librarians, publishers, journalists, teachers, booksellers and other experts. At each Bookbanks location these volunteers give out around 50 books a week, and provide 4 hours of conversation time (200 hours/year).