I’m proud to be part of the national campaign to support bookshops throughout lockdown – #SignForOurBookshops. During the last lockdown, bookshops moved mountains to remain operational – taking orders online, or over the phone. They now face a second lockdown in the build-up to Christmas, their busiest sales period. 
#SignForOurBookshops is a national show of support from UK authors, launched by Holly Bourne, urging people to keep buying through bookshops by offering exclusive signed bookplates to stores and customers. Over 200 authors are taking part so far, including Matt Haig, Dolly Alderton, Malorie Blackman, Michael Rosen, David Nicholls and so many more. 
The former Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell, has designed bespoke bookplates for the campaign. Buying a #SignForOurBookshops book is buying a slice of positive history in a challenging year. What better Christmas present idea than that? 
WHAT THE HECK IS A ‘BOOKPLATE’?
It’s a signed label that can be stuck into the front page of books, so it’s like having a personalised, signed, copy. In the lead-up to Christmas, authors usually travel around bookshops signing stock for the holiday trade, but obviously can’t do that this year. A bookplate makes a book into a individualised, signed copy