Town of Books

Share this post:

When I heard about a place called “town of books” and learned it was close to where I was vacationing in Wales, I knew I had to add it to my itinerary.

Hay-on-Wye (Y Gelli in Welsh) is a small market town located within the northeastern tip of Brecon Beacons National Park on the Welsh side of the border between Wales and Heresfordshire, England. Its history can be traced back to the twelfth century, but its reputation for books came about in more recent times.

In the 1960s, Richard Booth converted an old fire station into a used bookstore. He gradually opened other bookstores in town and other booksellers followed until the town had forty bookstores. In 1977, Richard Booth declared Hay-on-Wye to be an independent kingdom and nominated himself king. The ensuing publicity boosted tourism. According to the map of secondhand & antiquarian booksellers I picked up at the tourist office, today’s Hay-on-Wye has twenty-one bookstores, one of which is a book centre which houses fifteen different book dealers.

Booth's Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye
Richard Booth’s Bookshop,
no longer owned by Richard Booth,

offers new and used books for sale

The bookshops are found throughout the town, in the cinema, in alleyways, in old buildings with rambling rooms, and even at the ruins of Hay Castle which dominates the town centre. Some of the shops specialize in genres or specific types of books, such as mystery, children books, history, poetry, music, or Eastern religion. Some focus on rare and out-of-print books. I walked through shops with books piled high on wooden shelves in nooks and crannies throughout the store. I loved the smell of old books greeting me as I entered. I was surprised to see so many early editions. Booksellers were willing to help or eager to just chat.

Murder and Mayhem, Hay-on-Wye
I love the name Murder and Mayhem for a mystery book store

Since 1988, Hay-on-Wye has been home to the Hay Literary Festival, one of the top book festivals in the world. For ten days in May, the town of nearly 2,000 people swells to somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000. Bill Clinton called the festival “Woodstock of the mind.”

Many of us now read books digitally. Others claim there is nothing like holding a paper book in your hands and physically turning its pages. I am a bit in both camps. I read e-books on my iPad. I like the convenience of storing several books in one device when travelling. But I also love to hold a “real” book in my hands.

In 2012, Derek Addyman, a leading Hay-on-Wye bookseller, started a campaign to ban Kindles and other e-readers from the Hay Literary Festival, describing the e-books as soulless. I found no mention of a ban on electronic book readers on the Hay Literary Festival website, but there is a definite anti-electronic sentiment among the booksellers. I came across signs banning e-books or claiming Kindle-free zones.

As a reader, I like to have both reading options available. As a writer, I like to see people reading books in any format, although it is worth mentioning that writers receive no financial benefit from the sale of second-hand books. As both a reader and a writer, I think it is cool that books can make a small town a tourist attraction.

Hay-on-Wye has more to offer than books. The town has a number of galleries, antique shops, and gift stores. The area around the town is popular with hikers. But it is the books and the bookshops which make the town stand out for me. It would be fun to return one day and attend the Hay Literary Festival.

Hay-on-Wye in south Wales is known as the Town of #Books #Wales


Share this post:

30 Comments

  1. What a cool place! Oh I’d love to see this. To me, a city of book stores would be my idea of heaven! Like you, I take advantage of the perks of my Kindle but also buy my share of print books

    November 21, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Jacquie, the number of bookstores was almost overwhelming. It’s a place where one needs to take a lot of time, slow down, and browse.

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  2. Sabrina Q. said:

    Wow! That’s so neat! I never heard of that place.

    November 23, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Sabrina, I had not heard of the place before, but when I returned home and mentioned it to some friends, learned that not everyone was as unaware of Hay-on-Wye as I had been.

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  3. Made me smile to think there is such a place where you can still browse antiquarian book stores.They are a dying breed. There is nothing more fun than going into a used book store and wading into the offerings. Thanks for letting me know about Hay-on-Wye.

    November 23, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Jeanette, I’ve seen antiquarian book stores close over the last few years and I think it is likely also a struggle in Hay-on-Wye, but it’s nice to see as many stores remain as do.

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  4. Pity I missed Hay-on-Wye even though I lived for 15 years in London. But when it comes to antiquarian book stores London is actually fabulous for that as well. Loved doing that when I had the time.

    November 23, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Catarina, I imagine there are some good antiquarian book stores tucked all over in London. They haven’t been my focus when I’ve visited London so I haven’t sought them out. Perhaps on my next trip I will seek out more of them.

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  5. Wow! Hay-on-Wye is an incredible place to visit! Robert Booth sounds like quite the character. I’ve never been to Wales and if I go to Hay-on-Wye, I think I might never leave…Thank you for the fabulous post. I agree with you regarding the pros and cons of print vs. digital books. Do they carry audiobooks in Hay-on-Wye ?

    November 23, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      I think there must be audio books although I don’t remember them specifically because I was more focused on the print versions.

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  6. Ken Dowell said:

    Amazon who? A town with 21 bookstores sounds amazing. I’d need at least 3 days.

    November 23, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Ken, and a big empty suitcase!

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  7. heraldmarty said:

    Oh my I would be in heaven in this little town! I’m with you Donna as far as seeing the benefits of both digital and traditional books. I actually held out getting an eReader for a long time but then Borders closed and that meant having to order books from Amazon, pay shipping and wait for them to arrive. As an avid reader who easily goes through 5 books a month that wasn’t an option so I finally broke down and to be honest I do love the instant gratification! But I still have 3 book shelves in my home lined with some of my favorite books, most of which I’ve read at least 3 times. 🙂

    November 24, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Marquita, I like having the option of both paper and ebooks. Although I like the convenience of ebooks, I admit that sometimes I am just not in the mood to read that way.

      November 24, 2015
      Reply
  8. W.A.Rusho said:

    Considering it seems like all of our bookshops are closing, it is nice to see a place with a variety of bookshops. I would like to see that place someday.
    Thanks for sharing this.

    November 24, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      William, I agree it is nice to find independent bookstores still open.

      November 25, 2015
      Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      I agree Lyn.

      November 25, 2015
      Reply
  9. lenie5860 said:

    Donna, this is interesting. I just recently read a novel where Hay-on-Wye was mentioned as the Town of Books. Now here you are writing about it. Did you walk around like a zombie going from bookstore to bookstore, in a “this is too good to be true” state?
    I adore visiting old bookstores and Hay-on-Wye sounds like my kind of place.
    I am still very much the ‘book in hand’ type although we did give one of our grandsons a Kindle last Christmas so it’s not that I have anything against it, I just have no need for it.
    Thanks for sharing this and starting my day of right.

    November 25, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Lenie, I think I may have had a bit of a zombie look. Most of the bookstores were so packed with books it was a great exploration in just one store. It was a bit overwhelming to find so many stores.

      November 25, 2015
      Reply
  10. Erica said:

    My husband is a writer, but he also loves second hand books. In fact, he complains all the time about how many used book stores have closed. I’ll remind him of your point that publishers are not compensated for the sale of a second hand book. That may soften the blow for him.However, he would love Hay-On-Wye.

    November 25, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Erica, this summer I looked for a used book store in my area and realized there weren’t any close by. That was when it hit me there weren’t as many used book stores as there used to be. I found a good one about fifteen to twenty minutes away, but discov

      November 27, 2015
      Reply
  11. Phoenicia said:

    What a pretty little town. I am still yet to visit Wales.

    Reading a book on a kindle cannot be compared to flicking the pages of a book. I am a bookworm but have less time in which to become engrossed in a book.

    November 25, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Phoenicia, I hope you find some time soon to lose yourself in a good book.

      November 27, 2015
      Reply
  12. Jason @ TheButlerJournal.com said:

    Sounds like a pretty interesting place. I’d need a few days to check out all the book stores.

    November 28, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Jason, it would be easy to spend a lot of time in these book stores.

      December 12, 2015
      Reply
  13. Beth Niebuhr said:

    What fun! How unusual for a little place to have so many bookstores and what a treat!

    November 28, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Beth, definitely a treat.

      December 12, 2015
      Reply
  14. Oh wow! My sister will love this place.
    Sounds like an interesting place . . . .
    I bet you had so much fun

    November 29, 2015
    Reply
    • Donna Janke said:

      Yes, it was fun.

      December 12, 2015
      Reply

Leave a Reply to Donna Janke Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.