Welcome
"A kind of dream bookshop and small town cafe." Neil Gaiman
Shortlisted for Scottish Independent Bookshop of the Year 2009 (The British Book Awards)
Shortlisted (and highly commended) for The Scottish Countryside Alliance Rural Enterprise Award
"They are an exciting new business that has brought fresh life to a village high street. They employ local people, stock local books, serve local food, and, I believe, could well become an icon for rural business in the Borders and across Scotland." John Lamont, MSP
Based in the beautiful Scottish Borders village of St Boswells (just off the A68), we are passionate about books, coffee and the pleasure of shopping for beautiful things. Whether you are based locally, visiting the area on holiday or just passing through on the way to Edinburgh or Newcastle, The Mainstreet Trading Company offers lots of reasons to visit.
The bookshop is the heart of what we do, with over 5,500 titles in stock (and space for many more as we grow). We believe that reading should start from the earliest possible age, so our children’s section is particularly important to the shop, from Edward Ardizzone to Harry Potter. That said, we cater for readers of all ages and tastes, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for we can order it from a range of over 750,000 titles often for next day delivery.
News:
We're delighted to announce that The Mainstreet Trading Company has been shortlisted for Bertrams Independent Bookseller of the Year in this year's Bookseller Retail Awards. What a lovely late birthday surprise! The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on 17th September at the Natural History Museum.
OUR 1st BIRTHDAY!
We had a wonderful 1st Birthday on the 20th June, much free ice cream was consumed along with delicious birthday cake. I'm proud to say that we raised £150 for the Borders General Hospital Macmillan Centre through our raffle. Congratulations to all our winners! Thank you to our lovely authors, Barbara Mellor, David Robinson and Tom Eglington for coming along to sign copies on the day.
Photos will be posted shortly.
4th JULY, 3-5pm - JUDITH MILLER TALKS ANTIQUES
Judith Miller began collecting in the 1960s while a student at Edinburgh University in Scotland. She has since extended and reinforced her knowledge of antiques through international research, becoming one of the world's leading experts in the field. In 1979 she co-founded the international best-seller Miller's Antiques Price Guide and has since written more than 100 books, which are held in high regard by collectors and dealers. Judith Miller appears regularly on TV and radio. She is an expert on the BBC's "Antiques Roadshow" and co-hosts the popular BBC TV series "The House Detectives," ITV's "Antiques Trail," and Discovery's "It's Your Bid". She has appeared on "The Martha Stewart Show" and CNN. She is a regular lecturer and contributor to numerous newspapers and magazines, including Financial Times, BBC Homes & Antiques and House & Garden. She has lectured extensively, including at the V&A in London and the Smithsonian in Washington.
Judith will be giving a talk about how she got into antiques in the first place, and looking at the world of antiques and collecting today as it is today.
She has also generously agreed to do some valuations on smaller items and answer questions (limited to two items per person).
Tickets: £5 per head (includes a 10% discount on any Judith Miller titles purchased on the day)
To book, please email: info@mainstreetbooks.co.uk
Please note that space is limited so it is essential to book in advance
Date: Saturday 4th July, 3-5pm (3-4pm talk and Q&A, followed by 4-5pm valuations)
Venue: The Mainstreet Trading Company
RECENT EVENTS AT THE SHOP....
“Looking for Agnès: a tale of passion and paper trails”
Tuesday 26th May, 7pm at The Mainstreet Trading Company
“Looking for Agnès” at The Mainstreet Trading Company was another sell out evening. This time the audience enjoyed a fascinating talk from Barbara Mellor, translator of Résistance by Agnès Humbert.
Barbara was full of passion and knowledge about her subject – a much neglected heroine of the French resistance, who described herself merely as “the typist”. The story told in Agnès’ diary of resistance, her imprisonment in France and subsequent forced labour in Germany, is utterly inspiring, but so too is the background of her book. It has never before been available in English (Bloomsbury have now sold it in over 10 languages), and was only known in French intellectual circles. In the most part this was due pressure from Agnes’ own son who was ashamed of her communist leanings.
Copies of the paperback are available at The Mainstreet Trading Company (£8.99).
Eleanor Taylor - we are currently showing illustrations by children's author and illustrator, Eleanor Taylor, in the cafe.
Debi Gliori gave two wonderful events for children on Wednesday 29th April. The first was based on her eco-fable, The Trouble with Dragons, and the children all went home inspired to 'recyle, reuse and reduce their demands'. The afternoon event was about her young fiction series Witch Baby and me. See Events Archive for more info.
At James Runcie's event on Thursday 30th April, the sun shone, and James charmed the sell out audience at his talk about his new book, East Fortune. He was 'in conversation with David Robinson, books editor of the Scotsman. For more info, see Events Archive.