Browse: Love Letters to Bookshops Around the World

A celebration of bookshops all over the world, by an award-winning cast of writers including Ali Smith, Andrey Kurkov, Elif Shafak and Daniel Kehlmann, now in paperback. A cabinet of curiosities, a time machine, a treasure trove - we love bookshops because they possess a unique kind of magic.

In Browse Henry Hitchings asks fifteen writers from around the world to reveal their favourite bookshops, each conjuring a specific time and place. Ali Smith chronicles the secrets and personal stories hidden within the pages of secondhand books; Alaa Al Aswany tells of the Cairo bookshop where revolutionaries gathered during the 2011 uprisings; Elif Shafak evokes the bookstores of Istanbul, their chaos and diversity, their aroma of tobacco and coffee. Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor recalls the quandary of choosing just one book at a favourite childhood store in Nairobi, while Iain Sinclair shares his grief on witnessing a beloved old haunt close down. Others explore bookshops they have stumbled upon, adored and become addicted to, from Delhi to Bogota.

These inquisitive, enchanting pieces are a collective celebration of bookshops - for anyone who has ever fallen under their spell.

Contributors include: Alaa Al Aswany (Egypt); Stefano Benni (Italy); Michael Dirda (USA); Daniel Kehlmann (Germany); Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine); Yiyun Li (China); Pankaj Mishra (India); Dorthe Nors (Denmark); Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (Kenya); Elif Shafak (Turkey); Ian Sansom (UK); Iain Sinclair (UK); Ali Smith (UK); Sasa Stanisic (Germany/Bosnia); Juan Gabriel Vasquez (Colombia)