Top authors tell Andy Burnham to give small bookshops same tax relief as pubs

Published: 00:44, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 00:55, 16 August 2026 Leading British authors have urged Andy Burnham and his Chancellor John Healey to step in and save independent bookshops from being destroyed by crippling tax bills. Fantasy author Sir Philip Pullman and children’s laureate Patrice Lawrence are among those backing calls for the industry to be included in the business rates relief scheme introduced last month for pubs and bars. It comes as more than 200 independent bookshop owners warned that soaring bills could push many out of business and exacerbate a reading crisis among youngsters.  Pullman, best known for his trilogy His Dark Materials, said: ‘In the current encircling corporate darkness, independent booksellers are lighthouses. ‘They are almost the last beacons shining to remind us about private reading, personal discovery, and the life-saving joy of encountering minds and hearts that speak to us as one person to another.  'They deserve every kind of legal and financial protection a good government would give them.’ Adam Kay, who shot to fame with This Is Going To Hurt, his memoir of his time as a junior doctor; Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell and Florence Knapp, writer of bestseller The Names, are among other authors backing the campaign. Mr Burnham handed pubs and live-music venues a 20 per cent discount off their business rates in one of his first acts as Prime Minister. Leading British authors have urged Andy Burnham (pictured) to step in and save independent bookshops from being destroyed by crippling tax bills Fantasy author Sir Philip Pullman and children’s laureate Patrice Lawrence (pictured) are among those backing calls for the industry to be included in the business rates relief scheme introduced last month for pubs and bars. In the letter to Mr Burnham and Mr Healey, bookshop owners argued that they offer as much to their local communities and must receive similar support. ‘Bookshops do much more than just sell books,’ it read. ‘Ninety-two per cent of bookshops run community events that support literacy and bring people together.  They champion authors and publishers, host school visits, reading groups and cultural events, and help sustain vibrant high streets.’ Mr Burnham has insisted he will go ‘further’ on business rates – boosting hopes that more action will be taken ahead of the Chancellor’s first Budget on October 28. But many businesses have been left bruised after they were promised help ahead of last year’s Budget, only to then be hit with higher rates under Mr Healey’s predecessor Rachel Reeves. About 400 independent bookshops in England and Wales face an average rise in their rates bills of £4,563 a year by 2030.  Bookshops have also argued that unlike other retailers they tend to stick to the recommended prices printed on the back of books – so can’t simply increase them to offset higher costs. Authors and shopkeepers say they are ‘increasingly frustrated by the Treasury’s repeated claim that it has supported the retail sector through business rates changes’ and wanted to see support for bookshops.  Writers added that bookshops were crucial in tackling a crisis in which reading for pleasure among eight to 18-year-olds is at its lowest level since records began in 2005. Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell is among the authors bacng the calls to give small bookshops the same tax relief as pubs  The letter, organised by trade body The Booksellers Association, said: ‘The Government is rightly telling the country that reading matters.  'But as things stand, its legacy risks being contradictory: promoting reading on the one hand while implementing policies that reduce investment in bookshops and may contribute to their closure on the other.’ The authors said a targeted discount would be ‘good value for money’, as the cost for the Treasury would be ‘modest’ but the boost for shops would be ‘enormous.’ ‘A few thousand pounds can determine whether a shop employs another bookseller, runs community events, supports local schools, invests in stock or remains open at all,’ the letter said.