The Little Apple Bookshop

The Little Apple Bookshop Friendly independent bookshop in the heart of York. In 2020 we started a website so we could supply books during the lockdown.

We are a general bookshop founded in 1997, selling new books, with a website at www.littleapplebookshop.co.uk. Fiction, Children's Books, Signed Copies, Gift Books and Book-related gifts are particular specialties but we are happy to order books too on all subjects. In ordinary times, we run a monthly reading group, supply books to schools in the York area and are the official book supplier to the York Literature Festival.

A few of the authors and celebrities who have visited The Little Apple Bookshop recently: Alice Oseman, Richard Ayoade, ...
11/07/2026

A few of the authors and celebrities who have visited The Little Apple Bookshop recently: Alice Oseman, Richard Ayoade, Natalie Haynes, Matt Haig, and Anne Lister with partner Ann Walker. Needless to say, all these visitors have passed our rigorous Little Apple Bookshop identity verification process and we can confirm they are all the genuine article. Nobody pulls the wool over our eyes. We were saying this much to Dick Turpin just the other day. Anyway, we have signed copies by (nearly all) these authors at the shop while stocks . . . you know the rest!!!

20/06/2026

Our 30th year. About time we had our own theme tune and video! We made the song and video ourselves but are grateful to Zoe Harrigan, Lucy Pittard and Charlotte Vallance for the original Little Apple Bookshop artwork. We're also running a competition: if you're a singer or musician and would like to record a cover version of our theme tune, we're giving away 30.00 pounds worth of books to the entry our panel of judges deem to be the best. If we get any entries, we will be very chuffed indeed. Full details below:

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1) Please follow us on Facebook

2) Entrants must film or record a cover version of the Little Apple Bookshop theme tune

3) Please use the hashtag when you post your entry on Facebook. Entries will be accepted if sent to us by other digital means.

4) Entries can be live performance videos or recorded versions accompanied by our video or a video of your choice or lyric video.

5) Please use the lyrics to our theme tune which are:
Little Apple Bookshop
Little Apple Bookshop
Books and bags and things to make you swoon
For adult, child or spinster
We're right next to York Minster
We hope that we will see you very soon

6) Acapella versions are fine, all instruments welcome, any genre. Please no AI entries.

7) The prize is 30.00 pounds worth of books of the winner's choice from our shop or website. We will pay postage costs to UK or abroad.

8) Closing date is 11.59 pm Monday 31 August

9) The winner will be picked by Tim and Philippa and our staff using a points-based system (3 points, 2 points and 1 point awarded by each judge for their favourite three. The entry with the greatest total is the winner).

10) Judges will be looking at voice, arrangement, originality or anything that sits well with a one-off Indie Bookshop. Or a complete surprise. Please don't be put off!

11) We reserve the right to post any entries on our own social media pages.

12) By entering, participants confirm they are 18+ years of age, release Meta of all responsibility and agree to Meta’s terms of use.

13) This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Meta.

She's back. A mysterious ex-member of staff returns this Thursday June 4th (11am - 1pm) and she'll be signing copies of ...
01/06/2026

She's back. A mysterious ex-member of staff returns this Thursday June 4th (11am - 1pm) and she'll be signing copies of her new novel set in York during the early 21st century. We're also putting her behind the till, just like in 2017! So who could it be? Well, we have so many books, we've advised her to wear a crash elmet, and we hope she'll be able to stay awake awake. Will her friend Hot Stu pop by? And who came up with the idea to invite her back? The owner mostly. The owner mostly. Hmmm. Is that enough clues?

The Little Apple Bookshop is 29 today! Thanks for all your continued support and custom over the year. 30 years here we ...
22/05/2026

The Little Apple Bookshop is 29 today!
Thanks for all your continued support and custom over the year. 30 years here we come (blimey!) A few things to spot in this photo:
- CDs!! - Yes we used to stock CDs and 5.99 was quite good value at the time, believe it or not. This display unit now houses Tarot Cards. We didn't see that coming!
- Maeve Binchy paperback (thick white book on the right). The very first book we sold on May 22 1997 was Evening Class by Maeve Binchy. Before we opened, Tim swore that he would read and cherish the first book we sold for the rest of his life. He still hasn’t read it!
- Apples. Even now we sometimes give away apples on special occasions. We've never regretted calling ourselves The Little Apple Bookshop but we do sometimes get mistaken for an Apple Store and have to field phone enquiries from frantic people asking us what to do about their "cracked screen."
- Ted Hughes poster. Weirdly this poster is still on the wall 29 years later, albeit a different wall. A customer once thought this was a portrait of Tim. Maybe Tim was going through a "poetic gravitas" phase. Or maybe the customer was going through a "needs glasses" phase!
- Viz Crap Jokes. We always like to maintain a minimum of one book with “Crap” in the title on our front table. We’ve also had Crap Towns (Hull won – outrageous!!), Crap Lyrics (which was once returned by a customer as the recipient’s partner was in Busted and they were featured in it), Crap Cycle Lanes and the current Crap incumbent: Crap Taxidermy. That's us: Little Apple Bookshop – fine purveyors of Crap!!
- Finally, Philippa!! Still with us and correct, she hasn't changed a bit. Well spotted!

18/04/2026

Huge thanks to Ryan at York Quests for posting this video all about The Little Apple Bookshop. York Quests specialise in short illuminating on-location videos about the history of York. But in this instance he's filmed a blatant advert for our shop (and we're not complaining) though one or two other shops have asked us how much we paid/who we slept with etc. (Nothing and No-one!!). It really made our day, possibly year, being one of the "delightful features of York" on this post and we're grateful to Ryan for the publicity and his genuine enthusiasm. Do check out his other York Quests videos available on all platforms. You want to know what that huge chimney is next to Morrisons don't you?? Course you do!

01/04/2026

Tim is on BBC lunchtime news today talking about bookshops!! Tim was interviewed by BBC reporter Avril Folgate about the unique role bookshops occupy on the high street. Tim's segment is due to be broadcast on today's BBC lunchtime news show after the serious stuff and just before the local news. For media purposes Philippa is usually the face and voice of The Little Apple Bookshop but after this interview we'll make sure that Tim shares face and voice duties from now on.

Authors at The Little Apple!! A fab selection of authors have popped by recently and signed books for us. You don't need...
28/03/2026

Authors at The Little Apple!! A fab selection of authors have popped by recently and signed books for us. You don't need me to name these people do you, but just in case: Susanna Clarke, Laura Bates, Lucy Rose, Mark Webber (Pulp) and Rosie Hewlett. We're one of the smallest bookshops in the UK (in square footage), so it means a lot to us that established authors (and rock stars) take the time to visit us, pose for photos and then be casually elbowed out of the way (by us) every time we get a customer. These are all very cool people and we have signed copies of books in the shop by all of them while stocks . . . oh you get the idea!!!

Just a reminder that York Literature Festival starts today and runs throughout March. Full details are on the YLF websit...
28/02/2026

Just a reminder that York Literature Festival starts today and runs throughout March. Full details are on the YLF website but do please come and pick up a physical brochure from the shop, before Philippa starts using them all to make other clothing items. We'll be doing a bookstall at the Tim Minshall event tonight (with or without the hat) which is all about the world of manufacturing and sustainability (OK, without the hat), and further events include Susanna Clarke, Scarlett Thomas, Ronan Hession, Laura Bates, Lucy Rose, Mark Webber from Pulp, Nikkitha Bakshani, Improv, Hauntology, Crime, Poetry, Creative Writing, Politics, Cli-Fi, Interactive Murder Mystery and Nintendo - we kid you not!! What more could you want? See you there.

The Little Apple Bookshop quiz is back!! Last year's quiz at The Black Swan surprisingly sold out so this year we've boo...
31/01/2026

The Little Apple Bookshop quiz is back!! Last year's quiz at The Black Swan surprisingly sold out so this year we've booked Y̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶ The Black Swan again. We're happy to put teams together on the night so please don't be put off if you want to come on your own or as a small group. In a moment of huge excitement (which we're still barely over) three teams won last year and received a small prize . . between them. It turned out one of the quizzers had won both University Challenge and Only Connect, so did he win our quiz? No, not even close. The Little Apple Bookshop quiz is clearly the quiz for people who know nothing. If that sounds like you, then do come along. And yes, this year the prizes have got even smaller. https://www.littleapplebookshop.co.uk/product-page/little-apple-bookshop-quiz-event-ticket-tues-24-march-starts-7-30pm

17/01/2026

Thanks to everyone who pointed out that our shop is featured on Patience (Channel Four). This is possibly not the actual footage!!

Address

13 High Petergate
York
YO17EN

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+441904676103

Website

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