Today marks 29 years of World Book Day- so why not celebrate with a brand new book from one of Leeds' independent book shops?
A day dedicated to all things literature that's remained at the heart of the UK's Primary School agenda for over a quarter of a century now.
The number of indie book shops is finally increasing across the UK once more, meaning there are more spots than ever to pick up a book or spend your World Book Day token.
It's not just the crease of corners and the smell of mass produced paper that your online book can't quite replicate, it's the recommendations, the exciting new covers and the warm coffee that matches the mood in most book stores. They're welcoming places, full of like-minded people, and they're certainly worth a visit, even if you haven't turned a page in years.
In Leeds, we're fortunate to have our pick of independent bookshops, granted they're hidden between the odd Waterstones and W H Smiths, but we still have plenty to offer.
Here are our favourite places to grab a new book from an independent seller...
Hold Fast Bookshop
Leeds Dock | Open Thursday - Sunday
Images: The Hoot Leeds
HoldFast is a book and plant store that champions independent artists, local authors all onboard an old coal boat called Marjorie R. Owners Chris and Victoria Bonner actually lived on the boat for a good few years before deciding to protect the future of the 76 year old boat by turning it into a business.
This is the perfect place to grab a new read. There’s a real community feel about the place, with talks from local authors and Chris and Victoria welcome anyone in to spend hours pouring over their hand picked selection of new and preloved books.
Colours May Vary
Leeds Corn Exchange
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Located inside the Corn Exchange in a sun-drenched top floor store, Colours May Vary is a celebration of independently published zines, unusual books and wholesome gifts that suit birthdays, parties, get well soons and congrats for all ages.
If you're on the hunt for a magazine that's more art than 'trash' content, this is the place to browse. There's a beautiful selection of limited edition prints, as well as some more popular independent magazines and books to choose from.
Dedicated to children's books, including some rather incredible novels on young activism and social justice, The Little Bookshop is a one-of-a-kind bookshop that's worth the trek over to suburb Chapel Allerton. The quaint little store is full of enough books to allow a child's imagination to run wild and the selection is varied enough to be challenging and bring up different topics of discussion. There's an adults section too, just through the back of the store- so there's something for all ages to find.
On International Women's Day, Wednesday 9 March, the bookshop will be joined by special guest, Kate Pankhurst, a British author and illustrator and the woman behind the phenomenon 'Fantastically Great Women That Changed The World'.
The Bookish Type
Great George Street
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The Bookish Type is an indie queer bookshop with a lot to offer. Run by Nicola Hargrave and Ray Larman, this place champions the voices and stories of the LGBT+ community with its range of memoirs, novels, plays and children's books.
There's also a fantastic selection of zines available covering everything from mental health to the history of the trans communities.
Village
Thorton's Arcade, Lands Lane
Self-published books and zines can be found inside Village, one of Leeds few independent booksellers in the city centre. The bookshop can be found within Thornton's Arcade and is locally known for its extensive copies of art-themed books and curated fashion and design selection.
Special edition hardbacks and paperbacks can be found amongst the gallery space used to showcase up-and-coming talent, and there's a decent selection of good old fashioned novels too.
Home of pre-loved books that are still in good condition, Oxfam Books is where books find a new home and all the proceeds go to charity. It's the recycling eco-friendly bookstore that actually has a decent selection of new and old favourites- so yeah, it's not an independent, but it's all for a good cause.
The selection here is far from your average charity shop shelf, there's aisle upon aisle of fiction, including vintage Penguin classics, as well as shelves of University-level textbooks, cookery books and niche topics like politics, history and languages piled high.
Since 2017, Leeds Little Free Libraries have been popping up all over the city, with a mission to encourage random acts of kindness by leaving books for others to read.
The little libraries can be found using an interactive online map to help guide users to their nearest library, where they can pick up and drop off literature of any kind. The Little Free Library continues to surprise locals with its locations ranging from Bradford and Pudsey to Wakefield, Ossett, as well as covering the majority of villages close to the city centre like Headingley, Chapel Allerton, Armley and there’s even a little lending library down by Leeds Docks too.
You know the venue, and you know the operators behind it, but things are looking a little different over on Sovereign Street.
Leeds' very own Kirkstall Brewery has teamed up with street food legends Little Bao Boy to totally reinvent the city centre taproom formerly known as North Taproom.
At the all-new The City Taproom, you'll find a way cosier space alongside their sun-soaked terrace, as they aim to reimagine a traditional city centre pub.
Across 16 tap lines there are loads of Kirkstall Brewery classics, like Kirkstall Pilsner, Virtuous and Judicious, plus a rotating selection of guest beers from top British breweries - and Guinness, of course.
The City Taproom will also feature two new cask lines: one serving Three Swords as a staple, and the other on rotation starting this month with Golden Hour.
There's a bigger kitchen for Little Bao Boy too, which means an even larger menu of bao and Asian street food, like loaded fries, noodles, and rice bowls.
Little Bao Boy was founded 10 years ago by James Ooi, specialising in home-made bao buns and traditional Asian street food with a contemporary western twist.
Kirkstall have injected the huge space with the traditional essence of a proper Kirkstall establishment, with that kind of cosy atmosphere you know them for at the brewery's other sites.
Little Bao Boy at City TaproomKirkstall Brewery pints and cocktails
This is yet another of the local brewery's openings in the city centre, joining their recent renovation of The Victoria & Commercial in partnership with Whitelocks, plus their stewardship of the historic Tetley brewery building.
James Ooi, founder of Little Bao Boy said: "We have been part of this venue since day one, through COVID, outside seating, and new owners, and we are so excited for this refurb.
"On the food side, expect more collaborations, faster service, and a better overall customer experience. We are extremely grateful Kirkstall saw the value in this refurb and can't wait to get back open."
Steve Holt, founder of Kirkstall Brewery, said: "We're delighted to unveil a new presentation for the Taproom on Sovereign Street.
"It has been named The City Taproom after a famous but long-gone Leeds pub known as ‘The City’, which was situated where the statue of the Dortmund Brewer now stands. Images of the original City pub are a feature in the new look City Taproom, which can best be described as a 're-imagination' of a traditional city-centre pub.
"The City Taproom celebrates Leeds and its rich pub and brewing heritage. We hope that it will become a popular addition to the amazing and diverse venues that make Leeds such a vibrant City for hospitality and entertainment."
It's all the bits you loved before, just a little bigger and a whole lot better.
The City Taproom opens at 3 Sovereign Street on Thursday 23 April.
The route for next year’s historic women’s Tour de France has been announced – and it all starts in Leeds
Danny Jones
The route for next year's women's historic Tour de France has been announced, with some of the best riders in the world set to begin the race from right here in Leeds.
Announced back in January, the 2027 Tour de France Femme avec Zwift will be making its British debut next year.
And this week, the full route has been revealed, which will all begin here in the race's host city of Leeds.
From here, riders will zip across through Yorkshire to Manchester, before turning back and heading down through the Peak District to Sheffield.
Around 230,000 people packed into the city centre to cheer the riders on their way during the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in 2014, with another two million spectators lining the rest of the race’s Yorkshire route. It's hoped that similar scenes will happen again this year.
It's yet another big coup for the region and Yorkshire's sporting scene.
Speaking with Manchester City Council earlier this week, Dame Sarah Storey joined many in celebrating another huge moment for us; the female Tour de France is not just back up and running, but aiming to become bigger than ever.
🚴♀️ The world’s best cyclists are heading to Manchester! 🚴♀️
The routes for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 have now been revealed, with Manchester set to host the Stage One finish on Friday 30 July and the Stage Two start on Saturday 31 July. pic.twitter.com/OMMlhdorqP
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) April 21, 2026
The Stockport-born swimmer turned Team GB cyclist and multi-Olympic gold medallist knows all about what makes this particular sport special, having swapped a previous and highly successful career for an entirely different discipline.
As has now been fully confirmed, the 2027 Grand Départ will be getting underway in Leeds, before heading through Yorkshire and on to our friends in Greater Manchester.
Spread across two incredible days, the race itself will finish in Sheffield, with another UK first happening down in London, as the capital will also host the inaugural team time trial held in this country.
You can see the official event's breakdown of what locations feature in which stages of 'The Big Loop' in more detail below.
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: "We might be more than a year away from welcoming the Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to Leeds, but there is already a good deal of excitement building around the event.
"Today’s route announcement will hopefully whet people’s appetites still further and get them thinking about where in the city they will be watching the race.
"We recognise that some residents and businesses will now have questions about how an occasion of this size could impact local communities on the day.
"They can be assured that we will be working hard alongside the race organisers to minimise any disruption and will also make every effort to keep people fully informed as plans for the event continue to take shape."
Clementine Hall -
5th March 2026 
