A bunch of the top bookshops in Sheffield are banding together this weekend for a huge book festival.
The Sheffield Independent Book Festival (or SIBFest) will be a weekend designed for book lovers, with author talks, signings, workshops, reading rooms and more.
There'll even be a bookshop crawl encouraging people to visit Sheffield's many brilliant bookshops.
Different bookshops will be hosting their own fringe events on the first day of the festival, before loads of local businesses come together at Kelham Island for a full day of book-themed events.
SIBFest has been created by booksellers, for book lovers, with an aim to 'celebrate stories, and the shops and publishers who keep them alive'.
It's been created by the people behind local businesses like Novel (which is temporarily closed because of an issue where staff have been being harassed by a member of the public); and La Biblioteka at Leah's Yard.
Hillsborough Bookshop, a neighbourhood children's bookshop, and Juno Books, a queer independent bookshop, have also organised the event.
It will all be taking place at bookshops across the city, plus at The Victoria and The Mowbray at Kelham Island.
There'll be events at La Biblioteka at Leah's Yard for SIBFestNovel is also taking part in the Sheffield Independent Book Festival
Here, you'll find a marketplace for local bookshops and indie makers inside The Mowbray, while The Victoria will host all sorts of talks, workshops and signings.
There'll also be a Graphic Novel Reading Room, where you can relax with a good graphic novel upstairs at the Lodge at The Victoria.
And you can grab delicious food, cocktails and coffee throughout the day in both venues.
SIBFest (Sheffield Independent Book Festival) lineup
Confirmed speakers include:
Bethan Woollvin (These Are My Rocks, Robin Hood, Little Red, I Can Catch a Monster)
Steve Webb (Peng and Spanners, Spangles McNasty, Cow's Go Boo, Tanka Tanka Skunk)
Luke Barley (Ancient)
Hazel Sheffield (Frontierland)
Manya Wilkinson (Lublin, & Other Stories)
Michelle Tea (Valencia, Black Wave, Against Memoir, Little F with Cipher Press)
Kavitha Rao (Lady Doctors, Jacaranda Press)
Witches and Folklore author panel with Anna Caig (The Wise Witch of Orkney)
Molly Aitken (The Island Child and Bright, I Burn)
Sally O’Reilly (Hagtale)
SIBFest will be taking place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April across Sheffield - see the full line-up and book tickets HERE.
The Good Food Guide has just released its list of the 100 best local restaurants in Britain – and one in Sheffield has made the list.
The latest edition of the Best 100 Local Restaurants list celebrates the very best venues that are loved by their communities.
A team of reviewers and inspectors scour the country to find the best of the best, and this year a beloved Sheffield restaurant has earned its rightful place back on the list.
The Orange Bird over in Hillsborough is an award-winning South African restaurant that may be small in size, but the flavours coming out of the kitchen are anything but.
Images: The Sheff
The Orange Bird has become one of the city’s biggest word-of-mouth food spots, with locals flocking there for its bold, modern South African-inspired cooking and seriously impressive braai dishes.
And if you’ve ever tried getting a reservation, you’ll already know just how in-demand this place has become.
Run by Anne Horner and Matthew Duggan-Jones, The Orange Bird has built a loyal following thanks to its vibrant menu packed with smoky, fire-cooked flavours, quality local ingredients, and dishes made for sharing around the table.
Images: The Sheff
But don't just take our word for it, here's what the Good Food Guide said: "The Hillsborough district of Sheffield is home to Matthew Duggan-Jones' homage to his South African heritage, in which the braai barbecue is a long-standing social tradition.
"Behind the Orange Bird’s dark-hued facade, there is always the infectious feeling of a party going on – 'it’s consistently delicious, exciting and inviting,' notes one local."
The Orange Bird was placed at number 54, which we think is pretty good going.
You can read the full list by the Good Food Guide here.
Read more: The Hillsborough restaurant redefining bold South African flavours in Sheffield
Featured image - The Sheff
The Sheff
The old-fashion Sheffield sweet shop that’s been open for 152 years
Clementine Hall
You might have walked past Granelli’s countless times, but did you know it’s one of Sheffield’s oldest family-run businesses?
Whether you have a sweet tooth or not, you just can't beat the experience of a proper sweet shop.
The walls lined with colourful tubs of sugary treats, rustling paper bags and the sound of sweets being weighed in the scale - it's a feeling of nostalgia that can't be replicated.
Granelli's on Broad Street first opened in 1873 by Luigi Granelli, who moved to Sheffield from Genoa in Italy.
Images: The Sheff
The shop began by selling ice cream before becoming the sweet shop that generations of Sheffielders have grown up with.
Today you’ll still find shelves packed with over 200 different kind of sweets, from a mix of traditional favourites including pear drops, chocolate limes, chewing peanuts, bonbons and fudge alongside newer sweets too like Millions and Sherbet Fountains.
You can still grab an ice cream if you don't fancy sweets, of course served in a classic wafer cone with a flake plonked on top.
It's a proper Sheffield institution, but what makes it even better is that many of the sweets sold at Granelli's are made by local firms.
Images: The Sheff
Maxon's are a Sheffield company, Willett's from Chesterfield and the famous Bassett's of Liquorice Allsorts fame was founded in Sheffield in 1842 with their factor still in Hillsborough.
They're all sold at a decent price too, so you're not breaking the bank to satisfy that sweet craving.
So if you're looking for a real nostalgic experience in Sheffield then Granelli's has got to be your next stop, and by supporting a local family business you can feel good about it too.
Daisy Jackson -
21st April 2026 
