Hidden Books Game is BACK!

Every year, thousands of booklovers put their literary knowledge to the test with our fun and fiendish Hidden Books Game for the chance to win a shopping spree in their local bookshop. Launched on 14^th November as part of National Book Tokens’ Christmas campaign, this year’s game was illustrated once again by the magnificent Harry Woodgate and set in everyone’s favourite place: a bookshop! You can download social banners to share and remind your customers that there are National Book Tokens prizes to be won!

Download social banners

The Brilliant Bookshop Experience

In early summer 2024, we worked with Read for Good and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop to run a pilot scheme designed to introduce to children from less affluent families the power of choice, carefully curated books and the unique pleasure of browsing a bookshop. The pilot was called The Brilliant Bookshop Experience.

The project took into account that the life-changing benefits of reading for pleasure increase when children and young people both have access to a diverse range of books, and feel free to choose their own reading materials without adult judgement. 

We created highly accessible pop-up bookshops in primary and secondary schools and provided guided trips to bookshops on the high street. Every Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupil in the seven participating schools was given a £10 National Book Token to spend on a book of their choosing, reaching over 1,400 children and young people.

We're now looking at ways this programme can grow, working with local bookshops, schools and publishers. Follow the link below to read the full report and register your interest in taking part.

Read the full report

Introducing your new gift card range for 2024-25

We’re delighted to present a diverse collection of new gift cards featuring eye-catching designs by UK and Irish illustrators and publishers, including gift cards inspired by Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, and Nadia Shireen’s bestselling Grimwood books for younger readers!

From birthdays and Mother’s Day to end-of-term rewards, there’s truly a gift for every reader and every occasion.

And with Christmas just three months away, now’s the time to make sure you’re ready for festive gifters – order your seasonal gift cards and point-of-sale online.

Merchandising catalogues 2024-25

View our latest catalogues, which include our new gift card designs as well as all the information you need to sell and redeem National Book Tokens in your bookshop. We sent physical copies in the post in September 2024; if you didn't receive one and would like one, please get in touch to let us know!

Sterling catalogue

Euro catalogue

Don't forget, you can also browse our latest catalogues and order online straight away at our Bookseller Zone. Just scroll down to ‘Merchandising, resources and useful information’.

High Five for independent bookshops!

Didn't receive your High Five vouchers? Please get in touch to let us know.

Our popular promotion returned in June, with independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland rewarding their loyal customers with free £5/€5 National Book Tokens.

High Five for Bookshops is a national e-gift card giveaway that launched during Independent Bookshop Week in 2019, and aims to give indie bookshops a very tangible way of rewarding loyal bookshop customers, as well as driving footfall and repeat custom. 

If you're an independent bookshop and you're selling and redeeming National Book Tokens, you should have received a book of 100 vouchers in June. Each voucher includes a unique code which lets the recipient claim a free £5/€5 e-Gift card – which they can then bring back to spend on more books! The kit also includes a poster and some fun ‘I love my local bookshop’ stickers to give to younger booklovers over the summer.

The £5/€5 e-Gift card is intended as a free gift for your customers. It’s entirely up to you how you decide to give them away, but here are a few ideas to get you started. You could give flyers to…

… your most loyal customers

… attendees of your events

… members of your book group

… customers signed up to your loyalty scheme

… a hand-selected group of your favourite customers as and when you see them

… customers at random by hiding vouchers inside books

… winners of prizes 

… anyone who has supported you in the last year

The promotion celebrates independent bookshops and the booklovers who shop in them, driving footfall and incremental sales over the summer and beyond.

For more information, view our Frequently Asked Questions. Plus, download shareable social assets and printable posters to tell your customers about your plans.

If you have any questions, or your vouchers didn't arrive, get in touch with the National Book Tokens team at marketing@booktokens.co.uk.

Introducing our Presentation Card: offering new options and flexibility for local schools

We have introduced a new Presentation Card in response to schools and their requirements for prizegiving at the end of term, and throughout the year.

This new product incorporates a personalised or standard design National Book Tokens e-Gift card into an A5 presentation card which can also include certificate-style information about the reward or award being presented. It offers greater flexibility and additional options to school customers looking to encourage reading for pleasure and give the gift of reading, in what is a very competitive market. What's more, there's no additional cost to personalise the Presentation Card.

As a bookseller, you can offer this new product to local schools. As with personalised gift cards, we will manage the production process for you, and the transaction will go through your bookshop account. Just let us know how many Presentation Cards the customer would like, and the values to load, and we will do the rest on your behalf.

The Presentation Card includes all the usual details that you would expect to see on an e-Gift card, and is processed the same way at the till. To find out more, email Uzo Onuora or call 020 7421 4654.