'I hope this diary doesn’t offend anyone, but it almost certainly will. Apologies in advance' Shaun Bythell

After a four-year absence, the Sunday Times bestselling and original bookshop diarist is back.

The Bookshop in Wigtown is a bookworm’s paradise: the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland, with over a mile of shelving, 100,000 books and a log fire. You’d think that after twenty-five years behind the counter, owner Shaun Bythell would be used to the customers by now. Don’t get him wrong – there are some good ones among the antiquarian porn-hunters, mystics, drifters on day-release and the toddlers (and dogs) just looking for a nice cosy corner in which to empty their bladders. He’s sure there are. There must be, right? But now, in his latest diary, Shaun is gamekeeper turned poacher as he prepares to launch his own book into the world. It’s going to be global publishing domination from here on in. Just don’t mention the pandemic.

Shaun Bythell is a bestselling author and bookshop owner based in Wigtown, Scotland. Return of the Bookseller Diarist is the fourth instalment in Bythell’s diary series, following The Diary of a Bookseller, Confessions of a Bookseller and Remainders of the Day. 2026 will mark twenty-five years since he took over The Bookshop.