Pengwern Books, in Shrewsbury Market Hall, is one of seven Shropshire independent booksellers taking part in the nationwide Big Bookshop Party on Saturday September 14.

The day will see the national launch of the first annual Books Are My Bag campaign, a collaboration between publishers, bookshops and authors to celebrate the nation’s love of bookshops and to help halt their decline.

In a fight back against online book selling giants, the campaign calls on book lovers to show their support by visiting and purchasing a book from their favourite bookshop.

Research shows that 56 per cent of all book-buying decisions are made by consumers in a bookshop and high street bookshops account for 40 per cent of book sales, yet many are under threat.

“The festivities will start at 10.30am with tea and cake and customers will have the chance to get their hands on one of the campaign’s iconic orange ‘Books Are My Bag’ bags which will be given away to the first 75 people who buy a book,” said Susan Caroline, who established Pengwern Books nine years ago.

At 1.30pm a ‘Bubbles and Book Reception’ will see the launch of a Guess The Books In My Bag competition, which will run through until December 21, inviting book lovers to pick a selection of books that they think are in ‘My Bag’ for a chance of winning the contents.

There will also be a Pengwern Books quiz, testing customers’ literary knowledge, and a drawing and colouring competition for children that will be judged by two local artists, with prizes for the winners.

Other Shropshire bookshops taking part in the campaign are Art and Artisan, in Bishop’s Castle; Booka Bookshop, Oswestry; BookShrop, Whitchurch; Burway Books, Church Stretton; Castle Bookshop, Ludlow, and Wenlock Books, Much Wenlock.