What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 5:30pm Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm Sunday 11am - 4pm

The Book Hive

Name: The Book Hive
Address: 53 London Street, Norwich, NR21HL, GB
Telephone: +441603219268
Price range: $$
Rating: 5

Home
United Kingdom
Norwich
The Book Hive

Norwich's multi-award-winning independent bookshop run by 'illiberal bigots' (Gove's words, not ours). Home of indie imprint Propolis.
(319)

Fiction/nonfiction/poetry/small press/children's/cookery/art.

17/06/2026

The Danish painter of this painting, Ludwig Find, was a father of 12. This depiction of a quiet moment of uninterrupted reading *may* have been a projection of a pipe dream. Maybe.

If you, like Ludwig (or the Ludwig we're imagining), would dearly, dearly love to sn**ch 60 minutes to yourself, with your book, well guess what — it doesn't need to be a fantasy! You can come to our quiet reading hour, Page Against the Machine, at 5:30pm this evening. Sandwiched smartly between the demands of work and the commitments of home, it'll provide an oasis of quiet (and wine, and/or tea) in which you can become a bookmaggot again. For a bit. Before the world turns and life continues. As it does. As it does.

See you there, papa!

16/06/2026

Yes! THAT Delia! The legend! On Saturday night the Mannington Book Bash will play host to the wonderful Delia Smith — ahead of the publication of her new book 'US: Nine Ingredients to Change Our World'.

The nation's saviour in the kitchen (and Honorary Life President of Norwich City Football Club) is now hoping to inspire change of another sort.

In her short, powerful new book, Delia shares lessons from her long and eventful life — introducing us along the way to some of the greatest political thinkers, past and present.

She contemplates how goodness and kindness are eclipsed by oppression and confusion — and suggests that true politics can only come from the people.

Delia will be in conversation with Henry Layte, owner of the Book Hive.

Join us for this momentous occasion! And don't forget the rest of the stellar festival line-up — a whole host of writers, poets, historians, performers and thinkers.

Tickets (and Day and Weekend Passes) available now over at mannington.co.uk/book-bash/. Link in bio!

15/06/2026

Ahoy book maggots! Ruth here with a reminder that we run not one but TWO book groups in lovely Aylsham, both of which meet every 6 weeks here in this very shop!

The first is our climate reading group which is still in its infancy. Started in April, we meet to discuss a climate non-fiction book and share local resources, information, and action. The current pick is Julietta Singh's 'The Breaks', which is 'a profound meditation on race, inheritance, and q***r mothering at the end of the world.' Our next meeting is on the 1st of July at 5:30pm - read the bottom of the post for details on how to join in!

For those of you who prefer a novel to sink your teeth into, we have a fiction book club! We are currently reading the 2026 International Booker Prize winner 'Taiwan Travelogue', a 'bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history and power.'
The date for our next meeting is on the 8th of July at 5:30pm.

Interested in joining? Send us an email on [email protected] to confirm your place or enquire about more details!

11/06/2026

Some cool new small press books wot we* wanna read:

'On the Greenwich Line' by Shady Lewis (Peirene)
'I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness' by Irene Sola (Granta)
'No Ghosts' by Max Lury (Peninsula Press)
'The Madman's Guide to Stamp Collecting' by Robert Irwin (Pushkin Press)
'An American Journey' by Ethel Mannin (Boiler House Press)
'Wash' by Erica Wagner (Salt Publishing)

*Meg and Joe

10/06/2026

On 16th June, please join Elizabeth Day – Sunday Times bestselling author and one of today’s most influential podcasters – at Norwich Playhouse to discuss her suspenseful and compulsive new novel, ‘One of Us’.

A thrilling story of betrayal, old bonds, and buried scandals, the novel follows a British establishment family coming face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power. Described by Stanley Tucci as "intelligent, darkly humorous and brilliantly written", 'One of Us' is a razor-sharp dissection of class and power in contemporary society.

Elizabeth will be joined on stage by broadcaster and presenter Simon Savidge.

This is not a Book Hive event but we're delighted to be there selling the books. Head on over to the National Centre For Writing website to book!

03/06/2026

Beer mats for a bookshop?! What's going on?!

There is nothing in this world (or the next) better than sitting in a pub with a pint of foaming ale and a good book. So here at the Aylsham shop, we’ve teamed up with our brilliant neighbours at The Porters Arms (just across the road) to bring you ‘Books & Beer’ – a monthly pairing of the two best things to ensure you have the perfect paperback for your perch at the bar!

We’ve pored over the tasting notes of each beverage and matched them with the themes of a book to bring you one pairing each month. But it gets better: buy a copy of the book from The Book Hive Aylsham and take your receipt to The Porters Arms to get 10% off the chosen beer and vice versa.

Our inagural pairing for June is the Gorgeous George bitter and 'Birnam Wood' by Eleanor Catton. (Swipe to see them sat nicely together!)

The spicy hop and deep copper best bitter of Gorgeous George complement Eleanor Catton’s slow-burn political thriller perfectly. This deceptively complex beer with hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper is the perfect pairing to Catton’s gritty, complex and twisty novel which examines the human impulse for survival.

Whether you have a penchent for cracking open a cold one, or cracking a spine, we have you covered!

02/06/2026

Are you curious — but cautious — about poetry?

Jeremy (a university lecturer and poetry critic) and Joe (a bookseller and poetry tutor) believe that if we slow down, stop being so serious and follow a few simple steps, poems aren’t scary. In fact anyone, anywhere, can enjoy any piece of poetry.

Join them in July when Jeremy will bring Joe one poem a week — an unusual piece by a celebrated writer. The two friends will then close-read it together, live in front of you, in a way that’s intelligent but informal and infectious.

Joe will use a playful but powerful six-step technique. He'll go line by line, revealing how the poem works — its rhythm, rhyme, imagery and more. Jeremy will chip in with stories about the poet, and thoughts about their choice of words — exploring the historical context of when the poem was composed, how it was written, and why.

Ultimately, you’ll come away from these sessions with a surprisingly simple but revelatory way to read — and enjoy! — poems, plus ideas for more poetry to explore.

In the first series of How Not to Read a Poem, we’re looking at five examples of one of the most famously enduring yet shape-shifting poetic forms: the sonnet. We’ll look at pieces by William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Elizabeth Bishop and Terrance Hayes.

You can buy tickets for individual events — or grab a season pass, which is 5 events for the price of 4! — over on our website. Link in bio!

31/05/2026

Meg here in the Norwich shop! Stuck for holiday reading ideas? Here are a few of the books I'm taking with me to sunny France (not that we've exactly been missing out on the scorching orb here in Norwich recently)...

📖'Paradiso' by Michele Masneri — just published by Foundry Editions, and described as " a satirical bildungsroman through the nature of illusion, escapism and the enduring myth of the Eternal City".

📖'My Brilliant Friend' by Elena Ferrante — a long overdue read, and one that several of my friends have said is their favourite book of all time, so hopefully I'm in for a treat!

📖'Sanchez' by Esther Garcia Llovet — a translated contemporary thriller showing "a Madrid untouched by tourism or nostalgia — a landscape of bingo halls, half-lit highways, silent gas stations, and after-hours bars that seem suspended in time ... a performance artist devours raw deer meat in the forest, while unspoken debts and spectral memories surface with the clarity only darkness allows". YES PLEASE!

Do YOU have any holiday reading recommendations? Let us know in the comments!

30/05/2026

Ahoy from Aylsham!

I was delighted to pull this gorgeous picture book out of our delivery this morning and I know some of you will be thrilled to see it, too. The much anticipated paperback edition of ‘Mouse by the Sea’ sees our fabled mouse go on a seaside summer holiday - and what perfect weather for it!

With Alice Melvin’s signature illustrations - and lift-the-flap sections on each page - this is a gorgeous addition to the relaxing yet adventurous tales of Mouse who so far has visited the wood and the river. Where will he go next?!

If your little one (or you 👀) needs a book to accompany you on a Norfolk coast trip this summer, then copies are available from both the Aylsham and the Norwich shop!

28/05/2026

There’s LOTS on at The Book Hive Norwich in the next couple of months… take a look! Woohoo!

More info here: https://www.thebookhive.co.uk/events/list/

Address

53 London Street
Norwich
NR21HL

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Sunday	11am - 4pm

Telephone

+441603219268

Website

http://www.thebookhive.co.uk/, https://linktr.ee/thebookhivelinks

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Book Hive posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Book Hive:

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Opening Hours
Alerts
Contact The Business
Claim ownership or report listing

Want your business to be the top-listed Shop in Norwich?