Meet the winners of our 'spend and win' competition!
At the start of 2026, we gave you the chance to win £500/€500 in cash to spend on anything you desired. To enter, you just needed to spend your National Book Tokens with any participating bookshop.
Congratulations to Morgan and Maeve, who got to enjoy the experience of choosing new books in their favourite bookshops, and have each won a big cash prize to spend. Find out what they bought with their National Book Tokens – and what they'll be buying with their prize funds – below.
National Book Tokens gift cards can be bought and spent in bookshops across the UK and Ireland. Find your nearest at nationalbooktokens.com/find-a-bookshop.
£500 winner: Morgan
Morgan, age 10, spent his National Book Token at the Bourne Bookshop in Lincolnshire. His mum, Rozalind, entered the prize draw on his behalf.
Rozalind says: "We live in Bourne and wanted to support our local bookshop. The book purchased (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Party Pooper by Jeff Kinney) was to add to the forever growing series Morgan already has. The winning money will finish the collection on his shelf and also purchase a GoPro camera which he's been saving his pocket money up for. Absolutely delighted!"
€500 winner: Maeve
Maeve spent her National Book Token at Hodges Figgis in Dublin.
Maeve says: "I was kindly gifted a book token for my birthday and while I have a few favourite book shops in Dublin, I had just completed stamps on my Hodges Figgis loyalty card so I wanted to use that too.
I bought a couple of books, one is The Gaeilge Guide by Mollie Guidera. I follow irishwithmollie on Instagram because I have long forgotten my school Irish and she makes it enjoyable to say a few words in my native language again. I'll definitely be buying some more books and I will treat my recently retired husband to a break away someplace nice."
Whatever you're into, there's a bookshop for that
Did you know that 2026 is the National Year of Reading? The campaign, a Department of Education initiative in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, aims to (re)connect people of all ages with reading as a meaningful, modern and social activity. The campaign identity, Go All In, invites people to dive deeper into the things they already love through reading. And because reading comes in many forms, there’s always a way to go all in, your way.
Whatever you're into, you'll find your next brilliant read on the shelves of your local bookshop. Looking for inspiration before you venture out? Check out all our reading recommendations on National Book Tokens Discover, including 40 books to look out for in 2026, and top tips from real-life booksellers.
Find a bookshop
At the start of 2023, we gave you the chance to win £500/€500 in cash.
Thousands of booklovers spent their National Book Tokens gift cards in the hundreds of bookshops that accept them across the UK and Ireland, and entered the prize draw.
Congratulations to the winners, Jacob from Lincoln, and Orla from Enniskeane, Co. Cork!
Jacob said:
The book I bought with my token was called Mafia State by Luke Harding – I thought it would be particularly interesting considering what is happening in Ukraine... I got it from [...] Lindum Books in Lincoln – a lovely shop just round the corner from the castle. It is a small business so I was really glad when I realised that they could take my National Book Token (my Grandma had got it for me at Christmas). And as for my winnings, I’ll probably spend it on more books…”
Orla said:
Vibes & Scribes Bookshop is located in Cork city. They sell a mix of second hand books and new books. They also have a craft shop slightly north of Lee. Mom gave me two book tokens as a Christmas gift and I had them in my purse that day. Seeing as I had a bit of time to spare before getting the bus home, I decided to call into the bookshop as they usually have a 3 for €12 deal in the shop. I picked books written by three different authors so I would have a good selection of books to enjoy over the coming months.
As I am about two months away from finishing my bachelor’s degree, I think I’ll spend the money on a nice holiday this summer to celebrate.
In 2022, the prizes went to Ola from Co. Kindare in Ireland, and Delyth from Gwynedd in Wales.
Discover
Discover our book recommendations
We've got recommendations for all readers, from authors, booksellers, and our book-loving team.
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Give recipients of all ages the excitement of choosing a book as well as the joy of reading it.
