The BookHive

Henry Layte opened the Book Hive in October 2009 in a tall, agreeably crooked building on London Street, and the trade has spent the years since handing him things: the Telegraph called it the best independent bookshop in Britain within two years of opening, Galley Beggar Press — the publisher that found Eimear McBride — was born on the premises, the East Anglian Book Awards gave Layte their exceptional-contribution honour in 2024, and the 2026 British Book Awards have it on the regional shortlist as this guide writes. Norwich is England's first UNESCO City of Literature; this shop is a load-bearing reason.