The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop

About Us

We opened our first shop in Tetbury in 2008, and Nailsworth a year or two later. The name is from a book called The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by an American called Lewis Buzbee. It’s a history of bookshops, and why they are socially, culturally and economically important.

Buzbee got the image from a letter that Vincent van Gogh (who had worked as a bookseller) wrote to his brother not long before he died. Van Gogh wanted to go back to Paris, and on a wet November evening, paint the yellow light of the bookshop pouring onto the street outside.

Hereward has worked in bookselling all his adult life, from central London, to Liverpool, Cheltenham and all over the country. Our core team of booksellers has more than 100 years’ experience, and we also have a range of librarianship, hospitality, event and retail experience on which we draw.

We are a carbon-neutral business, and have an ethical approach to everything we do. We raise money to support a variety of causes. These range from books for children at the local foodbank, the local Women’s Refuge, and a variety of refugee charities. We also support local schools on a regular basis.

Contact Hereward at ylboffice@me.com for further information.