New books, a children’s corner and gifts at 18 Mill Street, a minute down the hill from the King Alfred statue. Run by Emma and Alex Milne-White, with a regular author-events programme that has brought Maggie O’Farrell, Robert Harris and John Boyne to Wantage.
New books at the front, a children’s corner near the back, and gifts and cards alongside. Stock changes often, so phone 01235 362023 for something in particular and we will tell you what is in.
Latest releases to classic titles
The latest releases and the season's bestsellers at the front, alongside our booksellers' own favourites and the classics worth keeping. Signed and exclusive editions surface here from the events programme.
Picture books to young adult
A welcoming children's area for young readers, from board books and picture books to the shelves a confident reader graduates onto. The corner is where a lot of the town's reading habits start.
Plus subscriptions, vouchers, hampers
Greetings cards, gift wrap and book-related gifts, with bespoke book subscriptions, vouchers and hampers for the readers in your life. Audiobooks too, through Libro.fm, with every credit supporting the shop.
We run a regular programme of author events, in the shop and at venues around Wantage. It is the thing we are known for, the same approach Emma and Alex built at the Hungerford Bookshop. Recent and upcoming evenings have brought Maggie O’Farrell, Robert Harris, Mel Giedroyc, John Boyne and Sinclair McKay to the town, and we are proud to support the Wantage Literary Festival.
☎ Ask about tickets“We have had a very warm welcome in our first few months of opening. It has been lovely getting to know the town a bit better and meeting so many of its lovely bookish inhabitants.”
Emma Milne-White, owner · on reopening the shop on Mill Street
Emma and Alex Milne-White reopened Wantage Bookshop on Mill Street in August 2023, taking on the premises of the former Mad Hatter Bookshop and giving the town back the independent bookshop it had been missing. They already ran the award-winning Hungerford Bookshop, and brought the same idea to Wantage: real bookselling, a proper children’s corner, and a busy programme of author events.
We sit at 18 Mill Street, just down the hill from the Market Place, where the marble statue of King Alfred the Great has stood since 1877. Alfred was born in Wantage, and the shop is a minute’s walk from his feet, among the independent shops and cafes around the square.
If it is not on the shelf, we will order it in. Our free ordering service covers almost any title in print, and most arrive the next day. Tell us what you are after and we will hold it for collection or post it to you.
Or phone 01235 362023, or email hello@wantagebookshop.co.uk.
We are at 18 Mill Street, just down the hill from the Market Place and a minute from the King Alfred statue. The Market Place and Limborough Road car parks are both a short walk away.
Hours can vary around bank holidays and during events. Phone 01235 362023 if you are travelling.
For anything not here, phone the shop on 01235 362023 or email hello@wantagebookshop.co.uk.
Yes. Our free ordering service tracks down almost any title in print, and most arrive the next day. Phone 01235 362023, email hello@wantagebookshop.co.uk, or just ask at the counter. We will hold it for collection or post it to you.
We run a regular programme of author events through the year, in the shop and at venues around Wantage, from Maggie O’Farrell and Robert Harris to Mel Giedroyc and John Boyne. Tickets go through the shop and popular evenings sell out, so ask early on 01235 362023 or join the mailing list.
We do. There is a welcoming children’s area near the back, from board and picture books up to young adult, and we are happy to recommend the right book for a particular age or reader.
Yes. Alongside the books we stock greetings cards, gift wrap and book-related gifts, and we offer bespoke book subscriptions, gift vouchers and hampers. Audiobooks are available through Libro.fm with your purchase supporting the shop.
We are at 18 Mill Street, just down the hill from the Market Place and a minute from the King Alfred statue. The Market Place and Limborough Road car parks are both a short walk away.
Yes. Wantage Bookshop is run by Emma and Alex Milne-White, the same team behind the award-winning Hungerford Bookshop. We brought the same approach, real bookselling and a busy events programme, to Mill Street when we reopened here in 2023.