Cărturești Verona, the Bucharest-based bookstore part of the Cărturești chain, has received the Bookstore of the Year award at this year’s London Book Fair International Excellence Awards.

The judges praised Cărturești for its “online offering and activities, and the grant program subsidized from their sales to support local writers, demonstrated their sense of responsibility for the community. All of this in a stunning building imaginatively converted into a bookshop that we all wanted to visit as soon as we can.”

This was the second nomination for Cărturești, after Cărturești Carusel, located in Bucharest's Old Town, was shortlisted for the title in 2018.

Cărturești Verona opened in 2003, at 13 Arthur Verona St. In time, new areas were added to the bookstore venue, including the Children’s Attic or the summer garden. The bookstore currently covers more than 1,200 sqm and gathers a selection of books, design items, teas and china, gadgets, and more.

“Few people know that Cărturești Verona is hosted in two of Bucharest’s historic houses. Five years after the bookstore on 13 Arthur Verona St. opened, we managed to save the adjoining house from demolition (the former HQ of the Ion Creangă Theater) and link it to the bookstore, thus reintroducing it to the public circuit,” Nicoleta Iordan, co-founder of Cărturești, explained.

The full list of this year’s International Excellence winners is available here.

(Photo: Britchi Mirela/ Wikipedia)

simona@romania-insider.com