William Gallacher: Red Clydeside MP’s 60th Anniversary

Local Hero; Abbey Books in Paisley Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Red Clydeside MP William Gallacher Abbey Books in Wellmeadow St, Paisley, is commemorating the 60th anniversary of Paisley-born MP William Gallacher – a key figure in the Red Clydeside movement and one of only five Communist MPs to ever win a seat in Parliament... Read More

West College Scotland partners with Abbey Books for competition

West College Scotland teams up with Abbey Books to celebrate local literature, emerging talent, and the art of book design West College Scotland, in collaboration with independent bookseller Abbey Books, is proud to announce the success of the first-ever Annual Abbey Books & West College Scotland Book Jacket Design Competition — a creative partnership... Read More

The Christopher Priest Collection at Abbey Books Paisley

Every book collection tells a story, and none more so than that of Christopher Priest, as Brian Hannan of Abbey Books has discovered It’s taken us the best part of a year to open all the 50 boxes containing about 2,000 books that were donated by the widow of novelist Christopher Priest who lived... Read More

The Paisley Thread by Matthew Blair

Brian Hannan from Abbey Books in Paisley reviews The Paisley Thread by Matthew Blair The worst thing about running a preloved operation like Abbey Books is that once a book is gone it’s gone. Although we have 40,000 books in stock, we only usually have one copy of a particular item. This is especially... Read More

Abbey Books celebrates 40 years in Paisley

The beloved Abbey Books is still going strong four decades into its existence, we find out more from shop manager Brian Hannan The phrase hidden gem is bandied about a lot in popular culture. It can be applicable to anything from a deep cut on a record to a little eatery that’s flown under... Read More

Christopher Nolan author chooses Abbey Books Paisley

Christopher Priest, the author who is best-known for providing the source novel for The Prestige by Christopher Nolan donates 2,000 books Abbey Books manager Brian Hannan was astonished to see a giant delivery truck draw up outside the premises in Wellmeadow Street last week. He was even more surprised when the contents were unloaded.... Read More

Thomas Barbour: Paisley Popular Poet

Brian Hannan, local author and manager of Abbey Books in Paisley, takes a look at the work of Paisley’s Thomas Barbour Thomas Barbour achieved local fame in unusual fashion. His poems were exclusively published during his lifetime by the Paisley Daily Express. And he wasn’t living in Paisley at the time, so his works... Read More

The Renfrewshire Election Scandal of 1874

Brian Hannan from Abbey Books in Paisley reveals The Renfrewshire Election Scandal of 1874 thanks to a legal volume donated to the shop I wouldn’t be aware that Renfrewshire had an unsavoury anniversary to celebrate in March 2024 had it not been for the donation – in pristine condition I might add – of... Read More

Paisley Festival 1986 programme

Brian Hannan from Abbey Books in Paisley discovers another piece of local memorabilia, on this occasion, it’s an old programme from the Paisley Festival 1986 What falls out of books often provides a fascinating insight into the past and none more so than uncovering this amazing hive of creativity celebrated in the annual Paisley... Read More

Mill Memories edited by Evelyn Hood book review

Brian Hannan, local author and manager of Abbey Books in Paisley, reviews Mill Memories by Evelyn Hood After two decades out of print, the acclaimed book by recently-deceased Paisley bestselling author Evelyn Hood has been re-published (and at exactly the same price of £9.99 as before and in an identical format). In anticipation of... Read More