To celebrate Heywood Hill’s 90 years of tailored bookselling, we have devised A Year in Books 2026: London’s Greatest Book Subscription, a uniquely rich year-long literary experience.
First, choose from the three subscription categories below: Tailored, Classic & Contemporary or Best of New.
Our famous Tailored options are the most personalised book subscriptions anywhere; all start with a reading consultation about someone's reading tastes so that we can choose books just for them. Or put someone's reading into our hands with our un-tailored Classic & Contemporary or Best of New options. Our Classic & Contemporary selection is subject specific, including our 90th Anniversary Special, twelve of the best novels published since 1936, and Heywood Hill’s Whodunit? for those who love crime and mysteries. The Best of New range is just that: the best new fiction, non-fiction or a mix of both, in either paperback or hardback. We also have various subscriptions for Children.
Second, after purchasing a subscription, you or the recipient receive an elegant gift card and introductory welcome letter by post (or email if you prefer). Twelve good books are then sent in pairs throughout the year to the address you want, all with trackable ease worldwide.
Finally, and why this really is London's Greatest Book Subscription, for the year ahead all adult recipients will also receive: book recommendations & author questionnaires from leading writers (& others we admire); reading lists by decade of the best books published since 1936; specially designed Cressida Bell 90th anniversary bookplates and bookmarks; exclusive bookish interviews with some very special customers; expert essays on different subjects and genres; tales from the Heywood Hill archives; and other treats, invitations and surprises.
All delivered via our gift-wrapped book parcels (yes, brown paper and blue ribbon), a dedicated subscription-only newsletter and tailored emails. Join us, or subscribe a reader in your life. 2026 promises to be an unforgettable year for book-lovers worldwide.
"Heywood Hill has succeeded in reading my mind. They send books that broaden my horizons, and introduce me to new authors with admirable attention to my tastes"
Tailored Customer
"Not only have you unearthed nuggets but also introduced me to the newest, latest and most absorbing reads."
HH Customer
"It's a dream present for fellow bibliophiles or for yourself"
Vanity Fair
‘A Year in Books’ is Heywood Hill's innovative range of book subscriptions; the literary gift that keeps on giving. We take great pride in choosing books for all our subscribers from our Mayfair bookshop.
There are three categories of subscription: Tailored, Classic & Contemporary and Best of New. In all cases superb well-chosen books are dispatched throughout the year. Each parcel of books arrives gorgeously gift-wrapped in our trademark livery of brown paper and blue ribbon, with stylish bookmarks designed by Cressida Bell. All of our subscriptions arrive every other month, with two books in each parcel, except our generous Tailored Quarterly subscription where more books are sent every three months.
For customers with very specialised interests we recommend our Tailored Gift Box as an alternative to a subscription. The books included in our tailored gift box come all at once in a single gift-wrapped delivery. It is a truly personalised present for book-lovers everywhere.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Our tailored subscriptions are bespoke to your personal taste. The recipient has a reading consultation with one of our team of personal booksellers, who will then send out books based on that discussion. FAQs for tailored subscribers can be found at the bottom of the page. Our tailored subscriptions are:
Our other subscriptions offer our booksellers’ pick of titles depending on the theme of the subscription. This is not tailored to your taste, but instead to the theme of the subscription, and is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse, in the case of our Best of New subscriptions, or to delve classic and contemporary writing on some of our favourite themes. Our Best of New subscriptions are:
Our Classic & Contemporary subscriptions are:
For our ninetieth anniversary, we are also offering a subscription featuring twelve of our favourite novels from the last 90 years. Celebrating ten decades of being in the book trade, you will find some hidden gems of nearly a century of bookselling experience. Find out more at the link below:
Yes. All of our subscriptions are gift wrapped in our trademark brown paper and blue ribbon, with beautiful monthly bookmarks designed by Cressida Bell to reflect each month of the year.
Yes. Subscriptions can be purchased worldwide. An additional one-off payment will be added during checkout for postage and packaging.
At any age! Our Bedtime Stories subscription is a choice of our favourite books for each age group between newborns and twelve-year olds, and our tailored subscriptions for children and teenagers will work for young people from infants to young adults. For a tailored subscription, our booksellers will choose age-appropriate books however old the child is, personalised to their tastes.
The welcome letter can be sent to either the purchaser or recipient. Please let us know which you would prefer in the notes box during the checkout process.
Yes. You will be prompted to provide a personal message during the checkout process. We will then add your note to the welcome letter.
We endeavour to send welcome letters within three working days of receipt of your order. Please ensure that you have provided us with all the information we need to send your welcome letter, as requested during checkout. If we have any queries about your order we will endeavour to email you within one and a half working days. Welcome letters will be sent by email, unless sending by post is requested in the order. If you would like us to send the welcome letter by post, we can send it out by second-class post to addresses in the UK or standard airmail to all international destinations; this should take approximately 7-10 working days.
The welcome letter will be sent out on receipt of your order unless otherwise requested during the checkout process. The book parcels will begin one to two months later.
We make great efforts to ensure that each book is the best choice for our subscribers. However, if our book choice is unsatisfactory or the subscriber has already read it, books in perfect unread condition can be exchanged. Subscribers can make a maximum of two exchanges during the year. Postage for the return of books is at the subscriber’s expense.
If you have any concerns about the delivery of your parcel you can contact our booksellers at any time. If you move house or would like the parcels delivered to a different address please let us know with at least a month notice. If necessary, we can pause your subscription for up to three months.
Yes, all of our subscriptions run for a year. All consist of twelve books, other than the Tailored Quarterly, which has forty.
Books are exempt from US tariffs, which has enabled us to keep our postage prices similar to last year. There is, however, a new handling charge per individual package to the States which has resulted in a small increase in US postage for our 2026 subscriptions.
You can renew your subscription online by purchasing the subscription in our online shop and ticking the renewal box in the checkout. Alternatively, you can contact us in the shop by email or phone.
For Tailored Subscribers:
Subscribers can complete a reading consultation online or arrange one by phone, email or in person at the shop by contacting us directly. All the details on how this can be done are included in the welcome pack. In-person and phone consultations can be arranged at a time to suit the recipient, but should be completed within two months of receiving their welcome pack. If we do not hear from a subscriber within two months of the welcome letter being sent, we will begin to send our selection of the very best new books.
A reading consultation is not mandatory! If we do not hear from the subscriber within two months of the welcome letter being sent, or they elect to receive our Book of the Month choices, we will begin sending out our selection of the very best new books.
CHOOSE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
Choose from our three types of subscription: Tailored, Classic & Contemporary or Best of New. Our famous Tailored options are the most personalised book subscriptions anywhere; or put the choice into our knowledgeable booksellers' hands by choosing from our un-tailored, themed subscriptions.
WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
An elegant welcome pack either by post or email (let us know which you would prefer at checkout). This contains an introductory letter, outlining the subscription you have chosen. You will also receive an elegant welcome voucher and Heywood Hill postcard in your welcome pack.
ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL FEATURES
A Year in Books 2026: London’s Greatest Book Subscription is set to be a uniquely rich year-long literary experience. Expect book recommendations & author questionnaires from leading writers; reading lists by decade of the best books published since 1936 and other treats, invitations and surprises.
CHILDREN
Our mission is to keep children in touch with physical books and to activate the joy of reading whatever their age. Our Intelligent Teenager subscription delivers an inspirational mix of classics with fresh current writing. Bedtime Stories is for younger children, superb well-chosen books old & new.
