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Edinburgh is probably one of the most literary cities in the world: home to the moody crime writing of Ian Rankin, the game changing Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling, the International Book Festival, and it was also the world's first UNESCO City of Literature.

So there really is no better place to run an enchanting bookshop, and one of the most enchanting of all - Till's on the Meadows - is currently looking for a new owner who will take it over as a going concern so that the people of Edinburgh don't lose this wee gem.

Till's Bookshop first opened in 1986, and its bright green frontage has been an iconic sight in the leafy Southside of the city for over 30 years. The shop's walls are lined floor to ceiling with books - all carefully chosen by owner Rick Till- meaning you're always guaranteed to find your next favourite novel.

(Image: Till's Bookshop)

Now, Rick and his partner Ann have decided it's time to retire and hand the baton over to a new book lover, who will hopefully keep the well-established business going for another 30 plus years.

They announced their decision on Twitter, saying:

"Ever dreamed of owning a magical bookshop? Till's Bookshop is for sale! We're retiring!"

It quickly racked up over 100 retweets, and comments from people who were sad to see the Tills go. One person replied:

"Sad to hear you're retiring, but you deserve it after all those years. Many thanks for all the books."

Ann Till told Edinburgh Live:

"We've seen a lot of changes since we opened in 1986. In the mid-90s we started to see the rise of e-books, and once the internet really took off people started spending their disposable income a bit differently. Then in the early 00s we saw an increase in charity bookshops, particularly in Edinburgh, and they had fewer overheads than we did so that was a challenge too!

"But I think what kept Till's going, and why it's so special, is that right from the beginning when we were painting it and putting in all the shelves we wanted to create a nice atmosphere, and Rick has maintained that as he's front of house.

(Image: Till's Bookshop)

"We wanted to keep some order to help people find what they are looking for. People don't always expect it in a second hand bookshop but we wanted to keep the books in categories so it was easy to find things.

"And the collection is good, too. Rick doesn't give himself enough credit but he's intuitively stayed on top of what the customers are wanting: he just notices without trying that certain things aren't selling, so he'll tweak what he's selling to match what people want; people can come in and just name an author and he'll usually know about them.

"We wanted to sell it as a going concern is because people want it to continue, plus over the years you become aware of how many people want to run a bookshop, it's a fantasy for a lot of people and there might be someone out there who Till's Bookshop would be perfect for - they could keep it going and also that would give them their dream job.

"If we don't find someone who wants to keep it open as a bookshop we'll eventually have to sell it to another buyer, we just don't want it to turn into flats or something. The shop across from us was converted into holiday apartments recently. We just want it to go to the right person."

If you're interested in taking over Till's, you can email Ann and Rick on tillsbookshop@yahoo.com

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