1. West End Lane Books is situated in the heart of West Hampstead. What is it like running a bookshop in this area, and how important is community engagement in your bookselling mission?

We are very lucky to be operating in an area in which people seem to care passionately about literature and also the preservation of their high street as a vibrant destination. Working within the community is so, so much more than a marketing buzzword here. We support local schools with a scheme that pays back a percentage of what their pupils’ families spend here in the form of library books, partner them on reading scheme incentives, organise pop up shops and host author talks; the list is endless. We also have free story time events and early readers clubs, and work with the local library, small businesses, local charities and reading groups.

Basically we are small, but we are super flexible and love to brainstorm new, traditional and guerrilla opportunities with our contacts and customers.

2. How do you think your bookshop, and indeed bookselling itself, has changed since the opening of West End Lane Books back in 1994?

Our bookshop has changed in as much the same way as life and culture has changed in the intervening years, but while we move with the times and are, for instance, super active online and via social media, our traditional values of friendly, smiley service and a genuine desire to send customers away happier than they were before visiting us, hasn’t changed a bit. 21st century shopping can be a bit of a soulless and anonymous experience, but we really try to get to know our customers and their tastes; our favourite thing is when a regular bowls in and asks, “Right, what am I reading next?”

3. You regularly host free author talks and book launches. What has been your favourite event of 2018 so far?

That is super hard to answer… We run a vigorous and busy programme and are massively grateful to all visiting authors and publishers who help make this happen, but personal favourites include Ian Dunt (the guy is god and should be running the country), Elizabeth Day (super cool and hugely talented novelist), Lissa Evans (she can do no wrong) and Mick Herron (a regular speaker who we totally love; his Jackson Lamb series is a permanent resident in our bestsellers). Also, major shout out to uber-thespian, the extraordinary Phyllida Law, who shared with us her memories of treading the boards (and fleapit bedsits), working with the great and the good of English theatre and cinema: brava!

4. Who would be your dream customer and why?

Bit pissed, very rich. Go figure.

5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop that you’d like to share with us?

Loads! But they’re top secret and we’d have to kill you. P.S. Yale have a super lovely sales rep; give the man a pay rise ’cause we love him!

1. As part of Salisbury’s centre for Christian study and research, Sarum College Bookshop is known for its collection of theological and Christian texts, but also boasts a selection of books for a more general readership. What are your bestsellers? Do you find that your specialist books are more popular than your general interest titles?

One of our bestselling books is The Art of Worship by Nicholas Holtam. The book is a selection of paintings from the National Gallery, each with a prayer and a reflection from the author . As the author is our Diocesan Bishop it’s especially appropriate as a gift for a confirmation or for someone joining the diocese, but it’s popular with visitors from further afield, too.

On the whole our specialist books are more popular than our general interest titles, because they are the types of books our customers expect to find here. We do very well with books on spirituality, especially with authors such as Richard Rohr and Henri Nouwen, and with Bible commentators such as Tom Wright and Paula Gooder. Our bestselling authors of the last three months have been the prolific Rowan Williams, especially his Being Human, and Archbishop Justin Welby with his Reimagining Britain. We also, as you might expect, sell a lot of Bibles.

In terms of general interest books, we do very well with poetry. Our bestselling title is the lovely collection The Splash of Words by Mark Oakley. We also find Sod Sixty!: The Guide to Living Well is a steady seller, as are some prize-winning novels, such as the wonderful, quirky Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Barney Norris’ brilliant first novel Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain.

2. In 2017 Sarum College Bookshop was named South-West England Independent Bookshop of the Year – congratulations! How has this recognition benefitted your shop?

Thank you! Yes, it was wonderful to be a regional winner. Emily Button, Assistant Manager, and I had a fabulous evening at the British Book Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. The winners were listed in The Bookseller and on social media, and we were given a badge to put on our emails and on our website.

I don’t know if it brought in more customers, but it’s surprising how many of our existing customers saw something about it and referred to it, and were pleased for us. Any positive news about the shop has to be good.

3. You are well known for your friendly and personal approach to bookselling. Tell us more about your bookselling ethos.

Many of the customers who come through our doors are known to us, so a day at work can be like a day meeting friends. I dislike saying “no” to anything, so we always try to source whatever it is the customer wants – a book in French, an out-of-print book, 30 Bibles delivered next day – they are all challenges which make the day more interesting, and, we hope, help show the value of shopping in independent bookshops.

My bookselling ethos is that bookselling is all about relationships – with the staff and volunteers in the shop, with the customers and with the publishers, who can all work together to make sure we have the right books on our shelves, and that coming into our bookshop or contacting us by phone is a pleasant experience. Some of the best book discoveries are often the books found by chance, so we try to encourage browsing and lingering, with books on tables and cosy armchairs.

We also like to have lots of author events, again to add to the whole experience of buying books. There is something special about bringing authors and readers together. We have refreshments, and customers can leave with a signed copy. Poet Malcolm Guite (pictured) has been several times to do a poetry reading, and draws a larger crowd each time.

4. Alongside your main bookshop, you also have a basement full of second-hand books. How does this fit in with your business model?

The second-hand book basement is a vital part of our business. The books are donated, and a wonderful volunteer sorts and prices them and keeps the basement looking fresh. It’s a great place for customers to browse, and the income helps keep the rest of the shop going.

5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop that you’d like to share with us?

There are always things we would like to do! We would like to change the till area to have more computers and room for two members of staff, plus space for deliveries underneath. That may not be very exciting for the customers, but would make quite a difference for the staff! And a café would be nice…

1. You are situated in the beautiful grounds of Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire. What’s it like to run a bookshop in such a stunning location?

Ampleforth Abbey is indeed an unusual location for a bookshop; we are definitely a destination shop. As I look out of my office window I can see some of the 3000 acres of land that was left to the monks in 1793 when Lady Anne Fairfax died. On a glorious summer’s day I can see cricket matches taking place on the beautifully manicured pitches. Visitors can also be seen strolling along Monks Walk; hopefully they will visit the Tea Room and come and purchase in the shop as part of their visit. There is a perpetual serenity to the place; time is marked by the bell tolling from the clock tower, which was designed by Joseph Hansom (of Hansom cab fame) in 1861. Winter can make it a little difficult to get to work due to the steep hills and narrow roads. On icy days I am very grateful to our internal customers – the Monastery and the staff at the College – as only the intrepid set out. I am captivated by the ever-changing sky and, if I am ever feeling bogged down with work, I only have to look outside for inspiration.

2. This month, Yale and a number of our Yale Representation clients will be attending the International Medieval Congress in Leeds. How does the Abbey’s medieval connections, as home to a community of Benedictine monks, influence your book buying?

People come to the Abbey for many different reasons, so I try to stock a range of books which everyone visiting will want to browse and buy. Visitors to the Abbey sometimes expect it to be an old ruin dating back to medieval times but they soon realise that it is still very much a working place. However, on looking into the various guidebooks and histories that we sell, they grow to understand the Abbey’s ancient roots. Monks originally came to England with St Augustine in 597, although they may not have been Benedictines. Ampleforth Abbey is part of the English Benedictine Congregation who first met around 1218. The monks of Ampleforth were resident at Westminster Abbey until its dissolution in 1540, but were led back by Abbot Feckenham in 1556 under Queen Mary. There is an awful lot of fascinating history, and I like to stock books that reflect as much of this as possible.

3. You stock a vast range of spiritual and religious titles, as well as books of local interest. What are some of your bestsellers?

Because of the broad range of people coming through our doors, I find our bestsellers are also very varied. Religious and Spiritual visitor top sellers are Saint Benedict’s Prayer Book and Saint Benedict’s Rule (of which there are many translations). Top sellers for retreat guests are books by CS Lewis, Tom Wright and Richard Rohr. For the more general public, books by Eamon Duffy, such as The Stripping of the Altars, Saints, Sacrilege and Sedition and Fires of Faith, have been very popular.

This spring we saw an opportunity to sell more books in themed ranges and have found the idea of pilgrimage very fashionable at the moment, whilst Martin Luther proved popular last year.

4. Who would be your dream customer and why?

My first thoughts on this question were the obvious: a visitor with a whole bookcase in need of filling, for whom money was no object! But then I think I would rather have my lovely regular or local customers who come in asking what’s new, and are up for a chat. Obviously last year when I had a Monastery email asking me to source 30 copies of all 3 volumes of the Divine Office I was very happy. Even more so when I realised it wasn’t a scam of any kind!

5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop that you’d like to share with us?

Currently Ampleforth is awaiting a decision on Heritage Lottery Funding, which involves us encouraging more visitors to the site. This would obviously be great for the shop, and it is possible that there may be an expansion of the bookshop to help service an increased demand. Whatever happens we are definitely looking forward to it!

1. Situated between Camberwell and Peckham, the South London Gallery is at the centre of a booming cultural scene. What’s it like to run a bookshop here?

A lot of fun! Peckham and Camberwell have changed considerably in the last few years, but the community is stronger than ever and there are some really important local groups ready to challenge and question any proposed developments. There are a number of fantastic art galleries around us now, which means you can set aside a whole afternoon to tour around, or join in on a guided tour with SLAM on the last Friday of every month. As well as Assembly Point, Arcadia Missa and Hannah Barry Gallery, we’re very excited about The Bower, which will be opening just round the corner from us, very soon!

2. The gallery regularly hosts exhibitions of outstanding contemporary art. Can you tell us how the bookshop supports such events?

Apart from making our own selection of titles that we feel would be relevant to each show, we invite artists to supply us with a list of their favourite books, or books that they feel would enrich an understanding of their work. These aren’t necessarily books about them, or even art related. On one occasion this meant that we ordered in the entire Semiotext(e) back catalogue (for Michael Dean), and on another, the contemporary fiction writers Mira Mattar, Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams were invited to take up an informal residency in Heman Chong’s exhibition. Their publications became regulars on our shelves.

It’s quite common that a book chosen for an exhibition will become a firm favourite in the shop beyond the duration of the show. Perhaps the broad selection of theory, literature and beyond that we ordered in for The Place is Here, a group exhibition of Black British artists of the 1980s, has made the greatest impact to our shelves, with American author, feminist and activist bell hooks regularly topping our bestseller list.

3. As a gallery bookshop, do you find that most of your visitors are looking for art books or are your other titles just as popular?

Contemporary art is a broad church when it comes to media, influences and inspiration, so our bookshop is a reflection of that. Being situated between two art schools (Goldsmith’s and Camberwell College of Art) means that a lot of students visit us, and they are generally looking for left-field ideas, or for unusual publications, as much as books about the visual arts. We’ve found that poetry, theory and criticism and some of our small-press books are just as popular (if not more!) than our books on art. We also want to cater to the local community, who use the gallery in ways that go beyond an afternoon at an exhibition (such as participating in Education related projects – Art Block etc – using the café, and attending film screenings and performances that cover music and dance). This means we work hard to maintain an interesting children’s section, albeit with an eye firmly on top-class illustration and design.

4. Tell us about your Publisher’s Table initiative. Why is this so important to the SLG shop?

This gives us a chance to showcase the publishers that make wonderful publications of a more unusual variety. Books that aren’t always easily understood when lost in a sea of other publications! Sometimes it really helps to put a selection together, so that customers can get a proper survey of what the publisher is about.

5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop that you’d like to share with us?

We’re currently in the process of designing a second shop that will occupy the ground floor of our brand new building at 82 Peckham Rd. The building is one of the earliest surviving purpose-built fire stations constructed after the formation of London’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1866 and was gifted to us in 2015 after many years of disuse. As well as an opportunity to sell more lovely books in a new location, the building will also house several new gallery spaces, an archive room, open kitchen, an education space and an artist studio. The second site will open up on the 20th September. More information can be found on our website.

1. News from Nowhere is run by a women workers’ co-operative. Tell us about that.

We see ourselves as part of the long and noble tradition of workers’ co-operatives whereby the business is owned and run by its workers. We don’t have a boss, we don’t have a hierarchy and we are all involved in decision-making for the bookshop – from what books we stock, to what projects we support, to long-term planning. We like to take it a step further in that all of us are on the same rates of pay – we all work just as hard whether we’ve been with the bookshop for four months, four years or four decades!

When our founder, Bob, left in the early eighties, we decided to become a women’s collective, to provide employment, training and experience for women, in bookselling and running a business. Although we have our differences and disputes, we like to think it’s a very supportive environment to work in, besides which we can further our feminist goals of overthrowing the patriarchy!

2. It’s Karl Marx’s 200th birthday this month – as a radical bookshop, are you doing anything to commemorate this moment?

Absolutely! In fact there are a number of significant anniversaries this year: 50 years since the Paris ’68 May uprising, the assassination of Martin Luther King and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ black power salute at the Mexico Olympics; one hundred years since Nelson Mandela’s birth, and the beginnings of women’s suffrage in the UK; and of course, 200 years since good old Karl was born (though we have heard that if it wasn’t for his daughter, Eleanor, transcribing his writings we would never have had the benefits of his thinking, as his writing was illegible!).

On Friday 18th May Liverpool celebrates Light Night with dozens of organisations staying open late. It’s a fabulous night of culture. The theme this year is Transformations, and we have our own take on it with our event “Revolution: Deeds and Words!”. There will be revolutionary book displays, purple and green refreshments and suffragette rosette-making.

3. On that note, what’s it like to run a radical bookshop in the city of Liverpool?

It’s overwhelmingly positive. The fact that we are one of the longest-surviving radical bookshops in the country cannot be divorced from the fact that we are slap-bang in the centre of Liverpool, one of the most rebellious cities in England. We work very closely with lots of political campaigns and projects, such as Hillsborough Justice, Liverpool Friends of Palestine and Merseyside Peace Network. Whenever we’ve been in difficulties, for instance during the campaign of arson attacks from fascists in the eighties, or unscrupulous landlords in the nineties, the people of Liverpool have rallied round and kept us afloat. So although Liverpool’s been through some very hard times, (and despite the city centre regeneration, there is still severe poverty and deprivation) it’s a city where people really look after each other and grass-roots projects thrive. It’s a very vibrant cultural city too, with many festivals, such as the Writing on the Wall Festival in May and Africa Oye (free African music festival) in June, plus theatres, universities and trades unions who use us for bookstalls and collaborative events.

4. If you could pick one book that everyone should read, which book would it be?

What an impossible question for a bookseller! Well our perennial bestseller is The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell, who was buried here in Liverpool in a paupers’ grave. It’s the book everyone lends and never gets back, it’s the book that inspires this city’s working-class identity. I’d also have to mention William Morris’ News from Nowhere of course! It’s still a revolutionary text in my mind, with innovative ideas about education, anti-materialism, self-organisation and beauty… plus a fabulous proposal for the redundant Houses of Parliament – as a store for manure.

5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the store that you’d like to share with us?

To be honest, the most exciting plan we have is to be sustainable. In these days of growth at all costs, it behoves those of us who are conscious of our planet to take a step back and look at the value of what we do, and the means by which we do it.

We believe that ‘small is beautiful’. Books will always be a vital tool, for expanding our minds, for envisioning other worlds, for providing us with information and inspiration to overcome injustice and work for a better world, whilst sowing beauty and creativity. The recent revival of feminism amongst young people, and the demand for books that reflect our multi-racial communities, particularly for children, will keep us busy reflecting, promoting and fulfilling those needs and we hope to be doing it for many more years to come.

1. Being based in Penzance, a beautiful area of Cornwall, and a popular holiday destination, do you find that your customers vary between locals and tourists?

I’m delighted that Barton Books is supported by local customers all year round, in what is very much an area visited by tourists. I’m lucky in that I have those extra visitors during the school holidays!

 2. You mainly stock art and children’s books (as well as illustrated fiction). What enticed you to specialise in these kind of areas?

I’ve always loved art and illustrated titles, from way back when I used to buy books for Liberty, the London department store. When I opened Barton I felt strongly that I should create a space unlike any other and specialise in the books I love and which would appeal to the many creative people who live in west Cornwall or who come to visit the place which has inspired so many artists over the years. And so far it seems to be working – it certainly strikes a happy chord with the customers, who luckily for me make return journeys to the shop.

3. What has been your favourite milestone since opening your store?

I’ve enjoyed many successful and jolly events at Barton, notably with Jovan Nicholson who presented his book on his grandmother, the painter Winifred Nicholson, and who delivered a wonderful illustrated talk which fascinated and enthralled my customers, who packed out the shop.

4. Do you have any exciting plans for your store that you’d like to share here?

I’m always thinking of ideas which will hopefully make the shop stand out and, rather than diversifying too much into non-book products am planning to stock more of the kind of books which deserve to be seen and handled, such as artists’ catalogue raisonnes and monographs. I’ve had some success selling the amazing Richard Diebenkorn 4-volume boxed set, the Francis Bacon set and more recently the Peter Lanyon Complete Oil Paintings volume. These are great, important works and it’s a joy to be dealing with them!

1. As the official bookshop of the Church of England, you stock a wide variety of Christian books and resources. Who are some of your bestselling authors?

Rowan Williams is our top-selling author and we are quite pleased that he’s no longer Archbishop of Canterbury as it means he has much more time to write. Sam Wells, currently Vicar of St Martin-in-the Fields is also very popular and quite prolific, the more, the better! We also do very well with crossover titles which are not specifically Christian like Francis Spufford’s. Poetry sales have increased a lot in the last few years with Mark Oakley on poetry and Malcolm Guite’s Poems doing particularly well.

We’ve also had strong fiction sales with James Runcie’s Grantchester series and Catherine Fox’s Lindchester Chronicles.

2. You’re located in a beautiful building in Westminster. What’s it like running a shop in such a central location?

We’re very much a destination bookshop where clergy and other church professionals gather before or after a meeting at Church House. During General Synod (600+ members) we get a huge influx of customers and often open longer hours. We are surrounded by government buildings with the Home Office, the Department for Education and DTI within 5mn walk so we get lots of civil servants coming in during their lunch hour browsing for books and cards. It’s a great location for bishop spotting and indeed minister spotting! We had a memorable launch two years ago with ten Lords attending, needless to say we were all on our best behaviour, as always!

3. You’re also part of the same company as the Church Times. Do you work closely with the publication on any projects?

We are part of the Hymns Ancient and Modern Group which includes the Church Times and we are the official Church Times bookshop. Church Times readers and subscribers can order from us online or over the phone and enjoy 10% discount. We work very closely with Church Times colleagues on features, book reviews as well as Lent and Christmas books supplements. We try to flag up new titles as early as possible and make sure that publishers send in key titles for review. We learn a lot from each other and we often work together to put on events or festivals.

4. The Festival of Faith and Literature takes place every two years in Bloxham, Oxfordshire. What does being a supporter of the festival involve?

We are involved very early on in the programming and contribute ideas and speakers to the Festival Director Sarah Meyrick. As we get closer to the Festival itself we do a lot of promotion online and in the shop with the support of the Church Times, highlighting authors and titles that we probably wouldn’t stock otherwise. We take about 100 titles to the Festival Bookshop focusing on Speakers’ books and key topical titles. Each speaker is invited to a signing session after their talk in the brand new school library which we take over for the weekend. We get the chance to chat to authors, find out about their next projects and perhaps plan a book-launch at the bookshop for their next book. An event quite often leads to another event.

5. Do you have any exciting plans for the store that you’d like to share here?

We are always on the look-out for events and launches, Bloomsbury have just asked us to sell the Archbishop of Canterbury’s latest title Re-imagining Britain at a big launch party at Lambeth Palace in March, that should be quite a night!

Over the August Bank Holiday week-end we face our biggest challenge of the year: we run g-books the official bookshop at the Greenbelt Festival. We build a bookshop from scratch in a marquee on the grounds of Boughton House in Northants. We spend the best part of summer planning orders, booking 30+ signing sessions with speakers but sadly we have no control over the weather on a Bank Holiday weekend. This is incredibly hard work but it does wonders for team-building across Hymns A&M Ltd as we all work together to make it happen. Coming back to the bookshop and to bookselling as we know it in Westminster feels incredibly easy and very cosy after that.

1. In 2016 you were shortlisted for the Independent Bookshop of the Year. What are some of the milestones you’re most proud of as owners of Atkinson-Pryce Books?

Being shortlisted for Independent Bookshop of the Year in 2013 and 2016 was a huge achievement. There are so many great Bookshops in Scotland and being recognised among them is an honour. In 2008 we completed a large extension, nearly doubling the size of the shop and introducing a proper children’s section. This year will be the 24th year the shop has been open which we think is a pretty big milestone!

2. Being located almost in the middle between Edinburgh and Glasgow, do you find that your customer base is a mixture of locals and tourists? What books work best for them?

Our customer base is hugely diverse, lots of lovely locals as well as tourists. Biggar is a very successful market town and is situated on the main route North and South making it a great place to stop on the way past. Due to this we like to cover all basis – local walking guides do very well as does nature, poetry, fiction and travel. You never know what someone is looking for and we try to be as diverse as possible.

3. You stock quite a few Scottish and specialist local titles. What categories do these books cover? Fiction, architecture, art etc?

These books cover a range of categories – fiction, biography and autobiography, history, local and general interest. We have been instrumental in the re-publishing of some key local titles and like to support local interest.

4. You do quite a few events both in store and in local areas, including book signings, film screenings and literary lunches. What have been your most successful events?

That is very hard to say, where to start! There have been some fantastic author events in the shop such as Patrick Barkham (who has been to us 3 times) and Sarah Winman. The film screening of To Kill a Mockingbird to celebrate the launch of Go Set A Watchman was an inspired idea by the owner Chris and it was a fantastic evening – Gregory Peck on the big screen! From midnight launches for Harry Potter with live owls and local theatre groups in character to a delicious charity meal with guest speakers in aid of the Syrian Refugee Crisis (#CookForSyria) and great literary lunches with wonderful authors we are very lucky to get such events. We also run the pop-up bookshop for Beyond Borders International Festival of Literature of Thought at Traquair House. We work very hard to bring new and exciting events to the shop each year.

5. Do you have any exciting plans for the future you’d like to share here?

In 2016 we had the pleasure of hosting the Shore to Shore Poetry tour with Carol Ann Duffy and friends and are thrilled to say they will be returning in June for another incredible evening. It was an unmissable event, selling out with an audience of over 200 and we are excited to be able to share it with even more people and welcome the poets back to Biggar. Sally Magnusson is coming in April for a Literary Lunch and in February we have an evening with Joanna Trollope. This month we will be completing a refurbishment, converting the stairwell for the property above into a lovely new book nook. This is an exciting change that enables to shop to progress and evolve.

1. The Barbican is one of the biggest arts centres in the country. What are your aims and aspirations as a bookseller to such a broad, ever-changing audience?

The Barbican’s audiences vary on a daily basis so it important that our shops and book range reflect the programme of events happening in the space. The Barbican Shop is divided into ‘Stories’ such as Theatre, Music and Architecture with related book titles cross-merchandised alongside shop product. We have one dedicated books fixture in the shop which primarily includes pick up titles relating to art and design. The Gallery Shop has focused book range relating to the current exhibition. This includes artist monographs and more general pick up or theory titles linked to the medium or themes on display.

2. The Barbican is known for its brutalist architecture – a style that has been both denounced and celebrated since its first appearance in the 1950s. Is this genre an area of particular interest for visitors to the shop – and what might they come away with?

Our unique architecture is the primary reason most visitors come to the Centre. Architecture publications and products across a range of price points sell particularly well for us in the Barbican Shop. Our best selling architecture products are our ‘Brutal’ range, designed in-house by our Marketing team. The range includes a tote bag, enamel pin and mug with a bold, monochrome text treatment at an affordable price point.

Other best sellers include An Artful Life’s Concrete Letter Alphabet and our self-published Residents: Inside the Iconic Barbican Estate publication.

3. You have a range of designers who have handmade items for your shop via a Makers initiative. Tell us more about that.

We started the Makers initiative when we relocated to the new Barbican Shop space in December 2016. Makers is an open call from emerging talent to have their work showcased in the space in a ‘pop-up’ space for a three month period.

The Barbican works closely with the chosen Maker on their display and promoting their work through marketing, press and social media channels.

So far Makers have included artist Anna Beam who makes unique colourful ceramics, textiles and prints and Kate Trouw, a jewellery maker who works with polymer clay.

Potential applicants’ businesses should be under three years old and have a minimal existing retail presence. Designers and makers local to the Barbican – the City of London, Clerkenwell and East London – are particularly welcomed to apply.

4. The centre has a fabulous programme of events all year round, but is there a particularly busy time for the shop?

As for most retailers Christmas in our busiest period both instore and online. Christmas 2017 was particularly busy as we had our Basquiat exhibition in the Art Gallery, one of our most successful Art Gallery shows to date. When we have a Theatre or Hall performance the pre, interval and post show periods can also be busy, especially if we have books for sale signed by the acts performing.

5. Do you have any exciting plans for the shop that you’d like to share here?

As of March 2018 we are beginning a new Retail Events Programme. Through talks, workshops and events we will aim to showcase a varied approach to a subject or theme in our shop and events spaces here at the Centre.

We will be hosting three seasons next year, the first being Make! in conjunction with Crafts Magazine. The season will include events such as a rug weaving demonstration, a bike building panel talk and craft themed architectural walking tours.

1. What does being a radical bookseller mean for you and how do you think it affects your customer base?

As a Radical bookshop our primary aim is to further progressive thinking and action, to play our part in building a fairer, kinder, more inclusive world. I believe our only way of achieving this is to build communities that share in this vision and are equipped to fight for it. Lighthouse, as Word Power was before us, is a home, a meeting place, a spark for such communities.

At the heart of that is a deliberate effort to champion social justice, to find and share stories and experiences that are often silenced or overlooked, and to ensure that those marginalized have a chance to tell their own stories. To that end we do stock a really broad and diverse range of publishers, authors and publications.

Being unapologetically political, hopeful, opinionated and inclusive as a bookshop seems to attract a wonderfully diverse, curious and socially engaged readership. We are a home to all real readers, most especially those who aren’t usually at the center of the narrative in other bookshops- readers of colour, LGBTQ+, working class, immigrant, or otherwise disenfranchised readers.

2. What’s it like being based in the beautiful city of Edinburgh? Does the Fringe Festival bring new customers to you?

Edinburgh is steeped in literary history, making it a great home for a bookshop. Lighthouse is at the heart of the city’s historic Old Town and a stone’s throw from two Edinburgh Universities, so we also have a part to play in offering up an alternative education, challenging accepted theories of the world, and of people. Our hope is to be an oasis for curious minds – if our challenging, thoughtful conversations with readers are anything to go by, we’re getting there!

Of course the city sees a huge shift during the August festivals and we’ve found that does bring a lot of new readers to us, especially families who come from all over Scotland for Fringe shows. We host our own Fringe to the Edinburgh Book Festival in August, this summer our Book Fringe hosted free lunchtime talks from the likes of Reni Eddo Lodge, Gary Younge and Angela Saini and we had huge local support. It’s a great opportunity to bring authors into the community and celebrate books in a way that’s accessible to and reflective of the neighborhood.

3. You also have a publishing arm, Word Power Books, tell us a bit about that.

We’ve put the publishing on the backburner for now, Word Power was very much the brain child and labour of love of Elaine and Tarlochen (who used to run the bookshop) and they’ve left big shoes to fill! At the moment we’re focused on getting the bookshop rebooted and keeping other traditions alive– like the Book Fringe and Radical Book Fair. That said, the Word Power Women series started with Meghan Delahunt’s Greta Garbo’s Feet is certainly something I would like to continue…

4. You run events in store, including a reading group focusing on translated works by women– what kind of events are your most popular?

Events are a huge part of the way we interact with our community, I think I love the bookshop best when we’re heaving with readers and buzzing with conversation and an author is at the heart of it taking questions and scribbling dedications. We host about one event a week, mostly non-fiction, although Poetry is very popular too. We’ve had sell out nights for a broad range of subjects – the launch of Annie Miller’s Universal Income Handbook, a fundraising night for an anthology of millennial essays called No Filter, and on November 1st a talk on music & misogyny is set to be a hit.

Dave Randall drew a good crowd a few weeks ago when he was up to discuss the political power of music; he didn’t pack a stadium, but as with a number of other visiting authors what was remarkable was how much he touched and inspired those there, readers who keep coming back to unpick something he said, or find another book he recommended on rock against racism, or the BDS movement. Seeing people fired up in the days and weeks and months after an event, and being there to enable that journey, well, that’s really special.

5. Do you have any exciting plans for Lighthouse that you’d like to share here?

We are so excited to be bringing back the Edinburgh Radical Book Fair just 6 months after we re-opened. From Nov 16th to 19th we’ll have all the best progressive publishing – including a Yale stall!- laid out across a huge hall in a brilliant flea market of books and ideas. On top of that we have over a dozen cracking speakers, from Shami Chakrabarti to Michael Rosen, Scilla Elworthy and Jackie Kay, discussing subjects as varied as protest, peace, welfare, and the refugee crisis– to name but a few!

We’ve also recently become home to a terrific charity called Streetreads who bring books to homeless readers around Edinburgh. They’re just starting out too and working out of our basement – aka The Book Cave – for the next year, so we’ve been working really hard to curate an events line up for Book Week Scotland (Nov 26th-Dec 2nd) that will shine a light on Scotland’s homelessness crisis and the extraordinary people fighting its devastating human impact.

Mostly we’re just excited to keep evolving!