Bristol’s bookshop revival challenged to be more inclusive

Against the backdrop of the declining high street giants in Bristol, one type of retailer is quietly on the rise.

In 2018, Bristol didn’t have a single independent bookshop selling new titles. Then, readers could only get their literary fixes from second-hand shops or a handful of chains including Stanford’s, Waterstones and Foyles.

Fast-forward four years and our city, famed for its support of independent businesses, is littered with indie booksellers.

Two opened within a month of each other, Max Minerva’s and Storysmith, and three more followed in 2021, Gloucester Road Books, Bookhaus, and Hidden Corner.

Max Minerva’s moved into Henleaze shortly before Durdham Downs Books closed – photo: Max Minerva’s

Sam Taylor, co-owner with his wife of Max Minerva’s in Westbury Park, says the resurgence of bookshops is a surprise to most people.

In a recent article on Bookseller, he wrote: “Whenever I say I own a bookshop the general response is one of curiosity, a touch of incredulity and more than a little concern, ‘Ooh, you’re brave!’, ‘Do people still buy books?’”.

But Bristol has began a new chapter crammed with booksellers, and Sam says one common thread underpinning their rise is down to geography.

He explained: “We, Storysmith and Gloucester Road Books all reside on thriving high streets in residential areas. None of us are competing with city centre rents and chain stores.”

“Our street includes a butcher, a fishmonger, a cafe, two restaurants, a vacuum repair shop (yes, really), a picture framers, a sportswear shop and a couple of barbers.

“Our customers live within a 15-minute walk. They pop in while doing their daily exercise, weekly shop or lunchtime coffee run. They don’t have to plan parking and battle traffic to reach us.”

But the future of bookshops in Bristol is uncertain. The owners of Hidden Corner, a queer-owned cafe and bookstore, were evicted by the landlord from their premises off Portland Square in St Paul’s in October.

Nathalie Emmanuel lent her supported to the threatened Hidden Corner cafe and bookshop – photo: Hidden Corner

In his article, Sam acknowledges that the literary ‘utopia’ Bristol has achieved is a largely middle-class one, calling it “the biggest reason for our success and the biggest challenge in replicating it”.

“High streets like this, high streets that can support bookshops, rarely exist out of wealthier areas. Which is awful, as books, as with all art, are for everyone”, Sam wrote.

“We regularly do events with one of the richest schools in Bristol and one of the poorest, and the enthusiasm of the pupils is the same across both schools.

“Only one of them has a bookshop pupils can walk to after the final bell though.”

He added: “The economics of it are hard: if you’re struggling to pay your ever-increasing rent, utility and food bills, spending £8.99 on a book is a luxury.”

With this in mind, the defiance of local bookshops in the face of declining high-street retailers is something to be only cautiously proud of.

Whether the solution to making bookshops more inclusive is by “thinking outside of the recycled cardboard box” or “through on-profit models”, Sam asserted: “We must be able to find the answers somewhere on our shelves.”

Jessica Paul and Sam Taylor, co-owners of Max Minerva’s: photo: Max Minerva’s

Main photo by Ellie Pipe

Read more: ‘We need independent bookshops more than ever’

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