The Second Shelf

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The Second Shelf
Company typeBookshop
Founded20 November 2018
FounderA. N. Devers
Headquarters14 Smith's Court, Soho, W1D 7DW,
City of Westminster, London
,
United Kingdom[1]
Number of locations
1 (September 2022)
OwnersA. N. Devers[2]
Websitewww.thesecondshelf.com

The Second Shelf is an independent bookshop in Soho, London with a focus on rare or rediscovered women's literature.[3][4] It was founded in 2018 as a feminist bookshop.[5][6] It also operates as an online bookshop.[7] The name "The Second Shelf" comes from the title of Meg Wolitzer's 2012 essay in The New York Times Book Review about sexism towards women's fiction.[8][9][10] It is a reference to The Second Sex, a book by Simone de Beauvoir.[1][11]

Description[edit]

The bookshop specialises in rare, rediscovered, and antiquarian books or manuscripts written by women.[12][13][14] They also sell objects and ephemera related to women's literature, as well as the contemporary women's literature they view as undervalued.[15][16][17] Many books in the shop are first editions, or signed books. Some few books sold are written by men, about women.[8][18] Examples of authors featured by the shop include Jane Austen, Gwendolyn Brooks, the Bröntes, Elizabeth David, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, and Zadie Smith.[19][20]

The Second Shelf is aligned with intersectional feminism, "in its stock and perspective".[6][15] As such, they take efforts to stock works by underrepresented groups: this includes "work by LGBTQ+ women, women from outside Europe and North America, and women of colour."[19][20] Among their stock, they attempt to provide books that are affordable for people with a low budget.[21][4] Describing the catalogue in 2019, the shop's founder stated: "The prices on rare books command a certain amount of seriousness, but we have books from £6 [to] £20,000 with everything in between. The £20,000 book is Jane Austen's best friend's copy of Sense and Sensibility. It's got her signature: Martha Lloyd. We also have Sylvia Plath's skirt for sale."[22]

The shop publishes a magazine called The Second Shelf: Rare Books and Words by Women.[23][4] The magazine was launched in spring 2018.[24] It "showcases photographs of rare books, in addition to essays, poems, interviews, and profiles by women".[23][25][20] The shop's owner described it as a "fashion magazine for books to read in your tub."[9] Some contributors to the magazine have included Joanna Walsh, Lucy Scholes, and Lauren Groff.[1]

History[edit]

A. N. Devers, the founder and owner of the shop, had previously worked at Ruminator Books.[26] She first conceptualised The Second Shelf in 2014.[5] In particular, she was inspired to create it when she felt there was special emphasis on men's literature among book fairs, sellers, and collectors.[21][27] Devers commented, "I loved the books and was captivated by the trade, but sometimes I'd read a beautiful auction catalogue and there wouldn't be a single book by or about a woman [...] So I had this whimsical idea that if I were a rare-book dealer, I would sell books by women."[3]

Devers moved to London from New York City in 2016.[4][26] Prior to opening as a brick-and-mortar location, the shop staff sold books at book fairs — The Second Shelf launched in 2017 as a pop-up shop with an accompanying online storefront.[3][28][29] Though the shop was originally conceptualised as merely an online shop, Devers received a discounted leasing offer for physical shop space.[22][26] The Second Shelf obtained some of its initial funding through a 2018 Kickstarter campaign, which yielded about £32,000.[5][23][28] The bookshop opened on November 20, 2018.[23][30] Shortly after opening, the bookshop went viral online.[26][31]

The Second Shelf has since sold to museums and libraries seeking women's literature to diversify their collections.[4] The shop was named "Indie Bookstore of the Month" by Damian Barr's Literary Salon for March 2020.[30] Since its founding, the shop has initiated campaigns supportive of the transgender community: In 2020, they donated proceeds from sales of J. K. Rowling's books to Mermaids, a charity for transgender youth.[32][33] A letter signed by over 1,500 individuals in the literary industry was published by The Second Shelf in September 2020, intended as "a message of love and solidarity for the trans and non-binary community."[34][35] In 2021, they ran a campaign to promote transgender women writers.[2]

The shop was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They shifted to a more online-focused business model for the time being, with the brick-and-mortar location used as "basically an online shipping and receiving area".[31][36] As of October 2021, the shop was planning to relocate due in part to the lack of space.[37]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Ashby, Chloë (22 April 2019). "The Second Shelf Bookshop". Toast. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b Chandler, Mark (4 May 2021). "Second Shelf campaign helps Peters to bumper Bookshop sales". The Bookseller. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Finnigan, Kate (1 October 2020). "The Cause: 'Why I'm putting women back on the shelf'". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Browne, Malika (13 March 2020). "Second Shelf: the shop unearthing rare books by women". The Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "New feminist bookshop opens in Soho". Westminster Extra. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Potts, Dianca London Potts (21 February 2019). "Shelf Love: How A.N. Devers Created a Feminist Paradise for Bibliophiles". Bitch. Bitch Media. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. ^ Shepherd, Katie (2018). ""The Second Shelf" Is Fighting Literary Sexism". Bust. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b Nugent, Ciara (5 March 2019). "Inside the Bookstore That Wants to Gender-Balance Our Bookshelves". Time. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b Aylmer, Olivia (2 October 2018). "With The Second Shelf, Women Writers—And Collectors—Finally Get Their Due". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  10. ^ "March 8, 2019: Full Transcript". Amanpour & Company. PBS. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  11. ^ Haeming, Anne (9 November 2019). ""Wir verdienen nicht, in den Bücherregalen unten zu stehen"" ["We don't deserve to be at the bottom of the bookshelves"]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  12. ^ Reynolds, Laura. "The Second Shelf: A Tiny Bookshop Tucked Away In A Secret Soho Courtyard". Londonist. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  13. ^ Forster, Laurel (21 September 2020). Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1940s-2000s: The Postwar and Contemporary Period. Edinburgh University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-4744-6999-9.
  14. ^ Taylor, Helen (5 December 2019). Why Women Read Fiction: The Stories of Our Lives. Oxford University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-19-256266-1.
  15. ^ a b Pedersen, Nate (May 2018). "Bright Young Booksellers: A. N. Devers". Fine Books Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  16. ^ Rodgers, Daniel (28 October 2021). "Sylvia Plath's kilt is on sale for £12,500". Dazed. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  17. ^ Hampson, Laura (2 September 2018). "Why an arts journalist became a rare books dealer of female-authored works". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  18. ^ Liberty, Megan N. (September 2019). "Art Books Dispatches from the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  19. ^ a b Crockett, Moya (3 March 2019). "The triumphant return of the feminist bookshop". Stylist. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  20. ^ a b c Rosete, Erika (20 August 2020). "Una segunda oportunidad para los libros raros de mujeres" [A Second Chance for Rare Women's Books]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  21. ^ a b Lister, Kat (10 August 2019). "A Fresh Crop Of Feminist Bookshops Is Transforming London's Literary Landscape". Vogue. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  22. ^ a b McCabe, Katie (5 March 2019). "This London bookshop specialises in rare books by women writers". Time Out. Time Out Group. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  23. ^ a b c d Rosen, Lynn (2019). "The Second Shelf". Poets & Writers Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  24. ^ Mehta, Diane (5 July 2018). "The Rare Women in the Rare-Book Trade". The Paris Review. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  25. ^ Genovese, Holly (16 October 2018). "The Second Shelf, Rare Books, and Women's Literature". U.S. Intellectual History Blog. Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  26. ^ a b c d Kelly, Hillary (1 March 2019). "The Bookstore That Became the Face of a Movement". Vulture. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  27. ^ Bolick, Kate (21 April 2018). "Who Bought Sylvia Plath's Stuff?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  28. ^ a b Newman, Caroline (5 June 2018). "Q&A: Alumna's New Rare Book Business Focuses on Female Authors". UVA Today. The University of Virginia. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  29. ^ Stoodley, Sheila Gibson (23 October 2018). "How This Book Dealer is Fighting for Female Authors". The Robb Report. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  30. ^ a b "The Second Shelf - Indie Bookshop of the Month". Damian Barr's Literary Salon. March 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  31. ^ a b Kerridge, Jake (23 November 2020). "'It was devastating – no-one was in central London': how do you sell rare books in lockdown?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  32. ^ Parsons, Vic (13 February 2020). "This bookshop is making a donation to trans children's charity Mermaids every time they sell a JK Rowling book". PinkNews. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  33. ^ Moore, Matt. "Feminist bookstore will donate to Mermaids whenever someone buys a JK Rowling book". Gay Times. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  34. ^ Mackelden, Amy (3 October 2020). "Letter Opposing J.K. Rowling's Transphobia Signed by More Than 1,500 Publishing Professionals". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  35. ^ Flood, Alison (30 September 2020). "More than 200 writers and publishers sign letter in support of trans and non-binary people". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  36. ^ Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (14 April 2021). ""It was emotional": booksellers celebrate the reopening of bookshops". The New Statesman. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  37. ^ Smith, Robbie (1 October 2021). "Londoner's Diary". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 September 2022.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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