October Books; creating community through literature and learning
October Books is so much more than a bookshop.
We have been serving our Southampton community for over 45 years, providing a curated selection of progressive, radical and inclusive literature and cards. For the last 20 years we have also sold vegetarian, vegan and organic foods as well as low impact cleaning products as well as locally made produce. In 2016 we moved to community owned premises in Portswood and expanded our offering to include a community space, kitchen and one-to-one room for hire and more recently a community garden.
Our architect designed High Street space has given us the opportunity to offer a whole range of activities to our local community and beyond.
These include:
- A package for local schools including discounts on bulk orders and provision of books for World Book Day
- A wide range of volunteering opportunities for young and old in a supportive and safe environment
- A non-institutional space for communities to come together
- A place for local authors to launch their books and a space for local artists to display their work
- A local connection for our academic institutions, providing hands on experiential learning of real life business issues and learning about ethical business models
Since moving to our own premises we are working closely with other organisations in the city to provide the services that our community wants and needs.
We currently host the following groups and events in our community space:
- Vegout, a weekly vegan waste food cafe where people can come and have a Pay as you feel meal, making the offering available to all
- A weekly meeting place for intergenerational activities and a cream tea in collaboration with Communicare and St Marys Church
- A ‘Climate Cafe’, providing a safe space for those anxious about changes to our environment to express these concerns.
- Solent Mind who hold regular games evenings with conversations about health and well-being
In order to provide all these services we rely heavily on the sale of books and other products as income. So, if you would like to support us, don’t go to that well known online book buying service we won’t mention, but check out our website (a new site to be launched in early November) or pop in and see us.
If you don’t live locally and would like to support us then you can do your book buying on Bookshop, by following the link here
Alternatively, you can support us through the hire of our community space or 1 to 1 room or by attending our events and other activities. Maybe you have connections with a local school and could introduce us to their book buyer or librarian. Or perhaps you would like to volunteer with us and find out a bit more about how we work and get a peek behind the scenes of Southampton’s only independent bookshop. Check out our website for details or email us on inof@octoberbooks.org
Contact links…
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / info@octoberbooks.org
