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New Beacon Books

Summary

New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specializes in Black British, Caribbean, African, African-American and Asian literature.[1][2][3] Founded in 1966 by John La Rose and Sarah White, it was the first Caribbean publishing house in England.[4][5] New Beacon Books is widely recognized as having played an important role in the Caribbean Artists Movement, and in Black British culture more generally.[6][2] The associated George Padmore Institute (GPI) is located on the upper floors of the same building where the bookshop resides at 76 Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, London.

New Beacon Books
StatusOpen Tuesday-Saturday 11am - 6pm (Thursday 11am - 8pm)
Founded1966; 58 years ago (1966)
FoundersJohn La Rose (1927–2006), Sarah Swinburne White (1941–2022)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters location76 Stroud Green Road
London, N4 3EN
Nonfiction topicsBlack culture; Black British, Caribbean, African, African-American and Asian literature
Official websitehttps://www.newbeaconbooks.com/

History edit

 
New Beacon Books in June 2023

New Beacon Books started out as a publishing house that was run out of the Hornsey, North London, flat of John La Rose and Sarah White.[3][4][7] It was named after the Trinidadian journal The Beacon, which was published between 1931 and 1932.[2][8] In 1967, La Rose and White moved New Beacon Books to new premises, in Finsbury Park, where the company also began to function as a specialist bookstore.[2] Early publications included La Rose's first poetry collection, Foundations (1966), Tradition, the Writer and Society: Critical Essays by Wilson Harris (1967), and a new edition of John Jacob Thomas's 1889 polemic, Froudacity (1969).[9][8]

Other notable works published by New Beacon Books include: Edward Kamau Brathwaite's History of the Voice: The Development of Nation Language in the Anglophone Caribbean (1984); Erna Brodber's novels Jane and Louisa Will Soon Come Home (1980) and Myal (1988); Martin Carter's Poems of Succession (1977); Bernard Coard's How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School System (1971); Lorna Goodison's I am Becoming my Mother (1986); Mervyn Morris, The Pond (1973) and Shadowboxing (1979); and Andrew Salkey's A Quality of Violence (1978).

The 50th anniversary of New Beacon was celebrated with a series of events held during the latter part of 2016,[10] including an International Poetry Night on 3 December, with internationally acclaimed poet and GPI trustee Linton Kwesi Johnson, at the British Library.[11]

Commercial viability edit

In late 2016, the directors of the bookshop decided to close it down on the grounds that it was no longer economically viable. A particular problem was that it lacked a functional website, and was losing its specialist niche to online booksellers. The physical setup had not essentially changed since the 1980s. The shop's imminent closure was announced at the 50th-anniversary celebrations in December 2016.[12]

However, in early 2017 a volunteer New Beacon Development Group swiftly reopened the shop with reduced hours and set about gathering support.[12] Crowdfunding raised £11,248, which helped the shop to undertake a major refurbishment and create a website, permitting online browsing and shopping. The renovations were completed in August 2017 and normal hours were reestablished,[13] with a re-launch taking place in October 2017.[14]

In December 2021 New Beacon Books announced a move to online-only sales,[15] but after raising money through another crowdfunding campaign, with the original stated target being reached within 24 hours,[16][17] the bookshop announced it would be able to keep its physical location open.[18] The directors were reported as stating: "For the foreseeable future, New Beacon Books will continue to be based at its current premises. We will be continuing to look at ways for a long-term sustainable future."[19]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Donnell 2002, p. 299.
  2. ^ a b c d Phillips 2011.
  3. ^ a b Sankar 1996.
  4. ^ a b Alleyne 2002, p. 41.
  5. ^ Johnson 2006.
  6. ^ Walmsley 1992, pp. 90–91.
  7. ^ Busby, Margaret (16 February 2022). "Sarah White obituary". The Guardian.
  8. ^ a b Alleyne 2002, p. 42.
  9. ^ Walmsley 1992, p. 90.
  10. ^ Palmer, Carl (15 August 2016), "UK's First Black Publisher And Bookshop Celebrates 50th Year", The Voice.
  11. ^ Bidisha (6 December 2016), "Beacon of hope: The tiny bookshop that gave a big voice to black writers", BBC – Arts.
  12. ^ a b "The Story of New Beacon Books". New Beacon Books. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  13. ^ Gelder, Sam (8 August 2017). "Finsbury Park's New Beacon Books set to begin new chapter this weekend". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  14. ^ "New Beacon Bookshop Launch". Shades of Noir. University of the Arts, London. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  15. ^ Ambrose, Tom (29 December 2021). "Dismay as UK's first specialist black bookshop forced to close". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  16. ^ Ambrose, Tom (1 January 2022). "UK's first black bookshop weighs move to new site after £50k raised to save it". The Guardian.
  17. ^ New Beacon Books website.
  18. ^ Schofield, Blanca (10 January 2022). "New Beacon Books: Finsbury Park shop escapes closure after Crowdfunding campaign". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  19. ^ Wood, Heloise (4 January 2022). "New Beacon Books saved after crowdfunder raises £76k within days". The Bookseller.

Sources edit

  • Alleyne, Brian W. (2002). Radicals Against Race: Black Activism and Cultural Politics. Oxford: Berg. ISBN 1-85973-527-4.
  • Donnell, Alison, ed. (2002). "New Beacon Books". Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. London: Routledge. pp. 299–300. ISBN 0-415-16989-5.
  • Johnson, Linton Kwesi (4 March 2006). "Obituary: John La Rose". The Guardian. p. 39. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  • Phillips, Caryl (2011). "John La Rose". Colour Me English. London: Random House. ISBN 9781409028925.
  • Sankar, Celia (September–October 1996). "A Caribbean publisher's radical beacon". Americas. 48 (English ed.). ISSN 0379-0940.
  • Walmsley, Anne (1992). The Caribbean Artists Movement, 1966–1972: A Literary and Cultural History. London: New Beacon Books. ISBN 9781873201015.

Further reading edit

  • Philippa Ireland, "Laying The Foundations: New Beacon Books, Bogle L’Ouverture Press and the Politics of Black British Publishing", E-rea [Online], 11.1 | 2013, 15 December 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/erea.3524

External links edit

  • New Beacon Books – official website
  • Harris, Roxy, and Sarah White, "A short history of Black British Publishing | The Roots of Independent Black British Publishing", Bocas Lit Fest. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  • Beezmohun, Sharmilla (28 November 2016). "Foundations of a Movement". British Library. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  • John, Gus (5 December 2016). "Changing Britain through the Arts and Activism". Operation Black Vote. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  • "Belonging & Resistance: An evening of readings at New Beacon Books", Serpentine Galleries, 1 February 2022.

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