Libreria bookshop director Davies moves on

Sally Davies, the director of East London bookshop Libreria, is stepping down from her role.

Davies took up the role as director of Libreria in October from a position as digital editor at the Financial Times and has decided to return to journalism as a senior editor at Aeon, a website which publishes thought-leading essays, videos and ideas.  

The day-to-day running of the Hanbury Street shop and its events programme will now be jointly managed by booksellers Paddy Butler and Jess Fogarty.

Libreria was opened in February by the founders of creative workspace Second Home, Rohan Silva and Sam Aldenton.

In a statement, they said they were “delighted” by the shop’s performance under Davies’ direction.

“Sally has done a brilliant job of building Libreria from scratch to make it one of the best-known and most exciting bookshops in London,” they said. “She set its tone and creative direction, and infused Libreria with her deep knowledge of books, culture and the community that surrounds them. We're delighted with the shop's performance. Sally has built an excellent team and laid strong foundations for future growth, so we look forward to this next phase of work with Libreria in the UK and beyond."