Daunt Books to open new branch in Oxford

Daunt Books will open a new branch in Summertown, Oxford early in the new year.

The bookshop will return independent bookselling to Summertown following the closure, after 40 years, of The Book House in June 2018 due to the rise of Amazon as well as Oxford's high rents and business rates.

Ahead of opening, Daunt Books said it plans to "place the shop firmly at the heart of the local community, with excellent service and an exciting programme of events and activities".

It intends to be "able to react to demand locally", in terms of its offering, with a strong fiction, history, biography and poetry section and a large children's area, as well as maintaining a focus on travel-related books, which it is known for. 

Occupying 1800 square feet, the new branch will be located at 249 Banbury Road, formerly the premises of a bank, where work has already begun in preparation for the shop's opening. Daunt Books said it would be opening "early in the new year", 2020, but the opening date has yet to be confirmed.

To run the shop, Daunt Books is looking to recruit five–six booksellers initially, including a manager. Those interested in staff roles should contact Rebecca Le Fevre at rebecca@dauntbooks.co.uk. 

The bookshop will be the first to open as Daunt Books since its Cheapside shop in 2010. (The business opened Hart's Books in Saffron Walden and The Marlow Bookshop in Marlow, Buckinghamshire in 2016.) It will be the seventh "Daunt Books" and 10th bookshop for the business overall counting non-Daunt branded shops.