Knights Of marks first birthday with pop-up bookshop

Inclusive publisher Knights Of is marking its first birthday by opening a pop-up bookshop inside Brixton Market.

The shop will be open from today (24th October) until 29th October and will stock diverse children’s books from a variety of publishers in the UK and Ireland.

The tagline for the shop will be #ReadTheOnePercent, referencing a recent CLPE report that said only 1% of children’s books published in 2017 had a BAME main character, and the stock is being ordered through local bookshop Tales on Moon Lane. The profits will go back into the Knights Of business.

“We wanted to deliver something that is central to what we promised our community,” co-founder David Stevens told The Bookseller. “Brixton has never had a children's bookshop - currently WH Smith is the only bookshop in the area - and we saw an opportunity to do something that will promote inclusive commercial children's fiction, not just our own list, but across the industry at a time when diversity is something readers are talking about.”

Knights Of is also holding author signing events and inviting authors to come to the shop to sign stock. Authors and publishers who are taking part include Lantana, Robin Stevens, Ade Adepitan, Cerrie Burnell and Alanna Books.