UK's first Black specialist bookshop New Beacon to close

The UK's first Black specialist bookshop is to shut its doors and move entirely online, as financial constraints jeopardise its future. 

New Beacon Books, which opened in 1966 in north London's Finsbury Park, was founded by activist John La Rose and Sarah White, and is currently operated by Michael La Rose.

The Stroud Green Road shop has announced a sale with 25% off stock. Booksellers and others in the industry have come out in support of the radical bookshop, taking to social media to express their disappointment.

Actor and director Adjoa Andoh tweeted: "I am so sad about this wonderful bookshop and the haven of cultural solidarity and information it provided to the black and extended communities for over half a century."

The team at Nottingham's Five Leaves Bookshop said: "Sometimes there is just bad news. New Beacon has been a beacon in the past, as a publisher and a bookshop."

Author and The Good Literary Agency co-founder Nikesh Shukla

: "Really really sad news about this incredibly important bookshop. I used to live around the corner and the books I bought from this excellently curated shop changed the way I view the world."

The retailer has faced similar pressures before, and announced its decision to close in 2016, following the growth and pressure of online retailers such as Amazon. However, a swell of support from the local community and a crowdfunder that raised £10,000 in 2017 meant the shop was able to continue trading.

Answering calls for a similar fundraising effort this time round, Francesca Gilbert, academic, actor and poet, has said she is in talks with the owners to see if a crowdfunder can be organised to save the shop, which is likely to close in February or March.