More than just a bookshop: we are community inspired and owned

 
An image of a wall full of shelves l of books

History

October Books is a co-operative, radical neighbourhood bookshop and community hub.

Founded in 1977 in Bevois Valley, we then moved to rented premises at 243 Portswood Road. In November 2018, with the help and support of our community, many of whom invested time, money and physical labour, we moved to our own premises, at 189 Portswood Road.

From there, we trade independently from any political organisation, and seek to promote a fair and equal society.

Our workers and volunteers are from many different backgrounds, and they bring diversity to the shop, so everyone feels at home in October Books.

Products

Our book stock includes new releases, best sellers, general popular fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, alongside our broad range of specialised radical books and magazines.

Our specialty areas are social issues, feminism, gender studies, humanities and political issues.

We can order any book in print in the UK, US and Europe, and you can browse and buy books online, browse our second hand and specialist stock on Biblio or you can inquire about specific books through our online form, by popping into the shop or giving us a call.

We also stock a wide range of organic and fair-trade foods and green toiletries and household items.

 

Suppliers

We have selected our suppliers, carefully, to match both our and our customers values. All of our products are vegetarian, and many are vegan. We are proud to stock:

Our Ethos and Code of Conduct

To stay up to date, you can check our news and all our events are listed on our events page