Retail

The People's Bookshop

Volunteer-run independent bookshop in Prince Bishops Place dealing in affordable second-hand and new titles, with a strong political, labour and local-history focus.

About The People's Bookshop

The People's Bookshop is an independent, volunteer-run bookshop that describes itself as the only radical bookshop in the North East. It opened in 2011 in an attic off Saddler Street and has since moved into larger premises within the Prince Bishops Place shopping centre in the city centre. It deals mainly in affordable second-hand books alongside new titles from smaller and local publishers, spanning fiction, children's books and academic and leisure subjects.

Run as a co-operative and community benefit society, the shop is known for its collections in political biography, socialism, labour history and the local history of the North East. Beyond selling books it operates as a community organising space and a hub for talks and gatherings, staffed by a collective of volunteers. The setting is welcoming and unhurried, with shelves that reward browsing.