Corner Bookshop

The Corner Bookshop in Leeds was founded by Erika Dwek in 1976, who came to Leeds to open a bookshop after being inspired by her experience of running bookstalls in London as part of the Women's Liberation Movement.

The bookshop served the Women’s Liberation, Gay Liberation, Black Liberation, and Labour Movement. It was also a hub for European Nuclear Disarmament activities, hosting evening meetings and affinity groups.

At its peak, the shop stocked 10,000 titles with special subjects including feminism, alternative health, politics, fiction, and gay literature.

The Corner Bookshop faced fascist attacks. The bookshop team received death threats, had their windows smashed by bricks, and even experienced a gunshot through the plate glass window.

The shop struggled financially and was on the verge of insolvency for most of its tenure. Bookstalls at the University were crucial for income, but it wasn't enough to keep the bookshop debt-free.

The bookshop operated with volunteers from 1984 to reduce its debts but ultimately closed in 1987 with debts of about £15,000.

Sources:

Maggie Walker, 'Corner Bookshop Leeds' in Radical Bookshop HIstory Newsletter Issue 5, November 2022, ISSN 2752-3977 [available online here]

The Radical Bookseller, No. 67, 1990

Radical Bookshops Listing, Radical Bookshop History Project (November 2023) [Available online here, accessed 13.05.2025]