Reading Matters
In 1981, Haringey Council helped fund a new community bookshop in Wood Green known as Reading Matters. The idea of the bookshop was conceived by three teachers and an ex-employee of Central Books, Alan Fox.
Reading Matters became a vital venue for LGBTQ+ rights meetings and stocked 7,000 titles including women's fiction, politics, Black studies, children's books in community languages, and second-hand books.
Key figures involved with the bookshop included Jane Oxburgh, Caroline, and Dave.
They received grants from the Arts Council, the Greater London Arts Association, and the local council. Reading Matters nonetheless faced financial challenges. In 1982, the council demanded £4,500 prompting the bookshop to mount an impressive campaign to persuade the council to subsidise their rent.
The shop in Wood Green High Road produced 'Right To Read' badges to defend the right to sell and read gay literature, especially following a motion by Haringey Council in April 1988 to discontinue their grant under Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. The shop received homophobic hate mail addressed to the 'Filth Shop' during this period.
The campaign received support from schools and positive publicity in the local press. Despite these efforts, the shop closed after the council withdrew their grant, refusing to consider a rent reduction from the £13,500 charged.
Sources:
Radical Bookshops Listing, Radical Bookshop History Project (November 2023) [Available online here, accessed 4.7.2025]
Haringey Council LGBT History Month Timeline [https://www.haringey.gov.uk/leisure-parks-culture/culture/lgbtq-365/lgbtq-history-timeline-heritage-resources/lgbtq-timeline-1967-to-1988, accessed 4.7.2025]
Harringay Online Forum [https://harringayonline.com/forum/topics/the-reading-matters-bookshop-in-wood-green-and-clause-28, accesssed 4.7.2025]
The Radical Bookseller, No. 4, Jan/Feb 1981; No. 12/13, Mar/Apr 1982; No. 43, December 1985; No. 54, July/Aug 1987; No. 59, April - May 1988; No. 75, 1991; No. 77, Spring 1991
