Save Common Press - Queer Intersectional Bookshop

The Common Press has become a CIC (Community Interest Company), and we need backing from our community, and the help of new investors, to continue to exist. 

We need to raise £100,000 so we can operate independently.

What we do

The Common Press is London’s queer intersectional bookshop, café, and events space located in Shoreditch, East London. We are more than a bookshop; we are a sanctuary for storytelling and queer culture and have become an essential third space for the LGBTQIA+ community. The Common Press is a crucial social and educational hub providing resources for allies and locals alike. Our radical indie bookshop stocks over 7,000 curated books including an expansive fiction collection, niche experimental zines, queer parenting manuals, poetry, guides to queer relationships and polyamory, and much more.

We champion LGBTQIA+ authors, queer Black & POC writers, non-binary and trans voices, underrepresented creatives, small publishers, and young LGBTQIA+ people. We host a range of events, from book launches to writing and art workshops, panel discussions, and social gatherings. We have been ranked as one of London’s Top 10 independent bookshops by The British Book Awards (Nibbies) for featuring titles on trans-inclusive feminism, anti-colonialism, anti-fascism, ecopolitics, and self-care.

Who we are

The Common Press is led by a dedicated group of queer BIPOC, Trans, Non-Binary folx, and Queer Women. We are creatives, activists, and change-makers who have been building communities for over a decade and have 15 years of experience in the books/literature industry. 

Why is The Common Press important?

LGBTQIA+ spaces are constantly in decline and there are very few spaces that operate during the day as well as night to provide an inclusive and diverse space for the queer community. The Common Press is a unique space that allows our evolving community to come together and socialise, learn, and work together for collective liberation. 

What we provide: 

• A warm and friendly space to 18,000 customers and supporters every year
• 500+ events and workshops every year.
• 200+ free space for queer creatives and young people.
• A network of over 20,000 people, who love what we do.

Why the change / what happened?

The Common Press opened in 2021, post-pandemic, as part of ‘Glass House Projects’, which included Common Counter, to determine whether there was a need for new spaces like them. Over the past three years, we have collaborated with our current investors to demonstrate the necessity of a venue like The Common Press. We have achieved this goal, creating a blueprint for an alternative queer space. Unfortunately, our current investors are no longer able to support us, leaving us completely unfunded and in need of community support for our next chapter as a Community Interest Company (CIC). Becoming a CIC is part of our new business model, where profits benefit the community instead of shareholders. This change also improves access to grants and other funding streams, allowing us to be independent and more financially sustainable.

So far we have:

• Accessed financial support available to us; We are now in the position to be able to apply for grants such as the LGBTQ+ consortium, Art Council, National Lottery, and other funding streams. 
• Reached out to new investors and supporters from our community. Our announcement in early July to Save The Common Press encouraged over 500 people to reach out to provide their expertise or to volunteer.
• New organisation and staff structure. We have restructured the organisation to significantly reduce costs and achieve overhead savings

How your donation will help

The survival of The Common Press is dependent on whether we can reach our £100,000 goal. Your donation and support will:

• Ensure we can continue to exist: Meeting our goal will mean we can keep the doors open to LGBTQIA+ members, locals, and allies to celebrate queer culture through books and events.
• Retain as many of our highly knowledgeable and experienced staff: All of our employees are dedicated and passionate about the venue. We want to retain as many of them as possible, they are all committed to ensuring the success and future of the space in years to come.
• Renovation and maintenance: We need to expand the bookshop to build a wheelchair-accessible toilet on the ground floor, making it more accessible to all our customers and community members.
• Create and develop our new future: Becoming fully independent will not only allow The Common Press to continue serving the community, but it will also enable us to implement new ideas, expand our reach, and create impactful collaborative projects with other LGBTQ+ creatives and organisations.

You can also support by becoming a Common Press Member. By becoming a Common Member you not only contribute to the longevity of this essential queer venue, but also gain exclusive access to curated books, special events, giveaways, and the joy of being part of a community that champions the voices and stories that make us who we are. Choose from our tier membership to be our Friend with Benefits, an Anchor Partner, or become our Suga Zaddy. 

The Common Press needs your support to stay open. Please donate what you can and share our Crowdfund campaign so we can continue to provide a safer space for our LGBTQIA+ community to exist, both during the day and at night.