New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specializes in

Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

, African-American and Asian literature. Founded in 1966 by

John La Rose John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and Sarah White, it was the first Caribbean publishing house in England. New Beacon Books is widely recognized as having played an important role in the

Caribbean Artists Movement The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972,George Padmore Institute The George Padmore Institute (GPI), founded in 1991 in Stroud Green Road, North London, by John La Rose (1927–2006) and a group of political and cultural activists connected to New Beacon Books,Stroud Green Road Stroud Green is a suburb and electoral ward in north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. On its south-western side, Stroud Green Road forms part of the boundary with the London Borough of Islington.See for example the catchment a ...

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

, London.

History

New Beacon Books started out as a publishing house that was run out of the

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...

, North London, flat of

and Sarah White. It was named after the Trinidadian journal '' The Beacon'', which was published between 1931 and 1932. In 1967, La Rose and White moved New Beacon Books to new premises, in

, where the company also began to function as a specialist bookstore. Early publications included La Rose's first poetry collection, ''Foundations'' (1966), ''Tradition, the Writer and Society: Critical Essays'' by

Wilson Harris Sir Theodore Wilson Harris (24 March 1921 – 8 March 2018) was a Guyanese writer. He initially wrote poetry, but subsequently became a novelist and essayist. His writing style is often said to be abstract and densely metaphorical, and his sub ...

(1967), and a new edition of John Jacob Thomas's 1889 polemic, '' Froudacity'' (1969). Other notable works published by New Beacon Books include:

Edward Kamau Brathwaite The Honourable Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, D ...

's ''History of the Voice: The Development of Nation Language in the Anglophone Caribbean'' (1984);

Erna Brodber Erna Brodber (born 20 April 1940) is a Jamaican writer, sociologist and social activist. She is the sister of writer Velma Pollard. Biography Born in the farming village of Woodside, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, she gained a B.A. from the Unive ...

's novels ''Jane and Louisa Will Soon Come Home'' (1980) and ''Myal'' (1988);

Martin Carter Martin Wylde Carter (7 June 1927 – 13 December 1997) was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his p ...

's ''Poems of Succession'' (1977);

Bernard Coard Winston Bernard Coard (born 10 August 1945) is a Grenadian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister in the People's Revolutionary Government of the New Jewel Movement. Coard launched a coup within the revolutionary government and took power f ...

's '' How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Sub-normal in the British School System'' (1971);

Lorna Goodison Lorna Gaye Goodison CD (born 1 August 1947)Debo ...

's ''I am Becoming my Mother'' (1986);

Mervyn Morris Mervyn Eustace Morris OM (born 21 February 1937) is a poet and professor emeritus at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. According to educator Ralph Thompson, "In addition to his poetry, which has ranked him among the top West In ...

, ''The Pond'' (1973) and ''Shadowboxing'' (1979); and

Andrew Salkey Andrew Salkey (30 January 1928 – 28 April 1995) was a Jamaican novelist, poet, children's books writer and journalist of Jamaicans, Jamaican and Panamanian origin. He was born in Panama but raised in Jamaica, moving to Britain in the 1952 to pu ...

's ''A Quality of Violence'' (1978). The 50th anniversary of New Beacon was celebrated with a series of events held during the latter part of 2016,Palmer, Carl (15 August 2016)
"UK's First Black Publisher And Bookshop Celebrates 50th Year"
''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

''. including an International Poetry Night on 3 December, with internationally acclaimed poet and GPI trustee

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...

, at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Commercial viability

In late 2016, the directors of the bookshop decided to close it down on the grounds that it was no longer economically viable. A particular problem was that it lacked a functional website, and was losing its specialist niche to online booksellers. The physical setup had not essentially changed since the 1980s. The shop's imminent closure was announced at the 50th-anniversary celebrations in December 2016. However, in early 2017 a volunteer New Beacon Development Group swiftly reopened the shop with reduced hours and set about gathering support. Crowdfunding raised £11,248, which helped the shop to undertake a major refurbishment and create a website, permitting online browsing and shopping. The renovations were completed in August 2017 and normal hours were reestablished. In December 2021 New Beacon Books announced a move to online-only sales, but after raising money through another crowdfunding campaign, with the original stated target being reached within 24 hours, the bookshop announced it would be able to keep its physical location open. The directors were reported as stating: "For the foreseeable future, New Beacon Books will continue to be based at its current premises. We will be continuing to look at ways for a long-term sustainable future."

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

* * {{Bookshops in London Bookshops in London Independent bookshops of the United Kingdom Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies based in London Caribbean literature Black British culture in London Black British mass media Bookstores established in the 20th century Publishing companies established in 1966 1966 establishments in England British companies established in 1966 Caribbean Artists Movement

History

Commercial viability

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links