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Lighthouse Bookshop Edinburgh

@lighthousebks

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Scotland’s leading politics bookshop. A queer, feminist, antiracist community space
Open 10-8PM Mon-Sat, 11.30-5PM Sun
@lighthousebks.bsky.social

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Our 2026 Radical Book Fair programme is LIVE and fizzing with the energy of this year’s theme: Building a Better Now!

Not in the future, but now. Different worlds already exist, in people, spaces and movements, those pockets of life where glorious alternatives to late capitalism and despair are carved out, moment by moment.

These are seeds for the world we want. Let’s give them power and joy!

Like previous years, the fair will be made up of book stalls, activist stalls, events, workshops and more, ranging from topics such as the cost of living crisis, effective activism, queer ecology, lives in protest and prison, feminist utopias, fighting the rise of the right and much more.

All this at Assembly Roxy, 5-8th November.

In true DIY festival fashion, we’ve held back a few events for final touches. Expect much joy, celebration and opportunities for gathering as the Radical Book Fair nights close in - with words and music aplenty. Final flourish of evening events in a special announcement soon! Two booksellers stand outside the bookshop. One is holding up a banner that says "Programme is now live" while the other one holds a pile of books. There is text on the wall between them that reads "Look After Each Other." by @lighthousebks

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a day ago

Did you know that we run THREE bespoke subscription services?
Since May 2022 we’ve brought you monthly books direct to your door, carefully curated by our booksellers.

We thought we’d re-introduce our offering in case this is new to you, and give you a taste of what kind of thing to expect, should you choose to join us.

We offer three different subscriptions:

BEACON is our current affairs box, always activist, anti-capitalist, feminist, intersectional. Monthly cost £17, incl. postage.

SMOL is a celebration of small press fiction (Small, Mighty, Original, Loud). Monthly cost £15, incl. postage.

HOPE IS THE THING is our poetry box, focusing on new books or those you may have missed. Monthly cost £15, incl. postage.

The subscription boxes are accompanied by letters into your email inbox, written by the bookseller who read the book. They include a reflection on the book, further reading recommendations, further actions you can take and ways to connect with the book and its content beyond the page.

Bonus! New subscribers get a Lighthouse tote with their first package 📦 And there’s occasionally freebies and extra author content from the chosen publishers too!

Sign up at: lighthouse bookshop.com/shop A cream coloured tote with a lighthouse printed on it is laid on a wooden floor, surrounded by 5 books and some information cards by @lighthousebks

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10 days ago

Edinburgh’s Radical Book Fair Returns!

Thrilled to reveal our new poster by @shefilmsthedream, officially announcing we’ll be back @assemblyroxy from 5-8th November 2026!

We love how Malini’s design captures the energy of this year’s theme, Building A Better Now, as well as transporting us to bookish adventures to come, in a chilly November Edinburgh! Look out for the full programme announcement in early October, it’s 🔥

Each year we commission a new artist to design our poster and are overwhelmed by the talent and creativity within our movements, do scroll on to discover the 7 other artists who made our shortlist for this year’s poster design. While Malini’s illustrations and ideas really connected with our vision for 2026, we LOVED every one of these other pitches, we’re looking forward to future opportunities to work together!

Want a poster to put up in your workplace/local coffee shop/library etc? It would mean the world to have folks help us spread the word so do comment to ask for one or tag a fave spot we can reach out to! by @lighthousebks

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18 days ago

📣EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT📣

Tom Branfoot’s debut poetry collection explores nature during a time of political crisis, drawing its title from the Middle English use of ‘volatile’ to name birds and other winged creatures.

Pulling apart what it means to dwell, habitat loss appears synonymous with eviction, and birds become fellow travellers in our precarious present.

We're so pleased to be hosting Tom (@tombranfoot) alongside friends Anthony V. Capildeo and Nat Raha (@fullnommunism) next Thursday 8 October at 7pm. Expect an evening of beautiful poetry readings and discussions - you can get your tickets now on our website! Pao holds up a copy of Volatile in front of cameras taken in Lighthouse - Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop by @lighthousebks

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We’re doing one of our absolute fave popup for the gorgeous Froebel Conference - what’s not to love about a day chatting picture books and child development with a bunch of joyful, passionate educators?

Table stacked with goodies, including a new book from keynote @rachnajoshi, the OG Tina Bruce, a babes like @iammichaelrosen @jeannewillis_author @chloe.the.savage & so so many more!

(Book list & special Froebel discount code on the website!) by @lighthousebks

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11 hours ago

It’s October 1st. It’s Black History Month.
And in keeping with the theme this year we would love to mark the month by ‘honouring our communities’.

As @blackhistorymonthuk puts it “...Black history is not only made through landmark events or by famous names. It is also created through everyday acts of leadership, care, service, creativity, courage and commitment.” Check out the ‘Honouring Black Britain 2026’ exhibition for more! And the regional event listings for local happenings (also see @blackhistorymonth_scotland BlackHistoryMonthScotland listings)

Listed here are local (and local-ish) community groups we have worked with, admire, and respect - let us know in the comments anyone we’re missing and should know about!

We’ve also got a few events on this month, featuring books with Black authors, we’d love to shout about...

Wednesday 7th October, 7pm: Black Lives in Scotland - An evening with Jeanette R. Davidson.
Jeanette delves into Scotland’s spotted racial history and relates poignant stories of challenge, love, hostility, support, vulnerability, strength, abandonment, resilience, empowerment, accomplishment and identity of Black Scots growing up in the country, from babyhood to adulthood.

Wednesday 14th October, 7pm: The Nuance Drought - An evening with Natasha Devon.
In this fascinating book, campaigner and broadcaster Natasha Devon addresses questions the lack of nuance in today’s world, and proposes it is one of the major issues facing modern society.

Monday 26th October, 7pm - Philosophy & Hope Bookclub 8: Radical Justice.
In Radical Justice, international human rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow shows how we can build a fundamentally different future with our own hands. We all have our own spheres of influence, and each of us can be the revolution.

Tuesday 27th October, 7pm - The Comfort of Distant Stars: An evening with I. O. Echeruo.
In this bold coming-of-age tale blending physics, philosophy and Igbo cosmology, Echeruo examines how we understand our place in the universe (chatting with local legend T L Huchu).

Wednesday 7th October, 7pm: Black Lives in Scotland - An evening with Jeanette R. Davidson.

Jeanette delves into Scotland by @lighthousebks

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2 days ago

We’re so happy to be partnering with @wutheringdykesbookclub to bring you a stunning conversation between Natalie Adler (@natalie.and.chester) and local favourite Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin (@niamhsquared)!

Natalie Adler’s debut novel depicts the haunting transition of New York’s East Village during the AIDS crisis, from queer avant-garde to gentrified graveyard - join us for an Edinburgh launch of her stunning, genre-bending queer novel Waiting On A Friend.

Both heartbreaking and healing, tragic and triumphant, Waiting on a Friend is a magical retelling of queer history and a celebration of youth and camaraderie. With pathos and humour, empathy and an edge, Natalie Adler freshly reimagines the past for a new generation, reclaiming the spirit of resistance and determination that would become one of the era’s defining legacies.

Join us next Tuesday at 7PM for one of our most anticipated events of this year! Pao holds up a copy of Waiting on a Friend and Ordinary Saints while smiling outside the shop. taken in Lighthouse - Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop by @lighthousebks

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3 days ago

Tales @lighthousebks update for October!

Bloody heck, that’s come around quick, we are back for another round of Tales at Lighthouse on the 11th of October! 6-8pm and I bet it’s gonna be a lil bit spooky!!!

I’m already out of poetry slots, but lots of storytelling slots to give out and can’t wait to see you all there. Dm me or email me for a cheeky lil story space.

For any who haven’t been before, we are an open mic storytelling night. It’s free to come be an audience member and you don’t need a ticket!

September was a hoot and I can’t wait to see you all there, tell your pals, bring your pals and come have some stories xxx by @lighthousebks

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3 days ago

EVENT KLAXON 📣 : The Queerest of Folk - @russelltdavies63 with @savidgereads at @assemblyroxy on Tuesday 13th October @ 7pm

We are very very excited to welcome Russell T. Davies back to Edinburgh to discuss his new memoir, offering fans and readers a whistle stop tour of an iconic career from Doctor Who to It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk to Coronation Street.

The Queerest of Folk distils Russell T Davies’s career in television, taking us from his early days working on children’s shows and soaps through to the giddy heights of relaunching Doctor Who and bringing queer relationships onto the mainstream screen.

We’re offered a glimpse into the imagination of one of Britain’s most celebrated writers and foremost TV writers – what it is to feel the spark and flood and burn of ideas popping into your head – coupled with the day-to-day business of meetings and pitches, the frustrations and the hoots, over a career that has spanned five decades.

This is a memoir fizzing with a love for television and the power it has to draw us together in an increasingly fragmented world.

Find tickets on our website or Eventbrite 🎟️

Did you catch our pile of clues/books in our stories leading up to the announcement? Super subtle (*cough cough*) hints relating to It’s A Sin, Tip Toe, Queer as Folk & Doctor Who Against a dark teal background multiple tv graphics display the title screens for shows written by Russell T Davies (it’s a sin, queer as folk, doctor who, tip toe, bob & rose, the English scandal) - in the foreground is an photo image of Russell t Davies (a man with dark hair and glasses with his hands to his face) with a smaller overlaid image of Simon Savidge in the corner by @lighthousebks

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Edinburgh! I’m launching my debut collection Volatile at @lighthousebks on October 8th with the incredible Nat Raha and Anthony V. Capildeo. Get your tickets on the Lighthouse Books website. 💐✨🪶 by @lighthousebks

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5 days ago

This Thursday October 1st, we’re thrilled to be welcoming award-winning writer, illustrator and land-justice campaigner Nick Hayes (@nickhayesillustration) for the Edinburgh launch of The Medicine Tree - an extraordinary exploration of the battle between ownership and belonging, and a tale of community, exploitation and recovery.

Nick will be in conversation with Nadia Shaikh (@buteblackbird) a land justice campaigner and co-director of the Right to Roam campaign, and we hope to see you there!

The event is, of course, an excellent opportunity for us to pull together a list of our favourite recommendations on land justice, from near and far, from Scotland to Australia, Mexico and Palestine, from the present to the roots of history. Check out the booklist and get your tickets for the event now! A pile of books on a blanket outside in the garden. taken in Lighthouse - Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop by @lighthousebks

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Who needs a bit of hopeful chat in their life? You do!

Join us for our upcoming Philosophy Bookclub, where we will be reading contemporary philosophers that concern themselves with the social and the hopeful! The overarching theme will be readings that engage in social critique that can help take us towards new forms of social hope.

This October we’ll be discussing international human rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow’s hands-on, action-orientated book, Radical Justice. *Monday October 26th , 7pm-8:30pm*

This bookclub is open to everyone and anyone, with or without a background in philosophy. Philosophy is best characterised as a place to understand how things in the broadest possible sense hang together, and in that spirit, we welcome as many different backgrounds to give us the best chance of exploring how things hang together!

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Meetings will be hosted by Nic and take place every 5-6 weeks on Mondays at Lighthouse Bookshop.

Please support the bookshop & the bookclub by ordering your books through Lighthouse. Use the discount code HOPE-PHILOSOPHY-SOC for bookclubbers 10% off!

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The Book – Radical Justice: Building the World We Need

Our society is breaking down. Fascists are winning elections, economic inequality is rampant, and the climate crisis is at its tipping point. It feels like the amount of work needed to overcome these injustices is too much to handle. But what if there is a way to lower the threshold to action? Who will free us if not ourselves?

In Radical Justice, international human rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow shows how we can build a fundamentally different future with our own hands. We all have our own spheres of influence, and each of us can be the revolution. Taking inspiration from the deep well of anti-racist and social activist writers such as Olúf´mi O. Táíwò and Angela Davis, each chapter offers tips on how to learn, reflect and act in a society where we are told we are powerless.

Including advice on strategic litigation, reclaiming our digital rights, reparations demands, climate activism and much more, the information in these pages is indispensable to the struggle for radical justice. by @lighthousebks

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6 days ago