‘Historical reparation’: new bookshops in Europe give voice to female authors
With its neatly arranged tables and shelves laden with books written by women, Greta Livraria’s small space masks its big ambitions. Since opening earlier this year, the bookstore in Lisbon has dedicated its space entirely to promoting a group that has, for the most part, been overlooked and undervalued by society: female authors.
It is a “form of historical reparation”, said Lorena Travassos, the store’s founder, one that aims to “counter the longstanding disparities in sales and publications faced by women.”
It is the latest in a wave of bookshops that have sprouted up across Europe with the intention of giving voice to female authors, past and present. In Madrid, a 2017 crowdfunding campaign gave rise to Mujeres & Compañia, while in Berlin the bookshop She Said is dedicated to books by female and queer authors.
Six years ago in Scotland, Rachel Wood launched a book subscription service, Rare Birds, in an effort to champion women’s writing.
Despite the fact that some of the world’s most talented writers are women, Wood had long felt that respect for women’s writing was lagging. “I feel so passionately that women are writing such interesting and exciting things,” said Wood. “Rare Birds is an opportunity to share that with other people.”
As interest in the subscription service swelled – it now has members from more than 20 countries – a bricks-andmortar shop in Edinburgh soon followed.
The shop’s 2021 opening illustrated the demand for a different kind of bookstore, with thousands of people visiting the store on its first weekend.
“Over and over, people tell us how exciting it feels to come into the bookstore and see every inch of shelf space devoted to women’s writing,” said Wood. “Visually, it’s very impactful.”
The space is designed to treat genres typically viewed as “women’s interest” on a par with any other piece of literature, said Wood. “Women are so often treated like a monolith, as if we all have the same thoughts and desires just by virtue of sharing a gender,” she added. “When you walk into the store, it’s instantly clear how far that is from the truth; the scope of ideas and styles and experiences is vast.”
In Lisbon, Greta Livraria has become the heart of a community that gathers regularly at the store to celebrate its efforts to value and validate diverse perspectives and carve out a literary landscape that better reflects society.
Visitors’ reactions are overwhel
mingly positive, said Travassos. Online, however, the response has been mixed. “On social media the reception can sometimes be hostile,” Travassos added. “Nevertheless, the individuals who frequent the store demonstrate a genuine need for this space, reaffirming that I’m on the right path.”
While sales have been solid, about 98% of the purchases made at Greta are by women. “It’s not entirely surprising, yet it’s unfortunate, because men could benefit greatly from reading books authored by women,” she said. “However, there’s still this lingering perception that a feminist bookstore is exclusively for women.”
At Rare Birds, women also make up the majority of the customer base. But the community has steadily grown to include men, said Wood.
“Lots of people wander in off the street not knowing a thing about our store and are simply happy to browse whatever is there,” she said. “At the end of the day, a good book is a good book.”