Gulp Fiction
New Bookshops
You could be forgiven for thinking that, unless you manufacture lateral flow tests, opening a new venture during a pandemic isn’t a great idea. However, more than 60 new bookshops were started over the last two years, and many seem to be thriving. Ordering books online was a saviour for many people during the various lockdowns and, now that we’re out and about again, the demand for bookshops is at an all-time high – not only because book-buying is back on the up, but also because these little spaces are hubs of understanding, empathy, and human connection, which we all need an extra dose of right now.
Where is it? Oxford
Who’s the owner? Olly Mason
When did it open? Spring 2022
Full disclosure – Olly used to work with me as a bookseller in Bath, where we would stack shelves, make coffees, and talk about our outlandish ideas for our futures, which is why I was so happy to find out about his own brand-new bookshop – Gulp Fiction Books.
Olly had moved to Oxford to work as the fiction manager at Blackwell’s; however, when the pandemic hit, he became an UberEats courier to try and make ends meet. After working a number of jobs while planning his bookshop, he got a call from Uber, asking if he wanted to enter Uber’s business scheme, run in partnership with Enterprise Nation. After pitching to the entire board of Uber Europe, he was granted a start-up loan and was given premises in the covered market in Oxford.
Gulp Fiction is an excellent representation of Olly in bookshop form; as well as being a second-hand bookshop regularly offering late openings, it’s also a pub, a coffee house, and a social space where people can browse books, listen to music, and have a coffee or beer to while away the time. With another floor of books already open, an event schedule in the making, delicious coffee on offer, and a glorious range of books – make sure you pop by, browse the shelves, and say hello to Olly when you’re next in Oxford.
nb. If you’re running out of space and need to rehome some of your books, Gulp Fiction buy books from customers! Get in touch with the team to arrange a collection or postage.
