15 years ago today, I opened the People's Bookshop in Durham. I had just been made redundant by the TUC & decided to do something that I’d always wanted to do.

Opening the bookshop up for the first time that morning was a magical thing. I can still remember very clearly, the first sale (pictured) and proudly slipping the book in one of our bags (I’d stayed up late stamping them with our logo).

At the time, it was a lone venture, in a tiny attic room up one of Durham’s ‘vennels’ & a massive leap of faith. I was never intending to do it alone, but someone had to start it, right? Soon enough, it became a more collective project, with people from around Durham being naturally drawn to this radical, community space (as long as they could get up the rickety stairs).

The bookshop was never a viable ‘job’ for me, but it did open up all sorts of doors, including to the Corbyn campaign. If it hadn’t been for the base I’d built & the political breathing space it offered, there is no way that I could have taken up the role of Jeremy’s social media co-ordinator & for a brief time, it became a sort of northern, activist base for the leadership campaign & what came after.

Eventually, life caught up with me & I had to hand on the day-to-day running of the bookshop to a team of volunteers, headed up by some brilliant activists. Inevitably I lost touch, though, and this was hard. I was down in Parliament & I would get a call to say that someone had locked themselves out! It did sort itself out though, and I did finally get round to officially handing it over to a new team, built on proper co-operative lines rather than the informal (and sometimes chaotic) collective we had before.

Today, it is thriving - in a new location. Community owned. Collectively run. No rickety stairs & no uneven floorboards to deal with, but it has still kept the ethos. Of course, everything - especially bookshops - adapts & changes, and those running it now have done an amazing job, to give it new life.

For me, it’s been a complete rollercoaster. There were times I thought we were going to change the world, others when I didn’t know how we were going to find £50 to pay Central Books!

Today, on their official 15th birthday, the People’s Bookshop is on a firmer footing & is celebrating by giving every customer 15% off all second hand books. One thing is a constant - they need your support, like all independent & radical book shops. So please do pop in today, say hello & browse their shelves, full of fantastic reading material. Books for radicals of all ages, as we always said.

If you want to be part of it, why not ask them about volunteering?

People’s Bookshop | 19 High Street | Durham | DH1 3UJ