Sisterwrite

{{Short description|Feminist bookshop in London, England}}

Sisterwrite was Britain's first feminist bookshop.{{Cite web |title=Closed chapter: Sisterwrite, Britain's first women's bookstore,... |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-08-15-9308150048-story.html |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Chicago Tribune|date=15 August 1993 }} The bookshop, which opened in 1978, was run as a collective.{{Cite web |last=Crockett |first=Moya |date=2019-03-08 |title=The UK's feminist bookshops are making a triumphant comeback |url=https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/feminist-bookshops-uk-london-second-shelf-history/255823 |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Stylist |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=In conversation with members of Sisterwrite Collective |url=https://feministlibrary.co.uk/in-conversation-with-members-of-sisterwrite-collective/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=The Feminist Library|date=3 July 2020 }} Sisterwrite was located at 190 Upper Street, in the Islington district of north London.{{Cite web |title=Sisterwrite Bookshop|url=https://islington.humap.site/map/records/sisterwrite-bookshop |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=islington.humap.site}}{{Cite web |title=Commercial Locations |url=http://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/lgbtq-heritage-project/activism-and-community-building/commercial-locations/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Historic England |language=en}} Mary Coghill and Kay Stirling invited Lynn Alderson to join them in opening a women's bookshop.{{Cite web |last=Wild |first=Angela C. |date=2016-12-08 |title=Sisterwrite bookshop – Lynn Alderson |url=https://lesbianhistorygroup.org/2016/12/08/sisterwrite-bookshop-lynn-alderson/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Lesbian History Group |language=en}} The three of them became the founders of Sisterwrite. Money was tight at the beginning, however, Mary was able to give $5,000 towards its opening and her sister gave $3,000. They began fundraising and sent a letter around to different organizations and women to sign, showing their support. Once they reached $11,000, they began to work on opening the shop. The opening was a difficult process as all three women lived in squats and relied on welfare benefits while they paid off debts and worked until Sisterwrite became economically viable.{{Cite journal |last=Delap |first=Lucy |date=2016-04-01 |title=Feminist Bookshops, Reading Cultures and the Women's Liberation Movement in Great Britain, c. 1974–2000 |url=https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article-abstract/81/1/171/2385584?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=History Workshop Journal |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=171–196 |doi=10.1093/hwj/dbw002 |issn=1363-3554}} The squatting community became a feminist, urban phenomenon as women were able to discuss the Women's Liberation movement in a safe space.{{Cite journal |first=Christine |last=Wall |title=Sisterhood and Squatting in the 1970s: Feminism, Housing and Urban Change in Hackney |url=https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article/83/1/79/3862507 |access-date=2024-12-02 |journal=History Workshop Journal |volume=83 |issue=1 |date=Spring 2017 |pages=79–97 |doi=10.1093/hwj/dbx024}}Sisterwrite was commended for its knowledgeable workers led by Coghill, Stirling, and Alderson, and their willingness to discuss women's literature with patrons.{{Cite journal |title=no43-apr-1982-18-pp |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-0275-0021 |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Human Rights Documents online|doi=10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-0275-0021 |url-access=subscription }} The bookshop also contained a cafe, called Sisterbite.

Sisterwrite was notable for having a lesbian book section, and became a hub for the local lesbian community.{{Cite web |last=Morris |first=James |date=2018-02-16 |title=Islington's gay history landmarks – hidden in plain sight |url=https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/lifestyle/islington-s-gay-history-landmarks-hidden-in-plain-sight-3788614 |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Islington Gazette |language=en-UK}} Sisterwrite displayed the Women's Liberation Movement to wider circles of women and became a safe space for lesbian and queer women to meet and feel they are central to this movement.In specific, Sisterwrite was able to aid the women’s mental health movement by providing a hub for women to discuss and read about shared mental health struggles.{{Cite journal |last=Crook |first=Sarah |date=2018-11-10 |title=The women's liberation movement, activism and therapy at the grassroots, 1968–1985 |journal=Women's History Review |language=en |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=1152–1168 |doi=10.1080/09612025.2018.1450611 |issn=0961-2025 |pmc=6195332 |pmid=30381789}}

In 1985, Sisterwrite underwent an important transformation from a collective of white activists to a multiracial group. This change catalyzed the expansion of the section which included black literature and called for the incorporation of literature from women worldwide.{{Citation |title=Four. The Feminist Shelf, A Transnational Project 1984–1993 |date=2020-12-31 |work=The Feminist Bookstore Movement |pages=107–144 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9780822374336-007 |access-date=2024-12-01 |publisher=Duke University Press |doi=10.1515/9780822374336-007 |isbn=978-0-8223-7433-6|url-access=subscription }} The Sisterwrite Collective intentionally sought to amplify the voices of Black women, enriching the Bookshop's legacy and adding to the shop's many accomplishments.{{Cite web |last=Alice |date=2020-07-03 |title=In conversation with members of Sisterwrite Collective – The Feminist Library |url=https://feministlibrary.co.uk/in-conversation-with-members-of-sisterwrite-collective/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |language=en-GB}}

Despite their persistent fight to keep their doors open amidst a recession, multiple burglaries, and the inability to park near the store, on 7 August 1993, Sisterwrite closed for good.{{Cite news |last=Sharmilla |first=Joshi |date=August 24, 1993 |title=Feminist bookstore falls to recession |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/518474732|id={{ProQuest|518474732}} }} However, the closure of Sisterwrite did not signify a decline in interest in women’s writing, the collective workers stated that the demand for female literature tripled since the mid-1980s.{{Cite journal |last=Bock |first=R. |date=January 1993 |title=News from the EPS Nuclear Physics Board |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10506899308210211 |journal=Nuclear Physics News |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=28 |doi=10.1080/10506899308210211 |issn=1061-9127|url-access=subscription }}