Another Story Bookshop

a short interview with saul freedman-lawson

TALI VORON-LEIDERMAN: The tagline of Another Story Bookshop is “Radically supporting 2SQTBIPOC writers since 1987,” and you sell “a broad range of literature for children, young adults, and adults with a focus on themes of social justice, equity, and diversity.” Can you speak to the values and mission of Another Story Bookshop?

SAUL FREEDMAN-LAWSON: Our other tagline is “Organize, Educate, Resist.” We’re a community bookstore, and we want to serve a better world by serving our community. For us, that’s marginalized writers and readers of all ages, community organizers, educators (of all kinds), and anyone resisting oppression. We’re committed to social justice in how we curate every section of the store, from non-fiction to poetry to board books, as well as in the events we hold and in our work with schools.

TVL: Another Story Bookshop opened its doors in 1987 and has become one of Toronto’s most beloved independent bookstores. How has the shop evolved over the years, and what has remained constant? Have you noticed any major changes or trends amongst your patrons, readers, or in the industry?

SFL: Our values have been constant: we’ve been committed to justice and to education from the beginning. For the most part, the sections in the store are the same. The books we carry now are books we would have carried in 1987, if they’d come out then. We’ve always had relationships with schools, and the education side of the store has grown and expanded over the years: we have a warehouse for just our wholesale orders, and a showroom for educators! We host more events than ever. Through thirty-seven years of changes in publishing and in the world, and although books, event spaces, and everything else have become more expensive and less accessible, we’re grateful that our community has grown and continues to grow.

TVL: What sets Another Story Bookshop apart from other bookstores in the city, and perhaps other bookstores more broadly?

SFL: We’re a social justice bookshop! Our mission is in everything we do, and it’s big enough to include a huge range of books and people. We work with schools throughout school boards in Toronto, York Region, Peele, Durham, and Niagara: our books reach teachers and students far beyond our physical location. We also program events throughout the city across our connections with local and international academics, activists, poets, and literary writers. We work closely with local organizations like Tam Fam Lit Jam, MaziQa, the Women and Gender Studies Institute, and the Toronto Palestine Film Festival. From the launch of Sheima Benembarek’s Halal Sex (featuring sets by three Muslim women comedians), to a recent evening with Hanif Abdurraqib, Furqan Mohamed, and Fareh Malik at Lula Lounge, to a recent lecture with Alexis Pauline Gumbs, we’re everywhere.

TVL: Another Story has a fantastic lineup of literary events, including book launches, readings, and authors in conversation. What responsibility do bookstores have for serving as community spaces and fostering literary culture?

SFL: Not every bookstore is or wants to be a community space; we Shelf Life / Woozles / Another Story do—and we are, and we take those responsibilities seriously. Dan Sinykin wrote in The Baffler recently about the cultural fantasy of book-selling as an industry of small-scale, apolitical community relationships between booksellers and customers. We love our customers, our regulars, and we’re also in community with those who have never bought books from us. Buying books shouldn’t be the only way people can access education and community through us: we want to create spaces for marginalized writers and readers to gather and learn from each other. We want better literary culture, and also a better world.

TVL: In addition to serving your community of readers, how do you support local authors?

SFL: We’re really grateful for our relationships with authors in Toronto, and we love hosting their launches and hand-selling their books. We’re also always excited to work with local publishers and highlight their titles. We sell self-published books, zines, and magazines on consignment—you can find some of these at our front desk.

TVL: What’s one book that was released this season that you can’t stop recommending, and why?

SFL: Abolish Social Work (As We Know It), edited by Craig Fortier, Edward Hon-Sing Wong, and MJ Rwigema, has been flying off our shelves since we launched it. We’re always excited about abolitionist writing that imagines new and better ways of living and caring for each other. This book is full of voices we know and love: participants and organizers of Black Creek Community farm, Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, No More Silence, and many more. We’d recommend this to anyone involved in community organizing, and anyone interested in mutual aid and accountability.