The FolkestoneBookshop

Three friends who had worked in different corners of the book trade, Erin, Hunter and Jay, opened The Folkestone Bookshop on Tontine Street in October 2022. The shop mixes new titles with a secondhand section, and a sit-in reading room at the back offers tea and coffee on a pay-what-you-can basis rather than a fixed price. Regular events include writing workshops, poetry readings and book launches aimed at building a local audience rather than passing trade. The shop describes itself explicitly as an LGBTQ+ space and has built its stock and events programme around inclusivity from the outset. Tontine Street sits below Folkestone's Creative Quarter, an area with a concentration of small independent shops and galleries.