Award-winning Black bookshop surpasses 1000 book sales goal
Founder Carolynn Bain says they have "smashed" the target
Award-winning Black bookshop surpasses 1000 book sales goal
The Black bookshop faced a “critical moment” to help save the platform for Black authors.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
APRIL 26, 2026
An award-winning bookshop specialising in books by Black authors has now reached its target surpassing it by over 500 books.
Afrori Books faced a “critical moment” to sell 1,000 books before the end of April with only four days to go.
But now, the campaign which launched three weeks ago has reached its goal ahead of schedule as founder Carolynn Bain says they are now “safe” from closure.
In a video on Instagram she said: “We have hit our target, in fact we have smashed our target.
“We have done over 1500 books so in fact we’re going to keep going. We are safe now and you have saved us from imminent danger.”
The independent bookshop located in Brighton began online in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests which saw a huge demand for books by Black authors.
Since then, Afrori books has received several awards as well as being a finalist for British Bookshop of the Year every year since opening.
But after experiencing a decline in sales in the last six months as well as “rising costs” and a “challenging economic climate”, the shop launched a campaign to secure its future.
But to continue the work Afrori does, Carolynn added in her social media video that the shop now has a Patreon account to help keep the business sustainable.
Carolynn said: “I want us to keep being able to do the work that we do.
“We have started a Patreon page. If you are abroad, you can join the Patreon which starts at £5.
“It will give you access to all our online events and make you a bit more of the Afrori family.”
The campaign received support from award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola, best-selling author Kit de Waal and the UK’s first National Reading Hero, Selina Brown.
As well as authors, members of the public joined in to help save the Black bookshop.
In her video, Carolynn expressed her gratitude to all who purchased a book or shared the campaign in order to prevent Black authors from losing a platform for their books.