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Welcome
Award-winning independent and much-loved bookshop, Dulwich Books has been serving the local community for over 40 years.
In these challenging times for retail, we value our loyal customers and hope that the personal aspect of shopping locally will prevail. We can order books into the shop for next-day collection provided it is in stock at our suppliers and ordered by 5pm.
You can place your order over the phone during working hours, by emailing us or by filling out the order form below.
We stock a wide range of titles, as well as a fantastic choice of children’s books. We also stock greetings cards, gift stationery, wrap and jigsaws. In addition we offer a loyalty card scheme – just ask at the till when making your purchases.
Our friendly, knowledgeable and experienced staff are on hand to recommend books and help with any questions.
We hope to see you soon!
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Welcome
Award-winning independent and much-loved bookshop, Dulwich Books has been serving the local community for over 40 years.
In these challenging times for retail, we value our loyal customers and hope that the personal aspect of shopping locally will prevail. We can order books into the shop for next-day collection provided it is in stock at our suppliers and ordered by 5pm.
We stock a wide range of titles, as well as a fantastic choice of children’s books. We also stock greetings cards, gift stationery, wrap and jigsaws. In addition we offer a loyalty card scheme – just ask at the till when making your purchases.
Our friendly, knowledgeable and experienced staff are on hand to recommend books and help with any questions.
We hope to see you soon!
Order a Book
We can take orders over the phone on 020 8670 1920 during working hours or by email at [email protected]. We can order books for next-day delivery provided it is in stock at our suppliers and ordered by 5pm.
Alternatively, click the button below and fill out the form on our website with the details of the book you would like to order.
We are on Bookshop.org
We hope our local customers will continue to order books directly from us. For customers in other parts of the UK, we are delighted to be part of Bookshop.org , an on-line sales platform which allows readers to buy books online while supporting local independent booksellers. It has been hailed as a “revolutionary moment in the history of bookselling”: finally a socially conscious alternative to Amazon.
Books of the Month
Non-fiction
The Spinster Cookbook by Eli Davies
The Indigo Press, £14.99
The Spinster Cookbook is a piercing exploration of what it means to cook for one in a society designed for couples and families. With sharp cultural insight, Eli Davies takes us on a culinary tour of the single woman’s kitchen, a space shaped as much by a search for freedom as by appetite, drawing on the work of writers such as Barbara Pym, Deborah Levy, M. F. K. Fisher, Toni Morrison and Nigella Lawson.
This is a book about making a home in the face of housing precarity, loneliness, heartbreak and social norms, and finding independence, pleasure and self-expression through cooking. It’s a cookbook of sorts, and a manifesto for living differently.
Middle Grade
Strike by Mitch Johnson
Usborne, £8.99
Owen is closer than ever to achieving his dream: becoming a professional footballer. All he has to do is stay focused. No distractions. Just football.
But when a hidden note tucked inside his new boots reveals a cry for help from the factory workers who made them, Owen discovers the beautiful game might be hiding some ugly secrets. Suddenly, chasing his dream doesn’t feel so important. It’s time to decide which path he really wants to take.
A story about taking your shot and being brave enough to change the game, from the best-selling author of Kick.
Young Adult
A Song I Wrote For Charlotte by Caitlin Devlin
Harper Fire, £8.99
Connie Moore has never failed at anything. That is until the Royal Academy of Music decide her piano playing isn’t good enough and she finds herself pursuing her back-up plan: moving into student halls to study English Literature. Just across the corridor, fellow student Charlotte Owen – not a girl who will take no for an answer – drags Connie into university life and an unlikely friendship begins to blossom…
A beautifully written coming-of-age YA romance celebrating difference, self-discovery, and LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent identities, perfect for fans of John Green, Alice Oseman and Jennifer Niven.
Fiction
Whistler by Ann Patchett
Bloomsbury, £20
When Daphne notices an older gentleman following her around the Met, she doesn’t expect it to be Eddie – her former stepfather. Married to her mother for a short time when Daphne was nine, she hasn’t seen him for many years. Meeting again now, Daphne and Eddie feel that time has fallen away. Together, they consider not only their past, but the joys of the present and their commitment to face the future together.
A moving, luminous story about how family, memory and love endures, Whistler paints an intimate portrait of how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.
Picture Book
The Perfect Match by Chris Becker & Dan Taylor
Simon & Schuster, £7.99
Jack loves to hear the story of how his two dads met . . . It all begins when a football-mad boy is invited to play in a royal football match, but it will take a sprinkle of magic from his Hairy Squadfather and a special silver football boot to give this story its fairy tale ending.
The Prefect Match is a fun and inventive reimagining of the Cinderella fairy tale with a touching and surprising ending with an LGBTQ+ twist. An action-packed fairy tale adventure – perfect for young football fans!
Upcoming Events
Storytime on Saturdays, 11am
Join us in the children’s corner every Saturday at 11am for storytime when we’ll read from our favourite picture books, old and new.
No need to book, just turn up and enjoy!
Meet the Team
Cathy Slater
Owner
Cathy has enjoyed a career in publishing spanning over 3 decades, in International Sales and Foreign Rights. She joined Dulwich Books in January 2017, keen to learn about the bookselling side of the industry and purchased the shop from Susie Nicklin in November 2019. She is very happy and excited to have an opportunity to run this much-loved bookshop, and continue to serve the local community.
When not reading, she loves gardening, walking, nature and wildlife. She sings in two local choirs and is part of a shanty group called Shotley Crue. She speaks Italian and French and a little Spanish.
Cathy recommends
The Bell in The Lake by Lars Mytting
MacLehose Press, £9.99
The first in a rich historical trilogy set in Norway, a lyrical mix of legend and craftsmanship, and a compelling love story. By the author of The Sixteen Trees of the Somme.
Kitty Spence
Manager
Kitty read Modern and Medieval History at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Since then, she has worked in retail, as well as volunteering at various theatre and new playwrighting festivals. She joined the Dulwich Books team at the start of 2018 as a Saturday bookseller, has been a full-time member of staff since 2019 and has recently been appointed as manager.
She enjoys reading all sorts of books, but has a particular fondness for novels set in London and literary biographies. She also loves going to the theatre, live comedy, football, culture podcasts as well as taking long walks and swimming at lidos and ponds around London.
Kitty recommends
The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Picador, £9.99
The first volume of the wonderful Cazalet Chronicles. Set during the summers of 1937 and 1938, it follows three generations of the Cazalet family as they spend their holidays together at Home Place in sunlit Sussex. Howard expertly explores the tensions and tangles of family life and she writes with a generosity towards each of her many characters. This captivating novel unfolds at a delightfully unhurried pace, making it a perfect book to get lost in. It’s always a pleasure to revisit the Cazalets and the later volumes follow the family through the Second World War and beyond.
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Location
6 Croxted Road
West Dulwich
London
SE21 8SW
[email protected]
020 8670 1920
Opening Hours
Mon – Thurs 10am – 5.30pm
Fri – Sat 9.30am – 5.30pm
Sun 11am – 4pm
Nearest overground stations:
West Dulwich & West Norwood
Number 3 bus:
Stops just outside the shop
Place an order
Please fill out the form below with the details of the book you would like to purchase and we will send a confirmation email that the order has been processed.
For Schools
We have a lot of experience working with local schools and can arrange free delivery of books to your school. We can often offer free author visits to schools and organise book sales at events.
Our expert staff can share their knowledge and offer guidance on all book related enquiries to teachers and librarians, and we are happy to offer competitive discounts, so please contact us with your requirements.
Bookshop Hire
We hire out the shop for private events, such as book launches, in the evening. We charge for this service, as we will provide staff, utilities, and assistance.
If you are interested do email [email protected] with details of your event, and we will be happy to help.
For Publicists & independent authors
If you are an independent author, please visit the shop to see what kind of books we have in stock and email [email protected] with info about your work. We have had plenty of success with local and independent authors and will consider each book on its merits.
Off Site Sales
We work with lots of venues to sell books for their events, festivals, book signings and launches. All books can be put through Book Scan, and we can take credit card sales via our GPS-enabled machine as well as cash and cheques.
Don’t hesitate to call us on 020 8670 1920 or to email [email protected] if you need an expert bookseller for your event.
