ABOUT
( SINCE 2011 )
( 27 CALDER LANE · EDINBURGH )
Since 2011, on Calder Lane
Hanna Moreau and Callum Reid opened Shiori Books in 2011 with one room on Calder Lane. The shop now holds about 9,000 books, in two rooms.
( 2011 )
One room
Hanna Moreau and Callum Reid opened Shiori Books in 2011 with one room, at 27 Calder Lane, Edinburgh EH9 1PQ. Hanna bought the new books. Callum bought the second-hand and the rare. The front table held what had just come in, and the shelves behind it held the rest. There was no back room yet, and no Saturday reading. The shop was the front room, the counter, and the two of them. That division of work has not been rearranged. Hanna still buys the new books, and the front table still changes every Tuesday. Callum still buys the old ones. The phone is still +44 131 555 0127, and the shop email is still hello@shioribooks.example. Letters, the weekly note, go from letters@shioribooks.example.
( 2015 — 2016 )
The back room, then the bench
In 2015 the shop took the back room, and the Saturday reading started there. Amara Osei has hosted it from the beginning. Doors at 19:00, reading from 19:30 to 20:30, 30 seats, £5, and the £5 comes off any book bought that evening. The back room did not stop being the second-hand room. The chairs come out on Saturday. On the other days the shelves are the point. In 2016 Tomasz Wilk set up the bindery bench in that same room. Spine re-backing is £18 a book and takes about 10 working days. People bring in a book whose spine has gone, and the book waits on the bench while the room carries on as a bookshop. Callum’s buying and Tomasz’s mending share the space without becoming the same job.
( 27 CALDER LANE )
( 2018 — 2026 )
Children, the subscription, the count
In 2018 Lucía Ferrer took the children’s shelves, and the story hour began: the second Saturday of the month, at 11:00, free. In 2019 the shelf subscription began. Ravi Menon looks after it, with Hanna. One book a month, chosen by the 5th, ready by the 10th, £24 / month, or £70 for three months with a card in your words. You can swap a book you already own within 30 days. Elin Sørensen joined in 2021, for Saturdays and the poetry shelves. In 2026 the shelves hold about 9,000 books.
( THE DATED LINE )
Shop opens
2011
Back room and the Saturday reading
2015
Bindery bench
2016
Children’s shelves and story hour
2018
Shelf subscription
2019
About 9,000 books
2026
27 Calder Lane
Edinburgh EH9 1PQ, Scotland
Tuesday to Friday 10:00–19:00 · Saturday 10:00–21:00 · Sunday 12:00–17:00 · Monday closed.