‘No stuffiness…just good books’: Matt Hague opens bookshop in Brighton | books

Matt Haig, bestselling author of books including Midnight Library and Reasons to Stay Alive, is opening a bookshop in Brighton.

The writer plans to open the store, called Golden, by Christmas. It is located in the Seven Dials neighborhood, a part of the coastal city that currently does not have a library.

“My belief, as someone who grew up in a town without a library, is that all communities should have a library, because libraries save civilization and make life interesting,” the author wrote on Instagram this week, adding that the store “will be about freedom.”

“We will not pay for things we do not want to pay,” he said. “Only good books. Curated by me and people I trust. Mind-boggling books. Tears of tears. Banned books. Fun books. Graphic novels. Children’s books. Adult books. Really great music and art books. Books with words. Books that don’t have words but are really cool to click on. Books that are actually vinyl records. The best writers alive and dead.”

He added that there would be an “occasional evening event.” “No stuffy feelings. No kind of snobbery. No high/low rating for the books.” Dogs will also be welcome in the store.

Haig, who was born in Sheffield, has written more than two dozen books for adults and children, including the brilliant 2015 book Reasons to Stay Alive, an account of living with depression.

It follows several prominent authors who have created their own libraries. Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney sets an unlikely story in Plainville, Massachusetts; Ann Patchett opened Parnassus Books in Nashville in 2011; George R.R. Martin owns Beastly Books in Santa Fe.

In response to Haig’s announcement, writers including Dawn O’Porter, Bonnie Jarmus and Donna Ashworth shared their congratulations.