The Folkestone Bookshop

The Folkestone Bookshop We are a friendly independent bookshop with new & secondhand books for sale. We have a sit-in reading room with tea and coffee by donation. Don't be a stranger!
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A large communal writing desk. A big kids section and even a small arts and craft space.

To celebrate Independent Bookshop Week, National Books Tokens are BACK supporting indie bookshops with their high-five s...
13/06/2026

To celebrate Independent Bookshop Week, National Books Tokens are BACK supporting indie bookshops with their high-five scheme! This means you (yes, YOU) can get a £5 voucher for free from us, your local bookshop!

You can use the voucher on ANY book - just follow the instructions to get yours, or if you want to pre-order any of our summer picks then you’ll get an extra discount:

📚Fiction Picks: RRP £9.99, use your voucher to only pay £3!
Human Rites - the last book in the incredibly compelling magical trilogy (out 18th Jun)
When the Museum is Closed - weird girl fiction for the museum qu**rs (out 25th Jun)
The Compound - our HOTTEST hardback of summer 2025 now out in paperback! (2nd Jul)
Cosmos - an ideal beach read set during summer in Copenhagen (30 Jul)
Will There Ever Be Another You - from our Internet Queen (out 27 Aug)
Picture Imperfect - SPECIAL edition available (out 27th Aug)

📚Non-fiction: RRP £12.99, use your voucher to only pay £5!
Deep House - a gay love story by one of our favourite gay authors (out now)
Unsuitable - for the fashionable le****ns and their friends (out now)
It Used to be Witches - for diving into cinema from the beach (out now)

📚YA: RRP £8.99, use your voucher to only pay £1!
Bridget and Gabe Are Not Okay - q***r medieval joy (out 13 Aug)
Natural Selection - a little bit of feminine rage to close out the summer (out 27 Aug)

Summer Beach Reading is GO!

11/06/2026

Long form thoughts on the Women’s Prize shortlist! Have you read any?

We are halfway through the year so here are some of Hunter’s five star reads of 2026 so far! A nice mix of poetic prose,...
11/06/2026

We are halfway through the year so here are some of Hunter’s five star reads of 2026 so far! A nice mix of poetic prose, impactful non-fiction, and of course in true Hunter style some truly weirdo books - have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations for what Hunter should read next?

11/06/2026

Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist thoughts: QUICKFIRE💥
Which have you read? Which was your favourite?

Thanks for visiting us to celebrate ‘My Only Boy’ 🧡Our best selling fiction since we opened is Rosa’s ‘Dreamland’ so we...
07/06/2026

Thanks for visiting us to celebrate ‘My Only Boy’ 🧡

Our best selling fiction since we opened is Rosa’s ‘Dreamland’ so we were all so thrilled to see this new release and it’s been placed immediately on our staff recommends shelf!

“It is Elle’s job to manage disasters.

But lately things have started to spin out of control. At work, the latest catastrophe has been live-streamed to the nation. A shock election sees an extreme-right coalition storm to power. Then, on a night so hot it feels like London’s pavements are melting, she meets Ed. Elle and Ed are not meant to be drawn to each other.

Elle has only ever been attracted to women, and Ed, billed as ‘the great gay novelist of our times’, is about to release his first book. But something inexplicable sparks between them. Can the unexpected attraction they feel last when it presents such a profound challenge to their identity? And as the country fractures and the heat rises, how will they choose between the people they’ve known themselves to be – and the people they are willing to become. Both an unforgettable love story and a state-of-the-nation thriller, My Only Boy asks universal questions about desire, complicity, and what happens when your sense of self collapses along with the world around you.”

Rosa dropped off some tote bags to go with the book so those are availble as well as signed copies while supplies last!

06/06/2026

It’s a rainy day here in Folkestone which is perfect for reading ✨🌈

Here are ten suggestions for our summer reading challenge - have you started? Recommendations welcome in the comments below!

1. A book set by (in or on) the sea 🌊

The Lightning by Jamie Guiney: an old lighthouse keeper at the end of his rope and with the questions of the universe from a Northern Irish author

2. A book by a trans author 🏳️‍⚧️

Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patrick Cottrell: an awkward narrator returns home to investigate the reasons for her brother’s su***de and to also be offended that nobody is asking her about her new job at his funeral

3. A book by a Palestinian author 🇵🇸

Against The Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa: follows Nahr held captive in an Israeli prison as she reflects on her life and the struggle of the Palestinian people

4. A new release ✨

Hello, Limerence by Momo Yamaguchi: for fans of Eliza Clark and Mona Awad we have another obsessive, weird one for you (released this week!)

5. A Q***r classic 🌈

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin: from 1956!

6. Some poetry 🌹

Them by Harry Josephine Giles: an experimental poetry collection about trans life in the UK

7. A graphic novel 🎨

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: one of the most impact graphic novels of all times, and an unfortunately timely read given Satrapi’s recent passing, this memoir follows explores coming of age during the Iranian Revolution

8. A book that Kilo would approve of 🐶

The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day: from an amazing new small press () this book is from the perspective of a french bulldog and the parasites inside her that prompt her existentialism

9. A Kentish read 💐

Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee: our fiction bestseller - set in a not so distant dystopian future in Margate

10. A non-fiction pick 🧠

A Necessary Kindness: Stories From the Frontline of Abortion Care by Juno Carey : a trans inclusive review of abortion access and activism in the UK

Every year, Erin and Hunter try to read the Women’s Prize shortlist between it being shared and the winner being announc...
20/05/2026

Every year, Erin and Hunter try to read the Women’s Prize shortlist between it being shared and the winner being announced. This year we are sharing our progress with you in order to keep us accountable!
We’ve each had a few train rides recently which has helped with progress, but it’s been tricky balancing this with our Summer Reading Challenge books so stay tuned on whether any of these reads crossover and can be ticked off on that list too...
Have you read any of the shortlist? What are your thoughts?
Stay tuned for our predicted (and preferred) winner (yes that might be two separate books...) in a couple of weeks’ time!

Closing a little early today! ☔️
19/05/2026

Closing a little early today! ☔️

14/05/2026

A bookish day in London!
Thank you so much to all the wonderful booksellers ( ) especially for hosting our meeting (yap session) and to the team behind the Indie Showcase for an exciting evening of book chat!

12/05/2026

taking a pic every hour! it’s mainly Kilo sleeping!

Address

70-72 Tontine Street
Folkestone
CT201JP

Opening Hours

Tuesday 11am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 11am - 5:30pm
Thursday 11am - 5:30pm
Friday 11am - 5:30pm
Saturday 11am - 5:30pm
Sunday 10am - 3pm

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