Books / gloucester road
African literature highlighted in new pop-up bookshop
A new pop-up bookshop which aims to shine a light on African literature has opened on Gloucester Road.
Carnelian Heart is the brainchild of Samantha Runbidzai-Vazhure, 40, who lives in South Wales. She is an award-winning poet and the founder of Carnelian Heart Publishing Limited.
The compact stall inside sustainable co-working hub Future Leap is the company’s first physical presence.
Most of the authors featured in Carnelian Heart’s collection come from Africa with a prominent focus on Zimbabwean writers, reflecting Runbidzai-Vazhure’s roots.
Carnelian Heart has opened in Future Leap – photo: Betty Woolerton
Carnelian Publishing adopts an inclusive approach, where authors submit their manuscripts for consideration.
The editorial panel carefully reviews these works, often leaning towards advocacy-based narratives that align with certain themes.
The shop’s shelves boast a variety of works, from anthologies amplifying migrant voices to compilations like ‘Brilliance of Hope’, a reflection of authors’ experiences living away from home.
Runbidzai-Vazhure hopes that Carnelian Heart can be a space for engagement and dialogue, with plans to host book events, talks, Q&A sessions and authors book signings. Her paintings are also available to buy at the shop.
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Runbidzai-Vazhure said: “Carnelian Heart enhances the overall reading and shopping experience for customers by providing diversity, the books we publish cannot be found anywhere else, so there is a niche here as we are the only place that are stocking them.”
“It’s a collection of books that I hope will transport people to places they’ve never been before and transport them to places they might end up wanting to go to because they’ve been enamoured by the culture and the vibrancy of the places that are written about.”
“They are high quality books that are edited by some of the best editors in Africa.”
Main photo: Celina Tomas
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