News From Nowhere first opened its doors in 1974
Booksellers Ruth Mitchell with Maria Ng at News From Nowhere(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
On Bold Street, tucked among coffee shops and restaurants, News From Nowhere quietly continues its decades-long mission: to arm people with information that matters. In an age of AI-generated content and political disinformation, this “radical” bookshop sees its role as even more vital in 2025.
Maria Ng, who has been a bookseller at News From Nowhere since the 1990s, told the ECHO: “We’re a radical community bookshop. That means we specialise in offering material on politics, social justice politics, progressive politics and stuff like that.”
But it’s not just what’s on the shelves that sets this place apart – it’s how it’s run. The shop is a workers’ cooperative: no bosses, no managers, no owners. Maria explains: “All the workers are equal. We’re working non-hierarchically. We’re just a small team and we’re not-for-profit as well.”
News From Nowhere first opened its doors in 1974, and has operated from its Bold Street premises since 1996. Its name comes from a utopian novel by 19th-century socialist William Morris, who imagined a future world without politicians, poverty or war – where the Houses of Parliament has been repurposed as a dung store.
Today, in News From Nowhere, you’ll find books from all across the world as well as from right here in Liverpool. Speaking about the shop’s customer base, Maria said: “We have a wide range of customers; activists, trade unionists, people from all across the spectrum of left-wing politics… but also lots of students and local people.
“Although we specialise in politics, we also stock lots of general books and we can order things in. Hopefully people will find something of interest no matter where they’re from or what their viewpoints are.”
News From Nowhere book shop on Bold Street(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
It’s the fight against misinformation that makes the shop’s work feel especially urgent in 2025. When asked if there’s added value in what they do today, Maria said: “Oh, definitely.
There’s a lot of books we have that are specifically about misinformation and conspiracy movements. People have a real interest in reading about that. Getting proper, sound information is even more important now.”
Maria sees the public hunger for truth reflected in the people who come through the door, adding: “People need to know and want to know history and the issues and arguments and the facts. It’s really vital.”
And it’s not just veteran campaigners or older readers who visit News From Nowhere. The shop is still popular with younger people. Maria explained: “We’ve got a full range of ages who come into the shop.
“There’s people who’ve been coming every year for decades but there’s lots of young people coming in too. You can see, in social movements and political movements, how young people’s energy and interest is so important.”
Despite its serious mission, there’s nothing preachy or overbearing about the place. Maria said: “Working in a bookshop is really interesting. I love sitting on the table and serving the customers and chatting to them. It’s challenging, but it’s also very rewarding.
“When it’s good and busy, you get a real buzz off it. People love books. People love the ethos of the shop. You can see people just come in and browse around. And there’s never any sales pressure. We don’t go and approach people. We work for them.”
In a time when information often feels cheap and truth slippery, News From Nowhere is a place to slow down, browse, and rediscover the value of a well-researched book. It’s not just a bookshop – it’s a space for conversation, for challenge, and for clarity.