Dead Ink was founded out of dissatisfaction with the mainstream which has only grown more pronounced in subsequent years. The Dead Ink Bookshop is an offshoot of the publisher Dead Ink Books and as a company we value a quality and design-led approach that is ethical and eco-conscious.

We know there are plenty of ways for you to buy your books, but we want you to shop with us to support independent publishing, small brands and keep literature interesting. 

 

Break the Mainstream

The Dead Ink Bookshop setup on Liverpool's Smithdown road in the autumn of 2022 as a bookshop solely stocking independent publishers and small brands. 

Every book on this website is from an independent publisher — ranging from the smallest boutique presses to the largest independents there is a shared ethos of risk-taking and convention defying. 

Even the stationery, coffee, and greetings cards that we've selected are from independents and local producers. Everything on this site is curated by our team to give you an experience unlike any other bookshop where you can feel safe that your purchases are supporting the unconventional risk-taking independents that keep literature interesting.

 

Welcome to the North

Based in Liverpool, the outsider of outsider cities, as a publisher and bookseller we are proudly shifting the centre of publishing away from its conventional hotspots. We believe a geographically dispersed industry is a fairer and more accessible industry. As such, Dead Ink Books is a founding member of the Northern Fiction Alliance and we're committed to generating development opportunities across the North of England and showcasing it as a centre of excellence for the publishing industry. 

 

Sustainability & Ethical Practice

Environmental sustainability and ethical practice is one of the foremost considerations we give to every decision that we make.  We don't want to just minimise our impact, we want to our impact to improve the world we live in. We have tried to ensure that every product we sell has a positive impact and that may be just in supporting a small local maker or it could extend to brands and partners commitments to wider causes. 

In-house we have ensured that all of our packaging is environmentally friendly and for that reason it is supplied by Freckl whose packaging is 100% sustainable, plastic free, printed in the UK, made with water-based inks, and kerbside recyclable. 

If you have any concerns about brands that we are working with or believe that we have missed an opportunity to have a more positive impact then please do nto hesitate to get in touch. 

 

Funded by Arts Council England 

Dead Ink Books is proud to say that it receives support as one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Our bookshop is also a member of the Booksellers Association.