Eden rips up book shop blueprint with new chapter

If you walk into the Corn Exchange, head down the stairs and turn to your left, you'll see a brightly coloured bookshop filled with a curated selection of books by voices which have been traditionally underrepresented within publishing. This is Next Chapter Books.

- by Jennifer Cartwright

Eden opened Next Chapter Books in February this year and was motivated by two things: A passion for books and a desire for a career change.

She said: "I've always loved reading, it's sort of a cliché. But the main drive was that I really wanted to do something for myself and something that feels meaningful to me."

When Eden prepared to open the store, she left her previous career in the civil service but she claimed that working in a bookshop has taught her a host of new skills.

Eden said: "I've learned more in this past six months than I did in ten years of a corporate career.

"When you run a business you are everything: you are a social manager, you are the CEO, you are the finance officer, you are the retail assistant.

"It's been a huge learning curve but it's been amazing and I feel very privileged to be honest to give it a go."