Independent bookshop Drop City Books is set to reopen in Stoke-on-Trent, more than a year after closing its previous premises.
Owner Ruth Wallbank-Hughes said the new, larger location on Piccadilly in Hanley would allow the business to expand its events programme, improve accessibility and create a dedicated children’s area.
The previous store on the corner of Broad Street and Marsh Street South, which opened in October 2023, was repeatedly affected by flooding and closed in November 2024.
Ruth said: “At our last location we never traded for more than 10 consecutive weeks without a flood from the faulty plumbing in the flats above us. This was an incredibly unfair, stressful, distressing way to run a new business.
“I locked the doors every night unsure about whether the shop would be standing in the morning. So for me personally, I’m excited to be able to put all of the energy and ideas I have into developing and deepening what Drop City Books has to offer to the city, instead of fighting back floods.
“Our new location means more exciting events, a chance to showcase more of our carefully curated weird and wonderful book selection and even more space for little bookworms to read and draw and play in our new incredible children’s area.”
Drop City Books has so far invested £25,000 in refurbishing the new premises, which was most recently a charity shop, with much of the work carried out by family and friends.
Ruth said: “We’ve been here 13 hours a day for the last two months. We’ve painstakingly restored the floor, built custom shelves, we’ve had an amazing bespoke counter built and it was all hands on deck to create the most inspiring, silly kids’ area. I cannot wait for people to see all the hard work and love that’s in every square centimetre.
“I am determined that Drop City Books benefits the city in as many ways as possible and have used local and independent suppliers and artists at every stage of the process. Whether that’s buying insurance through our local broker, wood from our local timber merchant, commissioning wall murals from local artists, buying everything from cleaning supplies to paperclips locally or constantly frequenting the Piccadilly restaurants that have kept us fed.”
An events programme for 2026 is already planned, beginning with horror writer Tobi Coventry launching his debut novel He’s The Devil on Tuesday, 31 March, followed by a visit from Edinburgh’s Poet Laureate Michael Pedersen on Friday, 3 April, as part of his paperback release tour for Muckle Flugga. Tickets are available now via Eventbrite and will also be on sale in the shop once it opens.
The shop will officially reopen on Saturday, 28 February, with a launch event planned throughout the day featuring ‘champagne, a big party atmosphere and lots of exciting surprises’. Ruth also runs a Patreon from £4.50 a month, offering a weekly podcast with book recommendations, updates on the shop, sneak previews of events and more.
Ruth, who describes Drop City Books as ‘a vibrant, bright, friendly independent bookshop where cool people find cool books’, said: “I am so unbelievably happy to be re-opening, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what I’m meant to be doing. It’s been an emotional 12 months since we closed but it’s been worth taking our time to rebuild.
“I’m bored of narratives about this city that say that nothing good ever happens, or that the city is dead. Stoke-on-Trent is full of life and vibrancy if you’re willing to see it.
“I am beyond proud to be part of the community of people who make a living doing amazing things on Piccadilly and it’s a joy to be back on the street every day. Stoke-on-Trent has been failed and left behind and ignored for years – we deserve better and Drop City Books is my way of fighting for that.”
Updates from Drop City Books can be found in Instagram here.
We cannot wait to have you back open. So excitedz
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️