The Elshot sisters on their bookstore, self-publishing, and the importance of black-owned spaces like theirs
Interview and photography by Jaer Vogelland
The Bijlmer Bookstore was founded in 2019 by Nathifa and Zuwena Elshot, who started the initiative after noticing the lack of diversity and representation in local bookstores. After the last bookstore in their area closed, they started to display their own collection of books from and for the African diaspora. The Elshot sisters argue that access to literature with representation is of the most important for the development of black children, and say reading would be a lot more fun for them if they could recognise themselves in the stories. The Bijlmer bookstore consists of a well-curated collection from black writers. Ranging from children’s books to adult novels, cookbooks, and poetry collections from published and unpublished writers.
Why did you start the Bijlmer Bookstore and what did its early years look like?
We started in 2019 with a table at the Bijlmer park theatre, where we were encouraged by Nigerian writer Lola Shoneyin who was there for a book signing. It was a very short signing mainly because we only had three of her books at the time. She complimented us on our resilience and further pursuit of our vision. There was a lot of trial and error in setting things up. We did not have a website. Our store was located on the third floor of a building without elevators. But despite all of this people managed to find us. Shortly after we had another book presentation with another Nigerian writer, with a small but involved crowd of 25 people. It was not always easy on us since we both worked a secondary job and because we were not registered as an official business we did miss out on many benefits like tax returns, but despite all that, we managed.
Was there a moment in your first year that gave you more determination?
Nathifa: Seeing how harsh the publishing landscape can be on black writers and publishers. I remember going to a local book vendor on the day we went to register our business and only seeing one book written by a black author. We immediately felt the need to equip black authors and their audiences. It felt very unnecessary and sad to see a place full of books, with only one written by a black author.
Zuwena: We took a trip to South Africa that year, and with these thoughts and feelings in mind we set out and returned with some amazing books. Whenever we go on holiday we look out for interesting literature.
Tell us about ‘So Furu’, the process of self-publishing and collaborations.
Zuwena: ‘So Furu’ by author Trish Cooke is Surinamese for ‘So Much’. We replaced the traditional English names in the book with names of our relatives and those native to Suriname. We had an uncle whose name is Glenn and Glenn is a popular name in Suriname. So people can feel immersed because some of the names are similar to the names of those around them, they can say “Hey my uncle's name is Glenn too.”
Nathifa: We presented this book to our close friends and family and they liked it a lot. We did not mention that their names were in the book so it came as a big surprise. That’s also why we wanted to present the book to them first.
Do you consider yourselves writers, or are there any aspirations to be?
Nathifa: No hahaha, but we want to be. So Furu was our first translation. Our names are in the book, but it's a translation and not an original piece. It was our favourite children's book. The rights to ‘’So Much” written by Trish Cook were forfeited by Dutch publishers because of little hope in its sales numbers.
It's so nice that you could circumvent that and get the book published. Do you have to face these issues often?
Nathifa: We decided to step in and obtain the publishing right for ‘’So Much’’ from the English publisher and work on the translation. This is just an example. There are plenty of books and authors from the African diaspora that stopped getting published. So we want to reach out to them and publish them ourselves. A lot of books in the store are self-published.
Zuwena: The problem is that we recently found out about a subsidiary for publishers, with one of the requirements being published under a literary publisher. By these requirements, ‘So Furu’ is not eligible for funding because we are not a literary publisher. The thing is that the existing literary publishers see no interest in publishing books from black authors, so it feels like we are hitting another invisible wall.
Nathifa: Google cannot even tell us what a literary publisher is. It is just a made-up system that keeps us from getting published and funded. Every time there is another obstacle, there are institutions offering aid but only under certain conditions that might not always be as accessible to some authors, translators or publishers. So our first order of business is to figure out what a literary publisher is and do the necessary work. There are barriers when it comes to getting a book published as a black writer. We have a lot of books here that are self-published because the authors often don’t get the luxury of being picked up by a literary or even a regular publisher.
What’s the curation like? How do you determine which books make the pick?
Nathifa: We get most of our selection through social sharing. Sometimes authors or people in our direct environment contact us about various books that might fit in our collection. And if they are black we can have a look into it. People often hint at the possibility of some suggestions not being up to quality compared to published books, but being published does not necessarily mean a book is good. We might think so because it is in every bookstore but this contributes little to the quality of the book itself. We define when a book is good enough. There are always people with different opinions. Even if a book is considered less presentable we can still showcase it. We trust that people make that judgment for themselves. We also don't want to contribute to the thought that the work needs to be perfect if coming from a black writer. When it comes to black businesses we tend to be very harsh while we tolerate more from big companies.
How can books from black authors help those of the diaspora?
Nathifa: When people come to our store or events they are always happy to see such a big collection of black writers, authors, and publishers. Even the children love it. A few weeks ago we got a new neighbour, whose son decided to come see the bookstore for himself. He just sat with us and started reading. A week after his mom told us that he does not like to read at all. A lot of children don’t like to read anymore, so if there is an interest, let them read. As it is a fundamental part of children’s learning experience. They need to be able to read and understand questions before being able to answer them properly.
Zuwena: We planned to have another book published by the end of the year, but due to delays it will probably come out next year. The book is a compilation of stories coming from oral traditions.
Nathifa: I would only want to sell it to people of the African diaspora because I want them to know about their culture. A lot of us don't really know about the culture and all the rituals we have.
Zuwena: We tend to sometimes not talk about a lot of things. And then it's good that it's written somewhere.
A visitor in the store: It is just such a significant way of already aligning that with your life from a young age, especially being in the diaspora where we are actively losing a lot of culture. And even at that, it's like we are in a system where it's actually hard for us to cling onto this culture, And I feel like all this is very beautiful in the sense of its simplicity and how much of a difference it can make like a true butterfly effect.
How can we best protect black-owned spaces like yours, and what key factors are detrimental to your success?
Zuwena: Visibility. Yeah people, but also places in general. Having our own space is very important. I do have to admit that our current location is a bit hidden. Having a proper space in Amsterdam is very expensive, so for now we move between squatting spots. In the near future, we hope to find a space that is closer to the people we want to reach.
Nathifa: We live in The Netherlands but, some of us aren't born here. I identify as a Surinamese woman, so being somewhere else, you need to have that connection with other people that live the same experience or have the same background. Because of certain values and cultural things like rituals. You can only have that if you have your own space.
Nathifa: A few years ago there was a space available that went to another bookstore, and we felt overlooked because they were aware of our situation but failed to mention the availability of this space to us. And it’s not just us, there are a lot of great initiatives like ours in need of that same support system. Not to say that nothing has been done but we need them to open their eyes and look at creating a support system that works. And then again we are still here, doing what we need to do. So that's why we need to have our own space. There are a lot of spaces that belong to other people and we rent them. We need to have spaces of our own.
Zuwena: Just like the Vereniging Ons Suriname, they own a big building on the east side of Amsterdam and it's theirs because they bought it. The black community needs ownership over our own spaces. So people cannot tell you how to do certain things or say: “Oh no, you're not getting x because of x”. We don't need your money. We have our own money but this is our space with our rules. It's very important to just exist in different places that are not your home country. The key is being able to be the ones representing ourselves.
Nathifa: We want to continue doing multiple pop-ups. We aim to visit different places in the Netherlands. Mainly to let them know about us and the small collection of black writers. We believe a lot of people in the Netherlands can benefit from initiatives like ours, writers and readers alike. We would have more locations or spots where people can buy books from the bookstore. And hopefully, more books, more titles, more events, and writers coming to us.
Did you know …
Nathifa and Zuwena are museum curators too? If you’re curious about their interpretation of creating space, you can visit the Rode salon as part of the exhibition "Wie zegt dat? Samen geschiedenis een plek geven / Says who? Creating space for histories“. Currently up for viewing at Museum van Loon in Amsterdam until July 16th.
5 Book suggestions by the Bijlmer Bookstore
1. So Much / Zo veel (Dutch) / So Furu (Sranan Tongo) / Papaapa (Twi) by Trish Cooke
2. Dear Martin / Wat Zou Martin Doen? (Dutch) by Nic Stone
3. Mijn Eerste Woordjes In Het Sranan (Dutch) by Stimofo
4. Ada's plek (Dutch) by Sharon Dodua Otoo
5. Mondi (Dutch) by Milouska Meulens
