While Wedding has been touted as “the next big thing” for decades, Moabit has quietly, almost effortlessly, gone ahead and become exactly that. Picturesque streets, old buildings shaded by mighty plane trees, small shops and cafés. Right in the middle of it all, I discover Chapters, the new English-language bookstore founded by publisher and literary agent Sharmaine Lovegrove. Sharmaine is no stranger to Berlin. I first met her in 2009, when the London-born Jamaican opened her first bookstore, Dialogue Books, in Mitte. In the back room of a café on Christinenstraße, her personal book universe offered new perspectives on international literature. Sixteen years later, with Chapters, she is opening a new chapter of her own — a space where international perspectives meet the local neighborhood. Chapters embodies this spirit, as Berlin has always been a place of new beginnings and creative risk-taking for both long-time residents and newcomers alike.
The idea behind it is simple: bring people together and spark their curiosity for stories that transcend linguistic, intellectual, and geographical boundaries. Sharmaine puts it succinctly: “Come curious and leave with a discovery”. Around 3,200 carefully selected titles, arranged thematically, fill the store and immediately invite you to explore further. Lives & Times, Romance & Ruinous, Dreams & Disruption, Power & Resistance, Grow & Wonder, and more. Each theme forms a small, curated universe that brings classics and contemporary works into conversation. In the future, Chapters will host literary salons with international authors, book presentations, and a biennial literature festival. It all began with a talk by Antiguian-American writer and literature professor Jamaica Kincaid. We look forward to seeing what the next chapter has in store.
Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Ruby Watt
Chapters, Wilsnackerstr.60, 10559 Berlin–Moabit; map
Find the curated program here. In December, Chapters invites you to Gifts & Mulled Wine. Every Thursday, there’s mulled wine and 10% off all books.
@chapters_berlin
