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It was a bit of a battle for A.N.
The store isnt pink, she explains, to pander to some outdated idea about femininity.
I dont wear a lot of pink … Its not my favorite color.
Devers wants shoppers to feel comfortable, to pull very expensive books off the shelf without worrying about it.
Roxane Gay swung by in the winter.
The Second Shelf is part shrine, part unofficial clubhouse for the female literary set.
The shops exterior is a muted red, which Devers describes as a compromise.
The bookshop was never in Deverss plans.
Next to it, a Cormac McCarthy novel commanded $600.
She wondered how that could be.
McCarthy, too, is regularly called up as one of the great innovators of American fiction.
But is his work worth 24 times Didions?
They either sold childrens books or a smattering of whats considered creative or design books.
I was quite naive, she says.
I didnt know … before I moved to London that there were women-focused book dealers.
And she insists repeatedly while we talk that she doesnt see herself as a pioneer in the industry.
Im not the only person trying to make change in the rare-book world for women at all.
Visitors show up at the shop after glimpsing it onInstagram.
Aviral tweetin January brought the shop so much attention that she credits it with keeping her financially afloat.
Devers says they [fly] off of our shelves.
Penguin paperbacks, with their graphic orange-and-black covers, are priced to sell for six quid apiece.
Two dark-haired women they could be sisters come to the door while were chatting.
Its Sunday, and the shop is closed, but Devers welcomes them in.
They blow in with a gust of cold air and immediately gasp and giggle with delight.
We are so glad we found you, one proclaims, because we thought we wouldnt!
Both women nod rapidly and promise theyll be back.
Devers makes the case quite convincingly that such books arent overpriced, theyre finallyproperlypriced.
And then I say, Women are not a niche, but yes, I have.
But instead of niche, Devers has actively sought diversity in every form.
She walks me through the room, pointing out titles and authors.
I bought as many copies as I could of that book and all of those have sold.
And then I bought 15 copies or something like that of her book of short stories.
And were down to having I think one in the store.
Theres a hefty copy of Pauline KaelsHooked, one of her many volumes of film criticism.
She cant keep Toni Morrison in stock.
Initially, the Second Shelf was imagined as an online retailer, with the quarterly as accompaniment.
AKickstarter launchedin May 2018, andreached its goal in 20 days.
The digital shop is forthcoming Devers hopes to launch it next week.
It hasnt been recovered.
She fervently emphasizes the large cast of women who work behind the scenes.
I hired all women.
There was one male who did a recording, that was it.
We spin clockwise theres a cafe, an independent jeweler.
It will be a gentlemans general store.
Well, she says with a wry smile, I guess were a perfect match.
