New Beacon Books

New Beacon Books is a British publishing house, bookshop, and international book service that specialises in Black British, Caribbean, African literature.

About Us

New Beacon Books was founded in 1966 by John La Rose and his partner Sarah White and was the UK’s first black publisher, specialist bookshop and international book distributor. For over 50 years New Beacon Books has made available to Britain and its communities poetry, literature, non –fiction, history and children’s books from Africa, Caribbean, Asia, African America, Europe, South America and Britain.  Inspired by John La Rose’s political and cultural vision derived from experience in the Caribbean and South America, New Beacon was never just a book business. New Beacon as a publishing house has produced an important body of publications. The bookshop has been at the centre of many ground-breaking political and social projects, organisations and campaigns including the George Padmore and Albertina Sylvester Supplementary Schools, Caribbean Artists Movement (1966-1972), CECWA campaign against putting black children in ESN schools, International Book Fair of Radial Black and Third World Books (1982-1995), the Black Parents Movement (1975- 1990s), the New Cross Massacre Action Committee (1981 ), the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners in Kenya (1980s),  George Padmore Institute GPI; archive of the struggle of people of African, Caribbean and Asian descent in Britain (1991) and European Action for Racial Equality and Social Justice (1990s).