Feminist bookstore in London aims to redress gender imbalance A rare bookstore in London, specialising in works by women, aims to redress the gender imbalance in western literature. 'The Second Shelf' started as a Kickstarter campaign in May 2018, raising over £30 000. Six months later, what was supposed to be an online bookstore became a brick-and-mortar location in Soho. The shop's owner, author AN Devers, had the idea after noticing that rare book dealers and collectors are predominantly male, and tended to ignore books written by women.