Bookshop Spotlight: She Said, The Berlin Store Platforming Women & Queer Authors

On a street in Neukölln, Berlin, a queue has formed outside She Said. You might think this is one of the city’s exclusive nightclubs, drawing such crowds – in fact, it’s a bookshop that provides an inclusive platform for those who feel voiceless.

Emilia von Senger founded She Said – which was recommended to Service95 by Tomasz Jedrowski, author of Dua’s Monthly Read For May, Swimming In The Dark – in 2020, with the intention of creating a “utopia” and a space for “discourse, understanding and exchange”; a chance to go on a journey that could change your life.

Designed by architects Mara Kanthak and Katharina Volgger, She Said feels like an Athenian library, but instead of tablets of ancient knowledge, its colourful shelves and sleek but cosy vibe is a celebration of queer and women authors. Through offering a diverse range of feminist criticism, She Said epitomises what it means to be a feminist bookshop – yet its offering is not limited to theoretical texts, it includes zines, cookbooks and even children’s stories.

There is also great cafe where you can relax with a coffee and your new read. Plus, the store runs events, from discussion groups to talks and author interviews: She Said Tuesdays provide a space for Berlin creatives to discuss and plan ideas, host workshops, or even host their own book clubs; while She Said’s Quiet Shopping Hour offers a dedicated time for neurodiverse customers to browse in peace at off-peak times. Each event embodies the shop’s ethos of supporting marginalised groups and showcasing the latest talent.

The She Said Team’s Top 5 Books By LGBTQIA+ & Women Authors

1. Some Strange Music Draws Me In by Griffin Hansbury

“A trans masc perspective on growing up queer in the US, ’80s rock music (Patti Smith!), love and the self. Painful, beautiful, funny, smart and relevant” says Sophie.

2. Work Life Balance by Aisha Franz

“A zingy satire on the modern anxieties of work, therapy and narcissism. Aisha’s cartoony style and humour always tickles me, but this book was also a refreshing critique of the link ‘therapising’ makes with ‘self-improvement’. I saw her do a reading of this and would recommend the full Aisha experience.” says Lauria.

3. Animal Joy by Nuar Alsadir

“With the author being a poet and psychoanalyst who went to clown school, this book is impossible to categorise. Everything she engages with – some things hilarious, some terrifying – revolves around the topic of laughter, from psychoanalysis and the presidential elections to her little daughters and why people have laughing fits at funerals. Despite the sharp analyses, the book never loses its sense of wonder and reminds us to stay fully present and alive,” says Anni.

4. Feminist City by Leslie Kern

“I wish this book existed during my years of architectural studies. It‘s an intentionally written text on next-generation urbanism: one of my favourite parts is the city of friends, which decenters, through a queer/indigenous/intersectional perspective, the heteropatriarchal nucleus of the couple/family in the context of urbanism and housing. In short, normalise buying property with your friends!” says Carla.

5. Lote by Shola von Reinhold

“An absolute favourite about luxury, queer archiving, Black queer history and trans lives. It’s so witty, so nerdy, and so good!” says Hanna.

Jamie Styles is Service95’s Digital Editorial Assistant