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Over 150 authors donate their books to Liverpool library burned during far-right riots

Author Marnie Riches has mobilised writers to donate books to rebuild Spellow Lane Library Hub’s collection after it was burned by far-right rioters

Over 150 authors have pledged to donate their books to the Liverpool library burned during far-right riots last weekend. 

Spellow Lane Library Hub, which opened last year and also hosts a food bank, was set on fire during far-right riots on Saturday 3 August, with photos showing the burnt interior of the building and damaged books and bookshelves. 

The library was targeted during riots seen in several cities over the weekend, after far-right violence initially arose in Southport, where three children were killed on 29 July in a knife attack. Rioters have also targeted mosques and set fire to a hotel used to house asylum seekers. 

After photos emerged of the damage to Spellow Hub, people quickly rallied to support the community hub, with a GoFundMe page raising over £100,000 to help repair the library

Author Marnie Riches has also coordinated more than 150 writers who promised to donate their books to the library after she pledged to give her own, telling the Big Issue she was moved by the “heartbreaking tweets of the damage sustained by the library”.

“It took me a couple of hours of being angry at the fallout in Liverpool to think up the idea of donating my own books,” the crime fiction author said.

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“I tweeted yesterday afternoon, and by today it had gathered momentum,” she said, claiming a “mix of bigger and smaller” authors had donated books and money to the library. 

Riches explained that she had been in touch with staff at Liverpool Central Libraries, the base from which donations are processed; the team explained that donations would be sent to Spellow Hub after repairs are made. 

She added that authors should contact her on Twitter/X or Liverpool Central Library if they want to donate their own books in order to save Spellow Hub “huge amounts of admin time”.

“Libraries are essential to the literary ecosystem, as they provide everyone with the opportunity to read as much as they like, regardless of financial circumstances,” she told the Big Issue.

“They’re places that foster community cohesion – so desperately needed at the moment – as well as sources of food for the mind.

“Growing up as the only child of a single parent on a rough council estate in north Manchester, my local library set me on the path to learning, reading and a love of books, which led me ultimately to Cambridge University and then a successful literary career. 

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“This is my chance to give something back to a northern library.”

She added that given the “racism of the rioters” and the targeting of a library that serves a working-class community, “what better antidote to the thuggery and hate than books?”

Merseyside Police added in a statement that the library had suffered “severe damage” to the ground floor, and that rioters had attempted to block firefighters from responding to the damage. 

“The Spellow Lane Library Hub, which was opened last year to provide a much-needed one-stop shop for one of the most deprived communities in the country, has suffered severe damage to the ground floor,” the police said in a statement.

“When firefighters arrived those gathered tried to stop them, without success, from getting to the fire to put it out.

“They even threw a missile at the fire engine and broke the rear window of the cab.”

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In a statement on Sunday, Liverpool Central Library wrote: “Following the violent disorder last night at Spellow Hub Library, Liverpool Council will be working hard to support residents and ensure service users have access to library services.”

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