Ú-topical

How did this place come about and what made it different from the start?
Doing something different was one of the reasons for creating the project: the search for a different reality, fairer in the publishing industry and more plural for readers.

The project began in 2018, and the landscape seven years ago was very different from today. Well, not that different, because you're often surprised; we'd like the change to be much more evident, but seven years ago everything was much more complex for women and gender-diverse writers and editors.

Going into any bookstore in the city meant being confronted with a majority of books written by men on every shelf, and very few independent publishers on display. Bookstores weren't spaces that invited women to read, so very few readers considered them in their selections. Where were the contemporary, historical, Latina, Indigenous, Black, and lesbian women writers? Faced with this reality, the founders thought it was a good idea to open a space dedicated to women's literature and writing, and that's how it began. U-Topicas. Women's bookstores. Today the project is different: we've evolved naturally, as everything changes according to contexts, needs, and a lot of reflection and attention. But I think we maintain the idea of ​​prioritizing voices that aren't heard because they don't align with the system's interests.

There's also something else I consider very important in the creation of this project, and that's that from the beginning we also built a catalog of women artists and craftspeople who, like the writers, couldn't find a place to share, distribute, and showcase their work: embroiderers, weavers, visual artists, illustrators. This is also a very important community in our project, and many of the artists have been with us for almost the last seven years.

What part of the day, space, or creative process do those who work here enjoy the most?
We're a small team, but we do very different things. Although I'm sure everyone has their favorite activity, I think there are specific things where we all join forces and really enjoy ourselves. 

There's a dynamic that develops in the bookstore around the theme of the month. Each month, a different bookseller curates a selection of books related to a specific topic and displays it in a special area of ​​the bookstore and on the website. It's exciting not only for the curator that month, as it creates a creative spark, but also for everyone else; I feel like we're all eager to see what the next theme will be. We've had some very interesting selections, topics that the team is passionate about or that move them, such as grief, dogs, small things, wildlife, moving, and many others that reveal books we might never have seen before.

I also think that when we have book fairs in places we love, in other cities, or with events that interest us, we all work together to put together the best selection, a beautiful setup, a practical takedown, and to upload fun content. At those times, we're all supporting each other, looking out for one another, to make sure everything goes well. It creates a real sense of community that I really enjoy.

If someone is coming in for the first time, what should they not miss?
There are two spaces that I find beautiful and that never cease to amaze me, even though I visit the bookstore frequently. The first, actually, is several: the special curated selections in the bookstore. There's one that I mentioned in the previous question, the theme of the month, but we also have a special section called recommendations from our booksellers. There, we all have a section of between ten and twenty books that we like, and we update it every two months.

Furthermore, we have the publisher of the month, and it's wonderful because we make an effort to feature independent, unusual, and intriguing publishers—publishers by people we love and admire. I feel that this section is a great recommendation, but it's also a very clear reflection of the personal tastes of those of us who work at the bookstore.

We also have a section called month's bookseller. Here, we invite someone from outside the publishing industry to present us with a selection based on a common theme. We've had writers, content creators, and booksellers whom we greatly admire. We've also built a beautiful archive on our social media channels from these selections.

Without a doubt, I would arrive at the bookstore and go straight to the special selections: there is so much love, passion, and knowledge shared there.

The other space—or rather, several spaces—is the walls covered with mock-ups of our publishing house's books. We have loose pages from our books, as well as interior artwork and illustrations. It's great fun to spend a little while reading these books on the wall, with their own unique rhythm and disarray.

And well, now I really think that another thing I wouldn't miss would be buying a little book and going out to the garden to have a coffee.

What has been an interesting challenge that has made you rethink something about the project?
Undoubtedly, the pandemic has been a challenge that has had a major impact on the project, as has becoming a publishing house. But the former was certainly more challenging because the project was just getting started.

The bookstore was a very small space, and we did cataloging, inventory, and book receiving manually, all at a slow pace; we were a tiny team. With the lockdown, reading increased, and our community grew and grew: it was like a jolt that pushed us to change.

The need for a website was becoming increasingly clear, but so was the need for a larger space. So we started with the website and shipping nationwide. A few months after returning from quarantine, the idea arose to move to a different space: we went from a shop with a reading room and a half-floor upstairs for presentations, to a space with three rooms and a gallery.

This change also led to the idea of ​​a women's bookstore expanding into one that encompassed social movements, human rights, and feminism. I think it was an expansive process in every sense of the word.

We expanded our ideas, our activities, our commitment to the world of books, to our community, to the causes we consider just. We broadened our way of thinking and seeing the world of books in which we were moving.

What influence, idea, or reference continues to shape the way you work today?
One of the fondest memories we have of the bookstore is that our initial catalog was built with the books that were requested and that the community itself recommended, with themes that they suggested to us or even the authors themselves who came with their books.

I believe that our main guideline will always be that: to listen to what people are asking of us, the people involved: readers, editors, writers, publishers, distributors, content creators; all those who keep us as a living space.

If your space could invite someone to collaborate for a day, who would it be and what would you do together?
We have a collection of over 120 mujeres U-Tópicas, it's a collection of portraits illustrated by an Argentinian artist, Eulogia Merle, and I think any of them coming in and giving us book recommendations would be incredible, and in fact we've been lucky enough to have this happen before.

Is there an object, corner or detail of the place that has a story that few people know?
Yes, we have a beautiful guestbook. You leave drawings and phrases there, which are a precious record of the bookstore's history. We already have about three books full.

If this project were a city, a book, or a record, which would it be and why?
U-Tópicas couldn't be any other city than Mexico City. When I was discussing this question with the team, Silvia, one of our booksellers, said that the bookstore was as porous as Mexico City itself, and I completely agree. It's also such a changing, dynamic, and emotional landscape—sometimes so moving and monstrous at the same time—that it would undoubtedly be the city.  

I loved the idea of ​​thinking about an album, but there are so many of us contributing to this project, that I also discussed it with the team and Johann, another of our booksellers, mentioned that it would be a record where songs are added, so I think it would be an old-fashioned MP3 record with a mix of everything, with an absolute incoherence that would end up being coherent.

Answers by Laura Linares Colmenares, coordinator of projects and external alliances at Ú-tópicas.