Culture Radio by Operator [23] - March 2025

Seb and Cara dedicate this episode of culture radio to Rotterdam’s web of DIY bookstores, publishing collectives, writers & zine-makers. Cara meets with Moose M. Goosen (@moshin) from and so on books (@and_so_on_books) to discuss the importance of community in bookstores, finding first edition Valerie Solanas in a kringloop in the Netherlands, and finding kindred spirits among DIY bookstore culture in Rotterdam over the past few years. Seb is joined by Lianne Enkhuizen from The Base Bookspace (@thebasebookspace) live in the studio to talk about her love of literature, platforming black authors, thoughts on representation and marketing in the book publishing industry, and how to run a nomadic bookstore. Cara also speaks with Ash Kilmartin (@ask_kilmartin) from Short Pieces That Move! (@shortpiecesthatmove), photographed here by Bart Lunenburg. SPTM! are a reading and writing group as well as a DIY publishing house with an emphasis on collective learning and permission-giving: the permission to experiment, sometimes for the first time, with writing, and to work with or against English as a material. Ash & Cara discuss the links between independent radio & book-making culture and the importance of accessibility in publishing (aka how to make the best book for the lowest price) 📚