Passa Porta to open dedicated English-language bookstore

Brussels' international bookshop Passa Porta is moving its English-language section to its own dedicated store, next to the main shop on Rue Antoine Dansaert this spring.

The English bookshop will occupy the building that was formerly home to the French leather goods shop Paul Marius, Bruzz reports, which closed its doors a few weeks ago.

“We have noticed that the demand for English-language books has grown steadily in recent years, especially among young people,” said manager Ludovic Bekaert.

“In terms of sales, English-language books now account for a third of our total sales.”

Passa Porta, a multilingual bookseller, was struggling with a lack of space in its current location, particularly for its English-language collection.

The demand comes not only from English-speakers, but also from Dutch and French-speakers.

“We see that young people in particular prefer to read books in the original English rather than in translation,” Bekaert said.

“Their language use is becoming more English-oriented, and this is reflected in their choice of books.”

Bekaert said that outside of Waterstones in the centre of Brussels, English-language book options in the Belgian capital are scarce, with only limited selections at stores such as Fnac, Standaard Boekhandel and Filigranes.

Passa Porta has steadily expanded the space for its English-language collection over the years.

“First it was a cupboard, then the whole room at the back, but it's still not enough to meet the needs of customers and publishers,” said Bekaert, adding that the new shop will triple the range of English-language fiction and non-fiction.

“It will be a fully-fledged English-language bookshop.”

The renovation work will start next week with the aim of an early-April opening.

The finished space will be separate from the bookshop’s current location, with a separate entrance, but Bekaert hopes to architecturally interconnect the two buildings at some point in the future.

After the English-language collection has been moved, the books in the current shop will also be rearranged. The children's and youth collection will be moved to the space that has become available at the back, which will double its size. Other collections, such as poetry, will also be expanded.