Paco Underhill on Oxford Bookstore

Novel, interesting and thought provoking, Oxford Bookstore presents events that at once inform and delight. The bookshop provides a stimulating forum for an array of events and promotions – a continuing festival of literary, visual and performance arts. The diversity of events – books, design, cookery, travel, new age, art, history, IT, business - attract booklovers from different walks of life.

Like they say, ‘It’s never too late!’ I am glad to discover Oxford Bookstore.
I’ve discovered a new literary wonderland.

Ashutosh Gowariker - Award-winning director

Authors' Abode

As a vibrant interactive platform, Oxford Bookstore is home to renowned authors, all of whom prefer to launch their books here. As their new stories unfold, our family of Oxford writers grows. Some of the most distinguished writers who have released their works with us are: Sir V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Gunter Grass, Peter Carey, Bapsi Sidhwa, Amitav Ghosh, Sudha Murty, Amit Chaudhuri, William Dalrymple, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Jhumpa Lahiri, Roy Bhasker, Mark Tully, Ruskin Bond and late Dom Moraes.

Oxford Bookstore has encouraged young and debutante writers by hosting their book launch sessions; these include Rupa Bajwa’s The Sari Shop, Hindol Sengupta’s Indian Fashion, Hiranmay Karlekar’s Bangladesh…The Next Afghanistan? , Rohan Narula’s Chaos, Abhijit Bhaduri’s Mediocre But Arrogant, Sonia Faleiro’s The Girl, Nandita Puri’s Nine O Nine and Usha Alexander’s Only the Eyes are Mine.

"I always enjoyed coming here and listen to other writers.
I never imagined that an evening would be organized for
readings from my novel, First Light. Great feeling!"

Sunil Gangopadhyay - Veteran Bengali Writer

“Oxford Bookstore used to be as much an institution in Calcutta as a bookshop. With its revival in the mid-nineties, and its welcome proliferation in other cities, it is on its way to becoming what it used to be and perhaps more: an institution multiply located, and one that redefined itself for the times we live in.”

Amit Chaudhuri – Award-winning Author

The Art Patron

Oxford Bookstore also encourages other forms of creative expression through exhibitions of renowned artists, painters and sculptors such as Paritosh Sen, Sunil K. Dutt, Dayanita Singh, Ahmed Ali, Nemai Ghosh, Pradeep Dasgupta, Dinesh Khanna, Pamela Singh, Adam Fuss, Karoki Lewis, Srila Mukherjee, Leena Kejriwal and Shilpa Gupta.

An interesting synergy is achieved as the exhibition space merges beautifully with the display of books around. The art and photography exhibitions are formally inaugurated by eminent personalities in the art world and the works are showcased at the gallery space for a week.

"It is sheer pleasure to be at the Oxford Bookstore. It seems like a paradise of knowledge.
The bookstore is more than a bookstore because of the hospitality it radiates."
Sabyasachi Mukherjee - Fashion Designer

Publishers’ Paradise

Oxford Bookstore has built a special rapport with leading publishers through Publishers' Exhibitions at all Oxford Bookstores; Penguin, Tata McGraw Hill, Rupa, Sage, Oxford University Press and Roli Books have held special exhibitions with us where books have been displayed on special discounts.

A number of small, independent and regional publishers like Sampark, Samskriti, Book Review Literary Trust, Pratham Books, Invisible Man Press, Frog Books, Indialog, Merwin Publishers, MapinLit and Kali have hosted book launch and reading sessions at the bookstore.

"It was a pleasure to see that the staff in the bookshop knew exactly
where the books I was looking for were placed."
Dr N. Ramgoolam - Prime Minister of Mauritius

Children’s Hour

Created especially for children, this is a time when kids call it their own, and parents are merely visitors to the bookstore. In this special section, where children would be able to pay their own bills at a tiny cash counter, Oxford Bookstore hosts storytelling sessions, magic shows, puppet shows, film shows, elocution workshops and art and craft lessons to keep the young ones busy and asking for more.

Our objective is to discover and help develop a habit of reading and writing amongst children through various activities held at the bookstore.

"We have been coming to Oxford Bookstore since 1933-34 when I was 13 years old. Old nostalgic memories I have. The present Oxford has become a novel shop, a completely changed place.
Our best wishes for its prosperous future."
B.K. Birla - Chairman, B.K. Birla Industries

cha bar Events

Over the years, cha bar has hosted niche events on cuisine, health and lifestyle. Food festivals such as Tibetan Tea Ceremony, Chocolate Festival and Sandwich Festival as well interactive talk and demos with Chefs from The Park have been very popular with the visitors at cha bar. Informal chat sessions with authors and experts – addas - have also been organized in the relaxed ambience of the literary café.

"A feast for the heart and the mind in a city that badly needed such a stimulant.“
Victor Banerjee - Actor, Nominated for the British Academy Awards

The Helping Hand

Oxford Bookstore cares and believes in reaching out to the underprivileged community and provides them with a compassionate space to express themselves. The bookshop has supported leading NGOs - CRY, CINI, Save the Children (UK), Missionaries of Charity, Christel House, Elaan, Drishya, Sanlaap, Daywalka Foundation and several others - on a national platform. For example, in 2002 – Oxford Bookstore Kolkata was the first to exhibit Children of Sonagachhi, a photography exhibition curated by Zana Briski and Ross Kaufman, which later became the basis of an Oscar-winning documentary Born into Brothels and a non-profit organization called Kids with Cameras.

Our endeavours in hosting events with NGOs have helped us to provide our audience with a completely refreshing experience and spread the message of self-expression and living with dignity amongst one and all.

"A charming bookshop. The fact that it lends itself to charitable causes is another great plus.”
Maneka Gandhi - Former Union Minister of Environment and Forests, Patron WWF

Oxford Bookstore Clubs

Oxford Bookstore provides a platform for young and talented people to showcase their endeavours in theatre, design, film and photography, creative writing, oratory, information technology, and the arts.

	The Theatre Club at Oxford Bookstore encourages the youth involved in theatre to showcase their talent. We hold performances/workshops/discussions, enactments and play reading sessions.
	Sketch an Idea: The Design Club encompasses events and activities with those involved in the arena of design such as fashion, textile design, food styling, furniture design, and architecture.
	The Film and Photography Club targets film lovers, students of film studies, amateur photographers and film institutes to come together and share their efforts and contributions to contemporary film and photography. Workshops are an important feature of this club.
	A unique forum for amateur writers, cha Writers encourages talented and aspiring writers and authors to share and discuss their works with an audience comprising journalists, critics, writers, academics, editors and all those enthusiastic about creative writing.
	Oxygen is a dynamic forum for all those associated with the IT world. All those enthusiastic about animation, graphics, technical film production, programming and related fields are welcome to join the club.
	A club for art-lovers, art enthusiasts, patrons of art, sculptors and students. The Sketch forum organizes exhibitions /display of works by budding/upcoming/talented artists, sculptors, painters and cartoonists.
	The Booklovers' Club aims to encourage reading among all sections and all age groups of people. Discussions and interactive talk sessions on a certain book or a particular author or their works in a particular category are taken up.
	Celebrateen is a community for teenagers to encourage their creative skills in different fields including theatre, painting, elocution, dance and music.