Surplus Radical Bookshop
Surplus Radical Bookshop is a community‑run bookshop and events space in Mowbray, Cape Town. Founded in 2021 by longtime organiser and teacher André Marais, Surplus began as a pop‑up project in Woodstock to share his personal collection of 40,000 radical books. The shop soon became a permanent fixture and relocated to the Quaker Peace Centre in Mowbray.
The shelves at Surplus are filled with literature that has fuelled liberation movements across the world. Visitors will find works on anti‑capitalist economics, Marxism, anarchism, feminism, anti‑colonial struggles, environmental justice, Black and African history, radical fiction and poetry, LGBTQIA+ theory, and more. Surplus also stocks vinyl records and artwork by local artists, preserving cultural expressions tied to resistance and resilience. This curation challenges the commodification of knowledge and keeps radical texts accessible to working‑class communities.
Surplus functions as more than a bookshop. Marais envisions it as a gathering place where activists and curious readers come together for discussions, film screenings, and mutual aid projects. Partner organizations such as the Institute for African Alternatives regularly host political education events at the shop, including film screenings on climate justice and imperialism. By providing space for these conversations, Surplus helps build networks of solidarity and connects struggles across Cape Town and beyond. The bookshop invites community members to contribute radical literature and art, reinforcing its role as a commons rather than a commercial venture.
Today Surplus remains housed at The Peace Centre in Mowbray. People who want to support the project can visit the shop, attend one of its public events, donate books, or volunteer to help keep the doors open. Surplus amplifies the histories and ideas that challenge oppression and nurtures a space where liberation movements can learn, strategize, and organise together.
Own or work here? 