Public Knowledge Books

Public Knowledge Books PKB is a distributor championing underground culture and under-represented voices.

We love a visit from a publisher at PKB HQ, especially when they’ve travelled from far and wide. Last week, we met Anett...
17/08/2026

We love a visit from a publisher at PKB HQ, especially when they’ve travelled from far and wide. Last week, we met Anette from Melbourne-based publisher Dossier Industries an independent publishing imprint and editorial design practice working with a diverse mix of artists and writers.
Anette filled us in on the Australian art book scene and left us feeling like we must hop over one day.

Our window display featuring Dossier artist Alyson Fox is still on show for another two weeks so if you’ve yet to bask in its glory, there’s still time.

For Design Details, we ask our publishers to give us a look behind-the-scenes at their publishing process, from design a...
11/08/2026

For Design Details, we ask our publishers to give us a look behind-the-scenes at their publishing process, from design and layout to final finishes. This month, we spoke to Lucy Roeber, editor and publisher of The Erotic Review. Erotic Review

PKB: What design detail choice have you made that you feel most proud of?
Lucy: Really it is the first choice to bring Studio Frith on board to create the visual world of the Erotic Review. They’d never done a magazine before and created a typography and emblems that are completely original - un-gendered, fleshy, human and not leaning into any one s*xuality or practise or another. The E emblem holds all the work we do and I never stop feeling amazed and energised by it. So perhaps it’s more gratitude to the skill and vision of Studio Frith than personal pride I feel.

P: What’s the most extravagant design detail in your publishing career?
L: Ha! The Erotic Review is the first and only thing I have published so far, having come from a writing/editing background. And it is extravagant in many ways - a collectible object of desire. Each one is individually designed by Studio Frith and curated by a different art curator/artist, it’s litho-printed on beautiful uncoated Munken paper. Yet, we want it to stay affordable and sell it for only £22 - what could be more extravagant (and commercially mad) than that!

P: Is there a detail/element that changed from the original concept?
L: We are now working on Issue 6 and I feel as though the first three issues were really a matter of getting into our stride and the design has loosened and become more playful and unexpected and original over time. In Issue 6 (out in October 2026) we’ve been working with three choreographers, a photographer and ten dancers to create original art content and it’s been absolutely wonderful. I never dreamt we’d be able to hold such a culturally collaborative space. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.

Shop The Erotic Review online and in store, or email us for trade orders.

Erika Zig Zag Reading Room left PKB HQ with a case full of our finest books and journals to take back to Brussels (lucky...
05/08/2026

Erika Zig Zag Reading Room left PKB HQ with a case full of our finest books and journals to take back to Brussels (lucky Brussels).

The bookshop specialises in new and second hand books centring the global majority and diasporas, in collaboration with Hopscotch Berlin in Berlin.

The regular programme of events make it a space for conversation as well as reading.

No One Issue 03: No One in Philadelphia No One Magazine For our Philadelphia launch: we featured a program with figures ...
20/07/2026

No One Issue 03: No One in Philadelphia No One Magazine

For our Philadelphia launch: we featured a program with figures in the scene covered in the issue, including performances by Icon Ebony-Fierce and Arien Wilkerson, plus a panel with artists and party organizers DJ Delish, Arie Lorboo, Eden Alison, and Furtive.

Photo credit Margaux Watkind (americaluvsme!)

Shop No One Mag online and in store, or email us for trade orders.

The heatwave hasn’t gone unnoticed this week. But if you think souring temperatures will keep us away from our stockists...
26/06/2026

The heatwave hasn’t gone unnoticed this week. But if you think souring temperatures will keep us away from our stockists, you’re mistaken.

We saw Emma and Forest at Burley Fisher where we sat and pooled sweat whilst swapping our samples with their new titles (from the Burley Fisher imprint) as well as TV recommendations.

We caught up with Molly and Sophia and their discerning eyes at Reference Point. A cool refuge from the heat. Wishing Sophia swift recovery with her leg....

Paying a visit to G**s the Word’s Uli was a joy. The shop is iconic, of course. And it’s unlikely that you’ll know this because it’s hidden but it has a POND. That’s a first for us.

Natalie at World of Echo is a powerhouse. We chatted new books and their record label which you should definitely look into -it’s doing great things.

We chilled (almost) in the basement of Housmans with Al. He found some additions to the already stellar Pride table.

John Sandoe shone like a jewel in the morning sunshine. Buyer Magnus made a confident selection (he knows his customers like the back of his hand). Expect to see some new food and poetry offerings there soon.

We also sat in the garden at Camden Arts in the company of Jacqueline, the book buyer of 30 years (or thereabouts). It was the morning after the thunder storm and the garden was so sweet smelling that we forgot to take a picture.

13-15 November - Portraits - London by Jack Davison  is back in stock‘A few years ago, I realised that simple stark port...
25/06/2026

13-15 November - Portraits - London by Jack Davison is back in stock

‘A few years ago, I realised that simple stark portraiture was featuring less in my work and I wanted to rectify that. I spent three days during a past November trying to document as many people as I could. This book is the culmination of those three days.’

The work was printed as photopolymer etchings, by Colin Gale and I, at Artichoke.

Casting - Coco Wu Casting Assistant - Andrea Urbez Photo Team - Andy Moores, Tamibe Bourdanne, Abena Appiah Digi Tech - Marsy Hild AD - Liam Thornton 2nd AD - Liam “JT” Taylor Wardrobe - Reina Ogawa Clarke Styling - Phillip Smith MU - Niamh QuinnMU Assistant - Manabu Nobuoka MU Assistant - Izzy Kennedy Hair - Mari Ohashi Hair Assistant - El Frida Ibrahim Dikko Hair Assistant - Masaki Kameda Set - Staci Lee Senior Producer - Nicola Caterall Producer - Sophie Hambling Producer - Szofia Antonova Production - Mini-Title Printing - Artichoke Cover Illustration - Agnes Lloyd Platt

Congratulations to Michael MacDonald for winning the 2026 PKB Prize at the BA Photography degree shows at London College...
23/06/2026

Congratulations to Michael MacDonald for winning the 2026 PKB Prize at the BA Photography degree shows at London College of Communication

His impressive project The Rooms put him firmly on our radar. Michael came up to see us for his consultation prize and it was a joy to talk through his work and ideas for future projects in publishing.

More about The Rooms below

‘This project is a constructed documentary series exploring the overlooked spaces where Alcoholics Anonymous meetings take place, including church halls, community centres, and side rooms that hold the potential for transformation. These environments appear ordinary, even mundane, yet function as sites of ritual, struggle, and renewal.

Rather than documenting meetings directly, the work stages scenes with actors and individuals with lived experience of addiction, positioning the images between truth and fiction. This approach responds to the ethical limits of documentary while engaging with its emotional and social realities. Through symbolism, lighting, and stillness, the series examines how space can hold collective vulnerability, seeking to visualise recovery while challenging the stigma and shame surrounding addiction.’

Walthamstow, we’re setting up shop at the  Nourished Communities event at Big Penny Social The food market looks AMAZING...
21/06/2026

Walthamstow, we’re setting up shop at the Nourished Communities event at Big Penny Social
The food market looks AMAZING, and our friends from Guzzle are here too. We’re here until 6 with a tasty selection of print and other crowd pleasers. You’ve got half an hour until today’s most important kick off.

It was a sunny signing at PKB HQ on Saturday with these two indie publishing virtuosos. The book pairs vivid scans of co...
15/06/2026

It was a sunny signing at PKB HQ on Saturday with these two indie publishing virtuosos. The book pairs vivid scans of collected objects with writing that contextualises, complicates and historicises cruising’s material traces. It was insightful to hear Jack discuss the ethical and safety considerations involved in making the work.

We still have copies of A Catalogue Of Pleasure available in-store so drop us a line if you’d like to reserve one. Thanks for fitting us into your schedule of launches across s*x clubs, saunas and book fairs over the last few months

Sorry Walthamstow, we are closed tomorrow while we have a little facelift. Change is afoot….see you on Saturday 6th.
29/05/2026

Sorry Walthamstow, we are closed tomorrow while we have a little facelift. Change is afoot….see you on Saturday 6th.

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