New Ramsgate bookshop mines Thanet treasures for literary gain

Following a grand opening last weekend which saw underage pirates, books and Jack Sparrow making balloon swords and performing magic tricks, Ramsgate’s High Street now has a new shop.

A multifunctional, slashie business Plunder is a bookshop, publisher, working space, and tea house all in one. Come the summer holidays, it will also be a ‘smuggler experience’ - a currently fairly opaque idea, which will no doubt reveal itself in due course. 

Plunder is the creation of local writers Seb Reilly, editor of mag Seaside Gothic, and ex-Broadstairs Beacon editor Melissa Todd, who met working on the community publishing project Thanet Writers. 

Combining a long talked about venture and Thanet’s history of smuggling and pirate life, the pair set up Plunder. Set to open up each of its arms, one by one, the bookshop and tea house are now open for business. Here, Strange Tourist speaks to Seb about Ramsgate High Street’s new treasure. 

How did Plunder come about? 

Melissa and I have been talking for years about setting up a publisher together, but couldn’t figure a way of making it work. I then found myself in a position to change my career direction, and after looking into properties I suggested a partnership to Melissa. She embraced the idea wholeheartedly. I’m not sure which of us came up with the name, but it seems right. Books are treasure, and we have a lot of them!

Did you have any reservations opening up a business at a time when high streets are struggling? 

I think we found that endearing. People need a reason to come to any high street. Ramsgate on market day is very busy, and plenty of shops do a good trade here. We wanted to invest in Ramsgate.

Will Plunder be a niche pirate bookshop?

We sell all kinds of new books, from just released hardbacks to special editions of old classics, paperback fiction and non-fiction, and our tastes are broad. We try to maintain quality in what we sell, so everything from Plunder should be a good read. We have a healthy selection of kids books too, several of which are pirate-themed.

What sort of books will Plunder publish? 

Our publishing arm will launch later this year, and we will be publishing fiction and non-fiction. We’re not looking specifically for pirate-themed writing, but more a fearless attitude.

Tell us a bit more about the Smuggler Experience

The Smuggler Experience is a mixture of museum-style exhibits and walk-though experience. There will be plenty of Ramsgate’s smuggling history in there, along with that of Thanet as a whole, but also a lot of fun. It will open at some point during the summer holidays. There will be a small entry fee, but we are committed to keeping it affordable and accessible.

What’s in store for Plunder’s future? 

At the moment we need to finish the Smuggler Experience and open it and the boardroom, which is a rentable space with its own small kitchen and toilet, making it ideal for training, meetings, or working. After that we will be launching our publishing arm, and then we will see what is on the horizon!

Plunder is open Thursday to Saturday, 10am-5pm, 32 High Street, Ramsgate CT11 9AG. Find out more at plunderbooks.com