- 2025 Jun 25
Vermont Bookstore Is On the Move
The Burlington location of Phoenix Books is moving to a new location on Church Street, the city's main shopping thoroughfare.
- 2025 May 20
Bookstore Owner Faces Racist Messages
Tia Hamilton, the owner of Urban Reads Bookstore in Baltimore, has received more than 500 racist messages in the past few months—but she refuses to back down.
New Jersey’s First Romantasy Book-Mobile
Between The Covers Co. is rolling down the streets of Asbury Park as the state’s first mobile romantasy bookshop.
‘Obscene Displays’ Bill Dies in Texas
A bill that would have exposed booksellers to lawsuits over materials deemed inappropriate for children appears to have died in the Texas House after missing key deadlines.
- 2025 May 16
Washington’s Newest Romance Bookshop
Hardcovers Romance Bookstore opened in Mills Creek earlier this spring, and is the town’s first bookstore since the local University Book Store branch closed in 2019.
- 2025 May 15
Larry Gagosian Buys Hamptons Bookshop
The art dealer and gallerist has bought BookHampton in East Hampton, N.Y., which he intends to keep as a general interest bookstore with some expanded art and design offerings.
- 2025 May 14
Singapore’s New Amazon Alternative
Eight indie booksellers in Singapore have launched Bookshop.sg, a one-stop online bookstore featuring more than 40,000 titles in English, Mandarin, and Malay.
Calif. Bookshop Shutters After 30 Years
JLM Bookstore in Cambria will close after 30 years in business due to the property recently being sold.
North Carolina’s Newest Bookshop
Fable Books & Cafe has opened in Holly Springs, filling the literary void in southern Wake County.
- 2025 May 13
Dallas Bookshop Chain Resists Texas Bill
Half Price Books is helping lead the fight against the HB 1375 bill, which would hold bookstores liable for selling or displaying books that some may find obscene.
Portland Suburb Gets a New Bookshop
Sherwood Bookstore in Sherwood, Ore., seeks to bring literature, hot tea, and bookish goodies to an area lacking in bookstores.
Chinese Bookshop Finds a Home in D.C.
After facing pressure to close his store in China, Miao Yu opened JF Books in Dupont Circle last fall, serving as Washington, D.C.’s first Chinese bookstore.
- 2025 May 12
Applications Open for Binc Scholarship
In collaboration with Macmillan, Binc has opened applications for the Macmillan Booksellers Professional Development Scholarship, providing $750 to booksellers traditionally underrepresented within the industry to attend fall trade shows.
Three Bookstores Come to Washington
After lacking bookstores for years, Puyallup will be home to three new shops opening this year, including Bundok Books, page & pine, and a Barnes & Noble.
Minnesota Bookshop Offers Banned Books
Scout & Morgan Books in Cambridge is joining forces with authors Dave Eggers and Amanda Uhle to give St. Francis students free access to commonly banned books.
Dallas Bookstore Faces Funding Cuts
Bookshop and publisher Deep Vellum is losing its federal arts funding amid the Trump administration’s budget cuts to several different sectors.
- 2025 May 09
Resignations at Florida Bookstore
Several employees of Bodacious Bookstore & Cafe in Pensacola said they quit their jobs after a manager directed them to remove LGBTQ+ titles from shelves.
Florida Children’s Bookshop Opens
The Story Garden, St. Petersburg’s first children’s-only bookstore, opened earlier this spring.
- 2025 May 07
Chicago Bookstore-Cafe Has New Owners
Build Coffee on the city’s South Side has been bought by author Eve L. Ewing, journalist trina reynolds-tyler, and organizer Andrea Faye Hart.
South Carolina Bookshop Shutters
After nearly 25 years, Fiction Addiction in Greenville will close its doors this month.
Ohio’s Newest Bookstore
Blue Couch Bookshop, an independent woman-owned bookstore, is getting ready to open its doors in Columbus this summer.
- 2025 May 06
Florida Bookshop Faces Backlash
After removing LGBTQ titles from its shelves, Bodacious Bookstore & Café in Pensacola has received criticism from employees and community members.
Idaho Bookstore to Relocate
Rediscovered Books, which has remained in the same location in downtown Boise for 14 years, will take over the spot of another longtime Boise shop, Eyes of the World.
Colorado Bookshop Leads Downtown Revival
The launch of the Composition Shop in Longmont last month marks another step toward revitalizing a historic stretch of the city’s Main Street.
New Mexico’s Newest Book Fest
The Los Alamos Arts Council and Samizdat Bookstore & Teahouse have teamed up to present the Pajarito Literary Festival featuring author talks, book signings, and more this weekend.
- 2025 May 05
Spotlight on San Francisco Bookshop
City Lights Bookstore, which has been in business for more than seven decades, was named one of the best independent bookstores in the U.S.
University Bookshop Coffee Bar Closes
Story and Soil Coffee, located at Wesleyan University’s RJ Julia Bookstore in Middletown, Conn., will shutter in June due to the university suddenly terminating their five-year lease.
Bookshop Expands In Michigan
McLean & Eakin, a bookstore in downtown Petoskey, will open a second location called the Archives, entirely devoted to used books.
- 2025 May 02
Wisconsin Romance Pop-Up Lays Down Roots
The Well Red Damsel, a woman- and queer-owned bookstore focused on romance novels, will open a brick-and-mortar storefront in Wauwatosa this June.
New Indie Bookstore to Open in Virginia
Bonfire Bookstore is set to open on Woodstock’s Main Street in early June.
Houston Bookstore Moves Locations
Kindred Stories, a community space and bookstore in Houston’s Third Ward, has moved across the street to the historic Eldorado Ballroom.
- 2025 May 01
A New Children’s Bookstore in NYC
Words on Warren will open in Tribeca the first week of September.
Romance Bookstore in Philly Draws Crowds
Cupid’s Bookshop, which bills itself as Philadelphia's first brick-and-mortar all-romance bookstore, drew lines of visitors at its grand opening last week.
- 2025 Apr 30
Chicago Bookstore Has New Owners
After nearly 30 years, former owner Eric Kirsammer has sold Quimby’s Bookstore in the city’s Wicker Park neighborhood to Peter Miles Bergman and Cody Kasselman.
Malibu Bookshop Seeks Post-Fire Support
Following the devastating impact of the Palisades fire and the repeated closure of the Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu Village Books is turning to its community to help the independent business stay afloat.
- 2025 Apr 29
New Mexico Store Defends Encampment
The owner of Quirky Used Books in Albuquerque is going head-to-head with the city over whether he can have a homeless encampment on his store’s property.
Indie Bookshop Gets Community Support
Dozens of community members flocked to support the Book Jewel in Los Angeles after a vehicle crashed into it last week.
- 2025 Apr 28
Gallery Bookshop Shutters in Manhattan
Karma Bookstore, an offshoot of Karma Gallery in the East Village, has closed its doors after seven years.
- 2025 Apr 25
A Notable New Indie in Wisconsin
Niche Book Bar in Milwaukee is the city’s second Black woman–owned bookshop, after Rooted MKE, owned by Ashley Valentine.
- 2025 Apr 24
Kansas Bookshop Offers Books and Cats
Since Literary Cat Co. opened in Pittsburg, Kan., nearly two years ago, 32 of the store’s foster cats have been adopted by bookstore customers.
New Popup Bookshop Inspired by ‘You’
Fans can now visit a Mooney’s pop-up in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood, inspired by the bookshop featured in Netflix’s hit series You.
- 2025 Apr 23
Maryland Bookshop Combats Book Removals
A retired Navy commander and Old Fox Books, in Annapolis, are working together to give Naval Academy midshipmen access to many of the 381 books recently removed from the academy’s library.
Loyalty Bookstores Co-Owner Steps Back
Christine Bellows, who has been a bookseller at Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Md., since 2020 and became a co-owner in 2023, will transition into an advisory role following a move to Arizona.
- 2025 Apr 22
San Diego’s Newest Bookshop
Hey Books! opened in East Village on April 9, in time for National Independent Bookstore Day and the San Diego Book Crawl.
Floral Shop Turns a New Leaf
Jenny’s Floral in Custer, S.D., has been rebranded as Petals & Pages, and now sells both plants and books.
- 2025 Apr 21
New York’s Most Popular Small Business
Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn is the state’s most beloved small business, according to a new poll by Advance Funds Network.
Idaho’s Newest Bookshop-Brewery Combo
Oldspeak Bar in Garden City offers a mix of books and local spirits, wine, and beer.
- 2025 Apr 18
Funding Cuts Felt by Oregon Bookshop
Third Eye Books, an independent Black-owned bookshop in Portland, has reported a decrease in bulk orders from organizations that rely on federal funding.
California Bookshop Forced to Move
After 16 years in San Mateo, B Street Books is forced to relocate due to rising rent costs.
- 2025 Apr 17
Kansas Bookshop’s New Owners
After three decades, Watermark Books & Cafe in Wichita has new owners, a married couple that regularly visited the bookstore prior to its purchase.
Oregon’s Newest Bookshop-Tap Room Combo
Hodgepodge Books & Taps will open in Eugene on April 26, just in time for national Independent Bookstore Day.
Mobile Bookshop to Open Brick-and-Mortar
Bromley’s Books, a mobile bookshop based in Michigan’s upper peninsula, will open a brick-and-mortar location in Marquette this spring.
- 2025 Apr 16
Illinois’ Most Popular Small Business
Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville has been deemed the state’s most popular small business in a poll of more than 3,000 people.
New Bookshop to Land in Pennsylvania
Friendly Alien Books is slated to open in downtown Scranton this spring.
Oregon’s Newest Bookshop
Second Shapes Bookstore, which opened earlier this month in North Portland’s Kenton neighborhood, sells used and new books, zines, and art by local creators.
- 2025 Apr 15
Bookshop Fire Leaves Woman Hospitalized
A fire at Readers’ Paradise, one of the last remaining used bookshops in Butler County, Pa., left a woman hospitalized with severe burns.
Locals Help Michigan Bookshop Move
Some 300 locals helped Serendipity Books, a woman-owned bookshop in Chelsea, move its book stock to its new location on Main Street.
Tariffs May Shutter Missouri Bookshop
Downtown Book & Toy in Jefferson City may be forced to shut down due to the rising cost of goods under recent tariff hikes.
IPC’s Indie Press Month Winner
Page 1 Books in Albuquerque, N.M., has won the second-annual Indie Press Month display contest, presented by the Independent Publishers Caucus.
- 2025 Apr 14
New Woman-Owned Bookshop in Mass.
Serendipity Bookshop in downtown Taunton opened earlier this month, and offers new, discounted, and used books.
South Carolina’s Newest Bookshop
The Archive, a coffee shop and bookstore inspired by dark academia, opened in Mount Pleasant this past weekend.
- 2025 Apr 11
Chicago Gets a New Indie
Lilliput Books has opened in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and already boasts a bustling calendar of community events.
A Bookstore Boom in North Carolina
A number of new indie bookstores have opened in Charlotte, including Troubadour Booksellers and the romance-focused Trope Bookshop.
Detroit Store Gets New Owners
The Steen Foundation—a youth-led organization focused on workforce development—has purchased Pages Bookshop following the retirement of former owner Susan Murphy.
- 2025 Apr 10
Spotlight on Fairytale Bookstore in Ohio
Enchanted Novelties in Cincinnati is decorated with faux fireplaces, whimsical murals, a magical tree portal, and other fantasy-themed decor.
Louisiana’s Newest Bookshop
TBR Books and Tea will open in Baton Rouge on April 12, and will offer a selection of books, gifts, and artisanal tea blends.
- 2025 Apr 09
Wisconsin Indies Stand Against Amazon
Independent bookshops, including Bound to Happen Books in Stevens Point and WordHaven in Sheboygan, are promoting a “shop local” message in the face of Amazon boycotts.
- 2025 Apr 08
Michigan Bookstore to Shutter
After 35 years, Olivet Book and Gift Shop in downtown Alpena will close.
- 2025 Apr 07
Chicago Indie Temporarily Closes
Semicolon Books will close to build its coffee shop, Junction Cafe, with hopes of reopening by Juneteenth.
Massachusetts Bookstore Turns 50
The Bookstore & Get Lit Wine Bar in Lenox is celebrating its 50th year in business this month.
Hmong Bookshop Celebrates 30 Years
The Hmong ABC Store in St. Paul, Minn., is the world’s first and only Hmong bookshop, and has now been open for 30 years.
Minnesota’s Newest Independent Bookshop
Dana’s Bookstore is Isanti’s first independent bookshop, offering books, puzzles, gourmet snacks, and book-themed gifts.
- 2025 Apr 04
Romance Bookstore Reopens After Fire
Following a devastating fire just hours after its grand opening last November, Friends to Lovers in Alexandria, Va., is reopening.
Bookstore–Coffee Shop Opens in Minnesota
Inkwell Booksellers Company in Minneapolis opened last month.
Arizona’s Newest Romance Bookshop
Opening this weekend in downtown Gilbert, the Bookish Shop will provide another venue for romance-specific literature.
South Carolina Bookstore to Close
Fiction Addiction in Greenville will shutter after May 17.
- 2025 Apr 03
Pasadena Bookshop Reopens After Fires
Following the Eaton fire in Los Angeles, the Friends of the Pasadena Public Library bookstore has reopened with new discounts and a sale.
New Black-Owned Bookstore in Mass.
Susie’s Stories in Rockport celebrates literary diversity, with a particular focus on Black and brown authors.
Oregon Bookshop Changes Ownership
Established in 1979, Bloomsbury Books in Ashland now has new owners and will celebrate the occasion with a grand reopening on April 5.
Harvard Square’s Bookish Ball
This year’s ball will be held on April 12 and will celebrate bookstores in Cambridge’s Harvard Square neighborhood.
Amazon Criticizes French Book Fee
France imposed a three euro book delivery fee in October 2023, which Amazon has now attacked as discriminatory in Europe’s top court.
- 2025 Apr 02
Women-Owned Bookshop Marks Anniversary
Lake Country Booksellers in White Bear Lake, Minn., turns 45 this year.
Boston’s Only Black-Owned Bookshop
Frugal Bookstore, a family- and Black-owned bookshop in the heart of Roxbury, has been named a “Legacy Business” by the city of Boston.
Spotlight on Pennsylvania Bookstore
The Squirrel & Acorn Bookshop in State College provides a space for physical connection, discovery, and shared experiences in an age dominated by digital shopping.
- 2025 Apr 01
Multilingual Bookstore Comes to Iowa
Nos Books, a new multilingual bookstore in Des Moines, seeks to highlight international authors, writers of color, and underrepresented communities.
Woman-Owned Bookshop Opens in Texas
Bibliobar, a new independent and woman-owned bookshop in Plano, opened in March, and specializes in fiction and children’s books.
- 2025 Mar 31
Kwame Spearman Returns to Bookselling
The ex-Tattered Cover CEO has bought a new building in Denver, and plans to open a bookstore at the location by spring 2026.
- 2025 Mar 28
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Winner
Mikey Please has been named overall winner of this year’s Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for his picture book The Café at the Edge of the Woods, presented by the U.K.-based bookstore.
- 2025 Mar 27
Detroit Bookshop’s New Gen Z Owner
Jelani Stowers has taken the helm at Pages Bookshop, which will celebrate its grand reopening next month.
- 2025 Mar 26
Spotlight on Black, Queer-Owned Bookshop
Get Lit Books & Things in Moreno Valley, Calif., has become a haven for queer people, women, people of color, and bibliophiles alike.
New Political Bookshop in Massachusetts
Implacable Books, which specializes in political theory and Black literature, will open in Worcester this April.
- 2025 Mar 25
San Diego’s Newest Bookshop
Hey Books! is opening in April and will sell used and new books, host readings, and display and sell art on its walls.
- 2025 Mar 24
46-Year-Old Children’s Bookshop For Sale
Blue Marble Books in Fort Thomas, Ky., which has been open since 1979, is currently for sale.
Mutiny Brews at French Bookshops
French booksellers are trying to counter the growing influence of Vincent Bolloré, a conservative Catholic billionaire and owner of Hachette Livre, by limiting purchases from the publisher.
- 2025 Mar 21
Atlanta’s Newest Indie Bookshop
Offbeat Books will offer a curated selection of books across every genre with a special focus on sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, and will open in late summer or early fall.
Rare and Used Bookshop Comes to Arizona
Desierto Books, set to open in Tuscon this month, will sell rare, new, and used books with a unique focus on the Southwest.
- 2025 Mar 20
NAIBA Launches New Spirit Award
NAIBA has created the Joe Drabyak Spirit Award to recognize booksellers who excel at marketing and promotions. The winner gets $500 to attend New Voices, New Rooms.
Children’s Bookstore Seeks New Owner
Blue Marble Books in Fort Thomas, Ky., is one of the oldest children’s bookstores in the U.S., and is currently seeking a new owner to take over the business.
Minnesota Bookstore Celebrates 30 Years
Books Revisited in downtown St. Cloud is celebrating its 30th year with its current owner, Jon Lee, this June.
Two New Bookstores Coming to Maine
Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop will open its 10th location in Saco in May, while Biddeford Book Co. will open this summer in Biddeford.
