Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they're dying out
ABA data show membership rose by more than 500 stores in a year as independent booksellers expand and chain rivals add locations.
- The American Booksellers Association reported membership grew by more than 500 over the past year to 3,417 locations, nearly triple the level from a decade ago and highest since the late 1990s.
- After decades as the leading cause of independent store closures, Barnes & Noble itself nearly collapsed before hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. bought it in 2019 under CEO James Daunt's transformative leadership.
- New members span diverse formats: mobile stores like Wandering Quills Bookshop in Westerville, Ohio; pop-ups like Banyan Books in St. Petersburg, Florida; and specialty shops capitalizing on romance and fantasy booms, including the Spicy Librarian in Denver.
- Chicago-Area owners face mixed pressures: Volume Books owner blamed the new Barnes & Noble for her closure, while Sophie Schauer Eldred hopes stores will complement each other, saying "people whose curiosity is piqued by the new Barnes and Noble will walk down the street and pop into our bookstore."
- While ABA CEO Allison Hill celebrates record growth, she cautions the industry remains healthy but precarious, as people seek in-person connection and career-changers realign their lives with values despite ongoing public perception that bookstores are disappearing.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Outsiders Think This Industry is 'Disappearing,' But It's Actually Growing Faster Than Ever: 'People Are Craving Connection'
Independent bookstores are growing fast, not fading, with more than 500 stores started in the past year to reach 3,417 total U.S. stores.
Independent book stores are growing as people look for community in local spaces
Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, is used to strangers expressing sympathy when they learn what she does for a living. “It’s all so funny,” she says. “When I tell them I run the trade association for independent stores, they’ll say, ‘It’s just so sad that they’re disappearing.’ I don’t think they’re really keeping track, or they just know about a store that closed or heard about one closing.” The decline of physical book…
The Toronto Star
Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they’re dying out
NEW YORK (AP) — Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, is used to strangers expressing sympathy when they learn what she does for a living.
Associated Press News
Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they're dying out
Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, often hears people express sympathy for her role, assuming bookstores are disappearing.
Independent bookstores are multiplying. Find booksellers in your community
Manda and Nick Bernal, founders of Burn All Books, stand inside the Normal Heights space.(Julia Dixon Evans)Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, is used to strangers expressing sympathy when they learn what she does for a living.“It's all so funny,” she says. “When I tell them I run the trade association for independent stores, they'll say, 'It's just so sad that they're disappearing.' I don't think they're really keeping t…
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