Eventually, Frank Reiss moved back to Atlanta and opened A Cappella Books, a shoebox of a store in Little Five Points, and Reiss watched his son’s success with admiration and even some envy. “I followed Frank to library sales to buy books,” he told me, “and then I asked him for a list of the top one hundred writers, and I started going to garage sales on my own, looking for those hundred writers, spending ten cents or a quarter buying each book, filing up my spare closet and then the whole spare bedroom. And once I had done that, I started looking for a location.”

Reiss brought the same flair to bookselling that he’d used elsewhere: the shelf labels were made with the tailor shop’s monogram machine; bolts of paisley tie silk were made into deluxe shopping bags. But he found the actual selling of used books to be a little boring, so another form of arbitrage he exploited was the surfeit of literati who felt that getting to spend their days in a bookstore was practically paycheck enough: in those early years, the employees he hired all knew more about books than he did and almost ran the place themselves. He mostly amused himself playing softball, tennis, and touch football.

Like the Jacob Reisses who’d come before, he seemed to know everyone in town, so it wasn’t surprising when he finally figured out a way to make his bookstore into its own kind of civic institution. That began in 1995, when Reiss learned that the local radio personality Don Keith was about to publish a novel and was hoping to do an event for it. “We said we’d do a book signing, whatever that is,” Reiss remembered. What it was was successful: “We sold a bunch of books and we had a good time, so we thought, Let’s do that again, and that was the start of our signed books.”

For most people, signed first editions conjure images of white gloves and Plexiglas-protected display cases, but Reiss doesn’t generally deal in rare or even old books. Some of his biggest sellers over the years include Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Be Useful,” Debbie Harry’s “Face It,” Joe Namath’s “All the Way,” and, as of this month, Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Young Man in a Hurry.” Like those books, most of his inventory was recently published, and most of his authors are still with us. The Booksmith’s shelves feature an eclectic mix of poetry and literary fiction, plus local and regional titles, along with whatever other nonfiction Reiss has a mind to sell. It might be the only bookstore in Alabama where you can’t find a copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and the only one in the world where you cannot buy a Bible, not to mention anything by J. K. Rowling.

How Reiss manages to acquire enough autographed books from actors, athletes, and best-selling authors to stock an entire store involves a mix of courtship, logistics, and luck. He won’t sell anything signed that isn’t a book, and the books are all first editions—almost no reprints, and never any paperbacks. He has long-standing relationships with publishers and small presses, so he’s often first in line for the signed copies that they distribute around the publication of big titles, though those are slightly less collectible since they generally feature “tip-in” signatures: pages, signed by authors at home or wherever they want, that are then bound into the book later. Because Reiss guarantees sales of several hundred copies, he can sometimes convince publicists to add a book-tour stop in Birmingham, even if it’s just for a lightning signing during which he and his team serve as a kind of human conveyor belt, shuffling signature-ready books by so speedily that the author can make it to a nearby city for another event that same night. When that strategy doesn’t work, he’s not above begging authors directly.

National Association of Black Bookstores launches

Aug 06 2025

The National Association of Black Bookstores, a member-based nonprofit organization which aims to support and promote Black booksellers, announced its launch on Friday. Its mission, NAB2 said in the announcement, includes “promoting literacy, amplifying Black voices, and preserving Black culture.” A NAB2 representative will staff a table this fall at all of the regional bookseller conferences, introducing the organization to booksellers and processing memberships, which have three tiers and fees ranging from $100-$500.

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What author owns a bookstore near you? We may think of writers as people who live behind their words, out of reach of society, but many are deeply involved in their local reading scenes, and bookstores are one of the best spaces for them to connect with their audiences. Authors who own and operate these spaces have an opportunity to provide services to readers that reflect their own sensibilities and priorities, and some of the most exciting, community-focused and unique independent bookstores are author-owned. 

So the next time you’re planning a day trip or vacation, check out the list below and plan accordingly! And if you can’t get to one of these stores at the moment but would still love a signed copy of your favorite novel by the likes of Louise Erdrich or Ann Patchett, note that many of them offer online ordering for delivery, along with email lists and other ways to interact with and support them from afar. 

The Lynx in Gainesville, Florida, owned by Lauren Groff

Opened in the spring of 2024, The Lynx was started by Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds, Matrix and Fates and Furies as well as a short story collection that takes the name of the state she’s long called home: Florida. Concerned by the rise of an atmosphere that facilitates book banning and restrictions on schools teaching subjects like Black history, Groff intends for the store, which displays a large, striking mural of a lynx on its outside wall, to offer “an emphasis in books that are currently challenged or banned in Florida, as well as those by BIPOC authors, LGBTQ+ authors, and Florida authors.” The Lynx features a robust lineup of book club and author events, including an upcoming discussion of Jennine Capó Crucet’s Say Hello to My Little Friend.

Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, Minnesota, owned by Louise Erdrich

Situated in the Kenwood neighborhood of Minneapolis, Birchbark Books was opened in 2001 by prolific novelist Louise Erdrich, whose books include The Round House (voted a BookBrowse Best of the Year book), The Plague of Doves and Future Home of the Living God. The store appears as a location in Erdrich’s 2021 novel The Sentence, with protagonist Tookie working as a bookseller there. The Birchbark Books website stresses its independence, its community focus and its special emphasis on Native books and crafts. Occupying an area that once belonged to a meat market, Birchbark is a unique space decorated with salvaged items. You can read more about the store in the “beyond the book” article published with our review of The Sentence. Birchbark hosts regular author events, some of which can be attended virtually, such as a recent appearance by Tommy Orange for his novel Wandering Stars.

Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, owned by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is the author of several novels that have been voted BookBrowse Best of the Year books by our subscribers: Commonwealth, The Dutch House and, most recently, Tom Lake. Her bookstore in Nashville draws its name from Mount Parnassus, which in Greek mythology was the “home of literature, learning, and music.” “We are Nashville’s Parnassus,” reads the store’s website, “providing a refuge for Nashvillians of all ages who share in our love of the written word.” Having opened in 2011, Parnassus currently has two locations, one in the Nashville airport. It is also linked to an online magazine called Musing, which includes Patchett’s blog, author interviews and other book-related content. The store’s calendar is packed with in-store events, featuring recent appearances by Colm Tóibín, Amy Tan and others.

Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by Marc Lamont Hill

Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books is a neighborhood cafe and bookstore in Philadelphia owned by Marc Lamont Hill, a television show host, activist and organizer, doctorate-holding professor of anthropology, and author of many nonfiction books exploring social justice issues, such as We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility. Uncle Bobbie’s offers a full coffee and espresso bar along with other beverages, as well as snacks and baked goods like cookies and croissants. According to its Bookshop page, the store, which was founded by Hill in 2017, “was created to provide underserved communities with access to books and a space where everyone feels valued.” Uncle Bobbie’s has regular ticketed events, and some past events are available to watch on videos uploaded to the store’s site and YouTube channel, like the 2nd Annual bell hooks Symposium, featuring a panel discussion of subjects related to the writer and scholar’s impact.

Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, New York, owned by Emma Straub

In an author’s note at the end of her novel All Adults Here, Emma Straub wrote about the recent undertaking of starting up her own bookshop. Today, Books Are Magic is up and running in two Brooklyn locations. Its website describes the business as “committed to being a welcoming, friendly, and inclusive space for all people.” In “strongly [encouraging]” event attendees to wear face masks and collecting information for contact tracing, Books Are Magic remains one of a notable number of independent bookstores making efforts towards accessibility and community care in a world that has socially moved beyond Covid-19 but still poses many serious and unknown risks. The store features regular author events and also focuses on “fundraising and awareness building for social causes that are important to…staff and readers.” Like Uncle Bobbie’s, Books Are Magic offers videos of past events that anyone can view, with appearances including writers Hanif Abdurraqib and Kristen Arnett.

Book Moon Books in Easthampton, Massachusetts, owned by Kelly Link

Kelly Link, author of Pretty Monsters, Get in Trouble and White Cat, Black Dog, has run Book Moon Books, previously White Square Books under different ownership, with her husband Gavin J. Grant since 2019. The couple also operates the publisher Small Beer Press. Book Moon’s website describes the store as a “1,200 square foot, one-floor bookshop, with lovely big windows, comfy chairs, and specialties that include fiction, sf&f, poetry, activism, children’s books, and our own Small Beer Press titles — and always a few good chocolate bars.” Book Moon encourages mask-wearing to protect immunocompromised people and children, provides free masks and runs air purifiers during store hours. The business isn’t currently hosting events but has plenty of other interesting features. In addition to regular online ordering, they offer Mystery Bundles, surprise packages of books and/or other items that can be made according to price, size and additional specifications.

Bel Canto Books in Long Beach, California, owned by Jhoanna Belfer

Bel Canto Books was started in 2018 by poet Jhoanna Belfer as a pop-up monthly book club. Belfer was inspired to get into bookselling after hearing Ann Patchett in conversation with Emma Straub at a writing conference in 2017. According to a blog post from the LA Review of Books, she was affected by Patchett’s suggestion that opening a bookstore was something that people could do to “actively change their communities.” Today, Bel Canto exists in three locations in Long Beach and “offers a curated selection of fiction, nonfiction and children’s books, organized around a theme of the month, in particular celebrating books by women and people of color.” The store hosts events, workshops and multiple “store- and community-led” book clubs, some of which are accessible through Zoom. This year, Bel Canto’s Burning Issues Book Club has hosted discussions of Marc Lamont Hill’s Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics as well as Alice Wong’s Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life. 

Honorable Mention: Books and Beans in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, owned (recently) by Etaf Rum

While the chic minimalist bookstore and cafe Books and Beans is as of spring of 2024 passing on to new ownership, the business was started by Etaf Rum, who wrote A Woman Is No Man, a BookBrowse Best of the Year selection, and Evil Eye. In a statement on Facebook in May, Rum announced that the store would be taken over by Richard Millinder of Carolina Cheese Co, saying that she was “confident that under his leadership, Books and Beans will flourish, remaining a place where people come together for connection and inspiration.” Previously, Books and Beans has hosted in-store book club discussions of BookBrowse Best of the Year book The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride and Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj. The new Books and Beans Instagram account describes the store as a “[b]ookish cafe serving signature sandwiches, espresso drinks, local pastries, and diverse reads,” and recently posted content suggests that its book club discussions will continue.

Printed Matter

Chelsea

Thrilling, overwhelming, chaotic: even if I spend an hour in Printed Matter, I often feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. It took me a couple of years to realize there was a second floor at their main location in Chelsea. A survivor from a different era of New York, the shop (there are two locations, but make the effort to go to the one in Chelsea) specializes in self-published zines, artists’ books, quirky periodicals, anything involving text on paper. Whether you come across the sole copy of some kid’s photocopied poems or the much-hyped début monograph of an up-and-coming painter, a zine about Jamaican dancehall culture or one about Hong Kong skaters, a book of appropriated anime art or one about communing with the mountains, there’s truly something for everyone, and at price points that range from “just curious” to collector-aficionado. Their mission remains the same as when they started in the mid-seventies: to kindle faith in creative expression, the weirder the better. —Hua Hsu

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Desert Island

Williamsburg

At the intersection of the L and the G train lines (I’ve lived on the G for the past fourteen years and lived on the L before that) is Desert Island, a bookshop that is so beautifully designed that it doubles as a work of art. The Williamsburg storefront, once Sparacino’s Bakery, has purveyed comics, graphic novels, artists’ books, prints, and zines on consignment since 2008. There are so many analog treasures stuffed into this place; there is so much loving curation. It begs you to take your time. Linger in front of the latest window installation. Browse the racks of mini-comics. (A recent find: “Suitable for Framing: The Cartoons of Andy Boyd, Volume 1.”) Pick up “Smoke Signal,” the free full-color broadside published by the shop’s owner, Gabe Fowler, showcasing one artist per issue. Dance to whatever record is spinning. I adore Desert Island—its lightness and imagination, its glorious delight in drawings and words. —E. Tammy Kim

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Barnes & Noble

Upper West Side

There are all kinds of interesting and welcoming small and smallish bookstores in my neighborhood—from Book Culture on West 112th to the Strand’s uptown outpost and much in between—but I have to give props to, yes, Barnes & Noble on Broadway and Eighty-second: their size, which doesn’t come cheap, insures that they have plenty to offer; they are kind to everyone, kids especially; and the new redesign is elegant and welcoming. —David Remnick

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Romance Bookstores are Taking Over America

Feb 14 2024

Five years ago, there was just one. Now bookshops exclusively stocking romance novels are everywhere – aiming to ‘undo generations of shame’…

At least eight other dedicated romance novel bookstores opened across the US in 2023, in cities from Wichita, Kansas, to Belfast, Maine. At least three more have opened so far in 2024, in Florida and in Utah, with another planned in Portland, Oregon.

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