
Note: Updated April 2023.
By Fin Leary
If you’re shopping for books to give as end-of-year or even as thank-goodness-2020-is-over gifts, consider shopping small and give back to an independent bookstore this season, since many are struggling due to the impact of the pandemic on sales. According to the American Booksellers Association, 20 percent of all independent bookstores in the US are in danger of closing; let’s support them. This list of US-based diverse-owned* bookstores is meant to be a starting place and a guide. If you have a local favorite, find out if they’re open and if they’re selling online or doing curbside pickup.
Our definition of diversity
We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities*, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.
*We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.
Asian-owned bookstores
- CALIFORNIA
- A Good Used Book (Los Angeles, CA)
- Arkipelago Books (San Francisco, CA)
- Asian American Curriculum Project (San Mateo, CA)
- Bel Canto Books (Long Beach, CA)
- Eastwind Books (Berkeley, CA)
- Face in a Book (El Dorado Hills, CA)
- Giant Robot Store (Los Angeles, CA)
- JANM Store (Los Angeles, CA)
- The Lev (Los Angeles, CA)
- Now Serving (Los Angeles, CA)
- Orphan Books (Los Angeles, CA)
- Philippine Expressions Bookstore (San Pedro, CA)
- Shop@PAM (Los Angeles, CA)
- GEORGIA
- Maomi Bookstore (Chamblee, GA)
- MICHIGAN
- 27th Letter Books (Detroit MI)
- NEW YORK
- Eastern Bookstore (New York, NY)
- Yu and Me Books (New York, NY)
- OREGON
- Waucoma Books (Hood River, OR)
- ONLINE
- VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Black-owned bookstores
- ARKANSAS
- Pyramid Art Books (Little Rock, AR)
- ARIZONA
- Grassrootz Bookstore (Phoenix, AZ)
- CALIFORNIA
- Ashay By the Bay (Vallejo, CA)
- Casita Bookstore (Long Beach, CA)
- The Collective Oakland (Oakland, CA)
- EsoWon Books (Los Angeles, CA)
- Malik Books (Los Angeles, CA)
- Marcus Books (Oakland, CA)
- MiJa Books (Lakewood, CA)
- Old Capitol Books (Monterey, CA)
- Salt Eaters Bookshop (Los Angeles, CA)
- Underground Books (Sacramento, CA)
- COLORADO
- Shop at Matter (Denver, CO)
- Townie Books (Crested Butte, CO)
- CONNECTICUT
- Key Bookstore (Online – based in Hartford, CT)
- People Get Ready (New Haven, CT)
- DELAWARE
- MeJah Books (Claymont, DE)
- FLORIDA
- Cultured Books (St. Petersburg, FL)
- Pyramid Books (Boynton Beach, FL)
- GEORGIA
- 44th & 3rd (Atlanta, GA)
- Black Dot Cultural Center and Books (Lithonia, GA)
- Brave and Kind Bookshop | Libro.fm (Decatur, GA)
- For Keeps Books (Atlanta, GA)
- Good Books (Atlanta, GA)
- Medu Bookstore (Atlanta, GA)
- Nubian Bookstore (Morrow, GA)
- Shrine of the Black Madonna (Atlanta, GA)
- The Book Worm (Powder Springs, GA)
- The Listening Tree (Decatur, GA)
- ILLINOIS
- Afri-Ware Books (Maywood, IL)
- Frontline Books (Chicago, IL)
- Semicolon Bookstore (Chicago, IL)
- The Underground Bookstore (Chicago, IL)
- INDIANA
- Brain Lair Books (South Bend, IN)
- KANSAS
- Bliss Books & Wine (Kansas City, KS)
- KENTUCKY
- Wild Fig Coffee & Books (Lexington, KY)
- LOUISIANA
- Community Book Center (New Orleans, LA)
- MARYLAND
- Everyone’s Place (Baltimore, MD)
- MASSACHUSETTS
- Frugal Bookstore (Roxbury, MA)
- Footprints Cafe and Bookshop (New Bedford, MA)
- Olive Tree Books (Springfield, MA)
- Susie’s Stories (Rockland, MA)
- The Million Year Picnic (Cambridge, MA)
- MICHIGAN
- Black Stone Bookstore and Cultural Center (Ypsilanti, MI)
- Detroit Book City (Southfield, MI)
- Nandi’s Knowledge Cafe (Highland Park, MI)
- Socialight Society (Lansing, MI)
- Source Booksellers (Detroit, MI)
- MINNESOTA
- Babycake’s Book Stack (Twin Cities, MN)
- Black Garnet Books (Minneapolis, MN)
- Planting People Growing Justice Bookstore (Saint Paul, MN)
- Strive Bookstore (Minneapolis, MN)
- MISSOURI
- Eye See Me Bookstore (University City, MO)
- Willa’s Books and Vinyl (Kansas City, MO)
- NEBRASKA
- Aframerican Bookstore (Omaha, NE)
- NEW JERSEY
- The Little Boho Bookshop (Bayonne, NJ)
- Source of Knowledge (Newark, NJ)
- NEW YORK
- The Bronx is Reading (Bronx, NY)
- Cafe Con Libros (Brooklyn, NY
- The Lit Bar (The Bronx, NY)
- Revolution Books (New York, NY)
- Sadie’s Books and Beverages (Middletown, NY)
- Sister’s Uptown Bookstore (New York, NY)
- Zawadi Books (Buffalo, NY)
- NORTH CAROLINA
- Liberation Station (Durham, NC)
- Shelves Bookstore (Charlotte, NC)
- OHIO
- Elizabeth’s Bookshop and Writing Centre (Akron, OH)
- Smith and Hannon Bookstore (Cincinnati, OH)
- OKLAHOMA
- Fulton Street Books and Coffee (Tulsa, OK)
- Nappy Roots Books (Oklahoma City, OK)
- Read with Mocha (Tulsa, OK)
- OREGON
- Third Eye Books (Portland, OR)
- PENNSYLVANIA
- Amalgam Comics and Coffee (Philadelphia, PA)
- Uncle Bobbie’s (Philadelphia, PA)
- Hakim’s Bookstore (Philadelphia, PA)
- Harriet’s Bookshop (Philadelphia, PA)
- The Tiny Bookstore (Pittsburgh, PA)
- SOUTH CAROLINA
- Turning Page Bookshop (Goose Creek, SC)
- TEXAS
- Black Pearl Books (Austin, TX)
- The Dock Bookshop (Fort Worth, TX)
- Kindred Stories (Houston, TX)
- Pan-African Connection (Dallas, TX)
- VIRGINIA
- Books and Crannies (Martinsville, VA)
- Harambee Books (Alexandria, VA)
- WASHINGTON, DC
- WASHINGTON
- L.E.M.S Bookstore (Seattle, WA)
- Parable (Tacoma, WA)
- WISCONSIN
- Republic of Letters (Mineral Point, WI)
- ONLINE
Disabled-owned bookstores
- CALIFORNIA
- The Last Bookstore (Los Angeles, CA)
- ILLINOIS
- Women & Children First (Chicago, IL)
- LOUISIANA
- Tubby and Coo’s Mid-City Bookshop (New Orleans, LA)
- MASSACHUSETTS
- All She Wrote (Somerville, MA)
- NEW YORK
- Bluestockings Collective (New York City, NY)
- TEXAS
- Spurgin Stationers (Marfa, TX)
- UTAH
- Under the Umbrella (Salt Lake City, UT)
- WASHINGTON
- The Neverending Bookshop (Edmonds, WA)
- ONLINE
- Helianthus Books (Leawood, KS)
Indigenous/Native- (including Native Hawaiian- and Pacific Islander-) owned bookstores
- CALIFORNIA
- Libélula Books & Co (San Diego, CA)
- Quiet Quail Books (Southern California)
- HAWAII
- Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai’i (Honolulu, HI)
- KANSAS
- Books & Burrow (Pittsburg, KS)
- MINNESOTA
- Birchbark Books (Minneapolis, MN)
- NEW MEXICO
- Red Planet Books and Comics (Albuquerque, NM)
- NEW YORK
- Black Walnut Books (Glen Falls, NY)
- NORTH CAROLINA
- Talking Leaves (Cherokee, NC)
- OKLAHOMA
- Green Feather Books (Norman, OK)
- SOUTH DAKOTA
- Bird Cage Book Store (Rapid City, SD)
- TEXAS
- Red Salmon Arts, Casa de Resistencia Books (Austin, TX)
- UTAH
- The King’s English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT)
- CANADA
- Iron Dog Books (Vancouver, BC)
- Massy Books (Vancouver, BC)
- ONLINE
Jewish-owned bookstores
- MASSACHUSETTS
- Israel Book Shop (Brookline, MA)
- NEW JERSEY
- Judaica Gallery (Highland Park, NJ)
- NEW YORK
- Eichlers (Brooklyn, NY)
- Feldheim (Nanuet, NY)
- Mekor Judaica (Brooklyn, NY)
- ONLINE
Latinx-owned bookstores
- ARIZONA
- Palabras Bilingual Bookstore (Phoenix, AZ)
- CALIFORNIA
- Booklandia (Oakland, CA)
- Café con Libros (Pomona, CA)
- Casita Bookstore (Long Beach, CA)
- LA Librería (Los Angeles, CA)
- Libélula Books & Co (San Diego, CA)
- Libromobile (Santa Ana, CA)
- Makara Center for the Arts (Santa Ana, CA)
- MiJa Books (Lakewood, CA)
- My Corazon-Libros Y Cultura (Hanford, CA)
- Other Books (Los Angeles, CA)
- Sandcastle Tales (Del Mar, CA)
- Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural (Sylmar, CA)
- FLORIDA
- Third House Books (Gainesville, FL)
- NEW YORK
- Bronx Bound Books (Bronx, NY)
- The Bronx is Reading (Bronx, NY)
- Cafe con Libros (Brooklyn, NY)
- Chau Luna (Brooklyn, NY)
- Hipocampo Children’s Books (Rochester, NY)
- Kew & Willow Books (Kew Gardens, NY)
- La Vie est Belle Librairie (Larchmont, NY)
- The Lit Bar (Bronx, NY)
- Word Up Community Bookshop/Libreria Communitaria (Washington Heights/Inwood, NY)
- NORTH CAROLINA
- Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews (Chapel Hill, NC)
- TEXAS
- Black Sheep Comics (El Paso, TX)
- The Storybook Garden (Weslaco, TX)
- Whose Books (Dallas, TX)
- VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- ONLINE
LGBTQ+-owned bookstores
- ARIZONA
- Antigone Books (Tuscan, AZ)
- Changing Hands Bookstore (Tempe and Phoenix, AZ)
- CALIFORNIA
- A Seat at the Table Books (Elk Grove, CA)
- Dog Eared Books (San Francisco, CA)
- Lavender Library (Sacramento, CA)
- Libélula Books & Co (San Diego, CA)
- Otherwild (Los Angeles, CA)
- Reparations Club (Los Angeles, CA)
- The Ripped Bodice (Los Angeles, CA)
- Volumes of Pleasure Bookshoppe (Los Osos, CA)
- CONNECTICUT
- Burgundy Books (Old Saybrook, CT)
- FLORIDA
- Spiral Circle Bookstore & More (Orlando, FL)
- Tombolo Books (St. Petersburg, FL)
- GEORGIA
- Charis Books and More (Decatur, GA)
- ILLINOIS
- Lit. on Fire (Peoria, IL)
- Women & Children First (Chicago, IL)
- Unabridged Bookstore (Chicago, IL)
- LOUISIANA
- Beausoleil Books (Lafayette, LA)
- Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Bookshop (New Orleans, LA)
- MARYLAND
- Red Emma’s (Baltimore, MD)
- MASSACHUSETTS
- All She Wrote Books (Somerville, MA)
- Womencrafts (Provincetown, MA)
- MINNESOTA
- Quatrefoil Library (Minneapolis, MN)
- MISSISSIPPI
- Violet Valley Bookstore (Water Valley, MS)
- MISSOURI
- Left Bank Books (St. Louis, MO)
- The Peace Nook (Columbia, MO)
- MONTANA
- Montana Book Company (Helena, MT)
- NEW YORK
- Bluestockings Bookstore, Cafe & Activist Center (New York, NY)
- Bureau of General Services—Queer Division (New York, NY)
- NORTH CAROLINA
- Firestorm Books & Coffee (Asheville, NC)
- OREGON
- Another Read Through (Portland, OR)
- PENNSYLVANIA
- Giovanni’s Room (Philadelphia, PA)
- Stories Like Me (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Wooden Shoe Books and Records (Philadelphia, PA)
- TEXAS
- BookWoman (Austin, TX)
- Chapterhouse Books (Amarillo, TX)
- UTAH
- The King’s English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Under the Umbrella (Salt Lake City, UT)
- WASHINGTON, DC
- Kramerbooks & Afterwords (Washington, DC)
- WASHINGTON
- King’s Books (Tacoma, WA)
- Main Street Books Monroe (Monroe, WA)
- Orca Books (Olympia, WA)
- Village Books (Bellingham, WA)
- WISCONSIN
- A Room of One’s Own Bookstore (Madison, WI)
- Mystery to Me Books (Madison, WI)
- Outwards Books, Gifts & Coffee (Milwaukee, WI)
- VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- ONLINE
Middle Eastern- and North African-owned bookstores
- WASHINGTON, DC
Muslim-owned bookstores
- MINNESOTA
- Rabata Cultural Center & Daybreak Bookshop (Arden Hills, MN)
- PENNSYLVANIA
- Hakim’s Book Store (Philadelphia, PA)
- ONLINE
Do you know of a diverse-owned bookstore that should be on this list? Email Fin at finlavoie@diversebooks.org to be added!