Hello, readers! I’m so glad you are here. In this newsletter, I’m zooming out to survey the landscape of indie bookselling as a whole, looking at how the industry has emerged from the pandemic economy: success + struggle = cognitive dissonance. Then I will profile two influential bookstores who are vigorously rethinking the structures of their businesses as they notch themselves ever more firmly into their communities. Also, the book recommendation section seems to be growing longer each month.
The State of Independent Bookselling
Contrary to all expectations, the number of indie bookstores rose in 2021, and then again in 2022. Some bookstores couldn’t weather the lockdown and were forced to close, but others found that lower rent enabled them to start or expand stores. A small but growing portion of these new stores are Black-owned bookstores, which now number 154. (Note that the figures below represent companies registered with the ABA, some of whom have multiple locations. In 2022, there were 2023 companies running 2506 stores.)