The spokesperson for 2021’s Indies First—the annual campaign in support of independent bookstores on Small Business Saturday—was the beloved author Roxane Gay
Lucky for us, Roxane shared her favorite bookstores across the USA—read on for her thread of tweets, or skip ahead to see her full list organized by state.
Roxane Gay’s Favorite Bookstores
California
Bookshop Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
Book Soup
Los Angeles, CA
Chevalier’s Books
Los Angeles, CA
City Lights Books
San Francisco, CA
Eso Won Books
Los Angeles, CA
The Last Bookstore
Los Angeles, CA
Marcus Books
Oakland, CA
Skylight Books
Los Angeles, CA
Illinois
The Book Cellar
Chicago, IL
Quimby’s Bookstore
Chicago, IL
Unabridged Bookstore
Chicago, IL
Women & Children First
Chicago, IL
Georgia
Charis Circle
Decatur, GA
Florida
Books & Books
Coral Gables, FL
Louisiana
Octavia Books
New Orleans, LA
Massachusetts
Brookline Booksmith
Brookline, MA
Harvard Book Store
Cambridge, MA
Porter Square Books
Cambridge, MA
Michigan
Bookbug
Kalamazoo, MI
Literati Bookstore
Ann Arbor, MI
Source Booksellers
Detroit, MI
Minnesota
Magers & Quinn Booksellers
Minneapolis, MN
Missouri
Left Bank Books
St. Louis, MO
New York
Astoria Bookshop
Queens, NY
Bluestockings Cooperative
New York, NY
Books Are Magic
Brooklyn, NY
McNally Jackson Books
New York, NY
Sisters Uptown
New York, NY
WORD
Brooklyn, NY
192 Books
New York, NY
Strand Book Store
New York, NY
Ohio
Prologue Bookshop
Columbus, OH
Two Dollar Radio
Columbus, OH
Oregon
Powell’s Books
Portland, OR
Tennessee
Parnassus Books
Nashville, TN
Texas
BookPeople
Austin, TX
Washington
The Elliott Bay Book Company
Seattle, WA
Washington, D.C.
Busboys and Poets
Washington, D.C.
Kramer Books
Washington, D.C.
Politics and Prose
Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin
Boswell Book Company
Milwaukee, WI
Thank you so much for the book store list by state. Having lived so many places felt like home to see
Some of my favorites listed.
Of course, Judith! So glad these bookstores feel like home!