lgbtq owned bookstores
Lucy Kirk

In March 2020, married couple Amy Elkavich and MerryBeth Burgess were getting ready to launch their independent, LGBTQ- and woman-focused bookstore, hello again books, in their cozy little Florida nook of Cocoa Village. Located along Florida’s “Space Coast,” known for its proximity to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Village is an eclectic community with clothing boutiques, gift shops, restaurants, and craft breweries; once upon a time, there even used to be a gay bookstore and bar, but those had long since closed when Elkavich and Burgess moved there.

Still, the pair saw an opportunity—a need, as Elkavich told Oprah Daily, to “serve as an inclusive and safe space for those who seek one,” to make their community a more welcoming and friendly space. “Visibility is everything in small towns, where books are some of the only windows to a more accepting world.”

“Visibility is everything in small towns, where books are some of the only windows to a more accepting world.”

Visibility allows people with marginalized identities to see themselves and their stories reflected in and worthy of art. As Oprah herself recently wrote: “When we see ourselves, our presence and existence in the world has been validated.” Additionally, representation can help prospective allies understand and become better advocates for individuals and groups whose experiences diverge from theirs. Or as Emily Autenrieth, owner of A Seat at the Table in Elk Grove, California, puts it: “We’re here both for the marginalized groups that need that kind of safe, inclusive space, and for all the people in our community who want to be good allies or accomplices but don’t yet know how.”

A Seat at the Table also opened in 2020, first as a pop-up but with plans to eventually open a physical location. Their hometown, a “quiet little suburb” 20 minutes outside Sacramento, has not traditionally been a bastion of progressivism, but that is rapidly changing, with Autenrieth as one of the entrepreneurs at the forefront of that shift. Her store's name is a nod to the progress being made, and was created to be a beacon of Elk Grove’s increasing diversity.

A Seat at the Table and hello again books are just a few of many LGBTQ-owned stores we spoke to for this article that have sprung up within the past two years specifically. Montgomery, Alabama’s 1977 Books opened in September of 2019, as did Minneapolis, Minnesota’s The Irreverent Bookworm. In early 2020, Tombolo Books—so named for the bridge that connects an island to the mainland—opened in St. Petersburg, Florida. And more are on the way: After a successful crowdfunding campaign, The Salt Eaters in Inglewood, California—a literary hub centered on the stories of Black women, girls, femmes, and nonbinary people—is set to open its physical location later this year. Ditto for Under the Umbrella Bookstore in Salt Lake City, Utah, forthcoming this fall.

But LGBTQ-owned bookstores have been around for decades. Founded in 1973 in the City of Brotherly Love, Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room—honoring James Baldwin’s queer classic—is perhaps the oldest surviving LGBTQ and feminist bookstore in America. Charis Books and More, in Decatur, Georgia, was launched a year later. A Room of One's Own has been a fixture in downtown Madison, Wisconsin since 1975, and Chicago’s Women and Children First was started in 1979 by two women who fell in love as students at the University of Illinois.

These stores are more than shops to browse for books; they are hubs for both entertainment and enlightenment, meeting grounds for hearts and minds. They are, above all, vital community spaces.

As Shane Khosropour, Manager and Frontlist Buyer at Unabridged Bookstore in Chicago, told us: “I have heard from so many queer people over the years that Unabridged has been a sacred space for them, a place where they feel like they belong, where they will not be judged, where they feel seen and connected.”

Below, we’ve put together a comprehensive directory of LGBTQ-owned bookstores across America, shops that go above and beyond selling hardcovers and paperbacks to foster a sense of community, acceptance, and solidarity. We'll continue to add to this list, and if there are any that we missed, please make sure to let us know in the comments below! From New York to San Francisco, from Montgomery, Alabama to Verona, Wisconsin, we hope you'll find an indie bookstore near you to support—during Pride month and beyond.


Find a Bookstore by State

Alabama | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Illinois | Louisiana | Maryland/Washington D.C. | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | New Jersey | New York | North Carolina | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Texas | Utah | Washington | Wisconsin


Alabama


Arizona


Arkansas


California

“Every romance writer knows The Ripped Bodice, the romance-dedicated and queer-owned indie in Los Angeles. The beauty of specializing in romance is that TRB's shelves can fit a broad range of this incredibly diverse genre, including books from indie presses where marginalized romance stories thrive.”

—Casey McQuiston, author of One Last Stop

“I love Dog Eared Books' taste and curation, and I've also found them to be incredibly kind. I called mid-pandemic to see if they could do an in-person delivery for a nearby friend whose birthday it was, and the person who helped me was truly lovely and understood the vital intersection of birthday + pandemic + salvation by books.”

—Jen Silverman, author of We Played Ourselves

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Florida


Georgia


Hawaii


Illinois

“As a newly out gay man in the early 1990s, long before dating sites and apps and at the height of the AIDS crisis, gay bookstores allowed me to feel part of a community and afforded me the safety to find my place in it. There was no sneaking a copy of Giovanni's Room into the safer Entertainment section to get a taste of James Baldwin's electric prose, or hiding a copy of The Advocate inside an issue of Popular Mechanics. LGBTQ bookstores celebrated who I was and made me feel like I too might one day have a voice. Unabridged Bookstore has been a Chicago institution for more than forty years. Owners Ed Devereaux and Patrick Garnett have assembled an incredible team of booksellers and kept the store focused on the one thing a bookstore should put front and center: books. When I visit Unabridged, I do so as the bestselling author of three queer novels—something I could barely allow myself to dream when I was young. But the thrill is still the same. A maze of tightly packed shelves. Booksellers who are book lovers, and who proudly look you in the eye and smile. Story after story that celebrates diversity and living open and authentic lives. And it no less feels like home.”

—Steven Rowley, author of The Guncle

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Louisiana


Maryland/Washington D.C.

“Loyalty Bookstore goes above and beyond to promote queer books. Hannah Oliver Depp is not only a fabulous bookseller, but she is also one of the best people I have ever met. Everyone who works there is so smart and talented! The times that I've been able to hang out there in person have been some of the nicest times of my life. They are really creative with book events, too: They threw a brunch for my book tour that had THEMED COCKTAILS! Incredible! Their staff is supremely knowledgeable, the book selection is next level and extremely gay, and they work so tirelessly to bring their community together. I drink coffee out of my Loyalty Bookstore coffee mug every morning!”

—Kristen Arnett, author of With Teeth

“I suppose it's pandemic-appropriate that my favorite queer-owned bookstore is one I haven't set foot in. Loyalty captured my heart when I did a reading they sponsored with a bunch of AAPI writers back in April, and my admiration for the wonderful folks there led by owner Hannah Oliver Depp and Programs Manager Christine Bollow has only grown since. Whether checking out their latest staff picks or looking through their amazing author events, I always know that the folks at Loyalty are putting queer and BIPOC books front and center, which has allowed them to build an amazing community both on and offline. I can't wait to drop by the next time I'm in DC!”

—Meredith Talusan, author of Fairest


Massachusetts

“Provincetown’s East End Books is positioned directly on the beach, with a view of the town wharf, two lighthouses, swimmers, and boats moving in and out of the harbor. But you’d be forgiven if you were too absorbed with the books on the tables to lift your head. Jeff Peters’ store carries both the latest LGBTQ and general literary titles, but its foundation in the former is clear on every shelf. The store also hosts a lively series of early evening events, either online or in-person, that make for pleasing relief after a hot day at the beach or walking up and down Commercial Street.”

—Paul Lisicky, author of Later: My Life at the Edge of the World


Minnesota

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Mississippi

“The Violet Valley Bookstore in Water Valley, MS, is nothing short of a miracle. When I first visited, I had been going around the state, promoting my short story collection, and I stopped in to sign some copies of my book. Located in a narrow building on Water Valley’s Main Street, the store is a small oasis of queer joy and acceptance. So much Southern queerness in one place: Fannie Flag, Dorothy Alison, Jericho Brown, Thomas Hal Phillips, Randall Kenan, Minnie Bruce Pratt. I purchased some books, bought a pink Violet Valley T-shirt, and had my picture taken in front of the rainbow flag that hangs beside the cash register. I may have also shed a few tears. As a closeted teenager, growing up about an hour away, I never could have imagined such a place would ever exist in my neck of the woods. For the first time in my life, I felt at home while at home. Violet Valley is more than a bookstore; it is a testament to queer gumption and resilience.”

—Nick White, author of Sweet and Low


Missouri


Montana


New Jersey

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New York

“I couldn’t be gay in Jamaica. And when I moved to America to attend college, I didn’t come out there either. However, one place where I could be myself was in between the pages of books. My friend Micheal, who was a gay man of Honduran and Mexican descent, introduced me to Bluestockings Bookstore in the East Village. We lived on Long Island but would hop on the LIRR on weekends in the summers into the city where we could freely indulge in queer fiction without our immigrant families finding out. I was comforted by the fact that so many others felt the way I did. I sought solace in lesbian and gay fiction inside Bluestockings. For the first time ever, I felt a sense of community and acceptance.”

—Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy

“The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division is an independent, all-volunteer queer cultural center, bookstore, and event space located inside of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. I've either attended or participated in some of the most memorable readings of my life at BSGQD. I saw Sybil Lamb climb the walls here during a reading, I debated Jackie Ess about trans lit, I've seen most of the writers I know read here at one time or another. The people who run it are just down for letting queer literary people experiment for an audience in their space. And then afterward, you can go walk down the hall and hang out in the former bathroom/priceless piece of art, painted on every wall by Keith Haring.”

—Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

“How do we find out about great gay novels—ones that speak to and for us and not just about us? Usually, that comes from personal recommendations by great gay friends. In 2015, former Out Magazine editor Aaron Hicklin took his love of books 125 miles north of New York City and opened his own bookstore, One Grand Books, in the tiny village of Narrowsburg, right on the bend of the Delaware River. At first, Hicklin’s concept may seem a touch cosmopolitan for country life. He asks celebrated bibliophiles for a list of their ten favorite books, and the shelves of his adorable, modernist shop are filled with their hit-lists of reading treasures. This approach makes for an intimate experience, where a lot of queer writers hand-select the titles that have inspired them, many of which you might not find in the competitive marketing of traditional retail bookstores. Writers include Alan Hollinghurst, Marlon James, Eileen Myles, Janet Mock, Edmund White, and Douglas Stuart. Hicklin’s bookstore has proven such a success, he’s started a lit magazine, a podcast, a summer literary festival, and he’s opening a second One Grand in a nearby town upstate. So, yeah, let’s not ever again let LGBTQ books be condemned to a single alternative-lifestyle shelf in the back of a bookstore.”

—Christopher Bollen, author of A Beautiful Crime


North Carolina


Oregon


Pennsylvania

“Many of the LGBTQIA+ bookstores I used to patronize are, sadly, no longer in operation. But one that I visit whenever I’m in Philly still stands: Giovanni’s Room. Named after the classic novel by James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room has been in operation since 1973—although it, too, closed its doors in 2014, but was thankfully revived by the Philly AIDS Thrift organization. One of my favorite things about the bookshop, other than it being a safe space where members of LGBTQIA+ communities can find both historical and contemporary works by and about us, is the lovely little red brick building it’s housed in. It’s quaint enough to have been plucked from the pages of some 18th-century novel, and it makes me think of romance whenever I see it. So it’s easy to perpetually fall in love whenever I visit.”

—Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets

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Texas


Utah


Washington


Wisconsin

preview for Oprah on Why Representation Matters
Headshot of Michelle Hart
Michelle Hart

Michelle Hart is the Assistant Books Editor of O, the Oprah Magazine. Other writing of hers has appeared on the Millions, the Rumpus, and the New Yorker. Her fiction has appeared in Joyland and Electric Literature. She has been awarded a fiction fellowship by the New York State Writers Institute and was once profiled in her hometown newspaper for being in the process of writing a novel--a novel she is still in the process of writing.