Booksellers have never told their own story—until now.

Bookstores are private entities performing a public service - a delicate balance maintained for over 150 years. Bookstores are places where literary and cultural endeavors entwine with commerce, where the pursuit of economic profits must balance with the pursuit of social profit - because a bookstore is symbiotic with its community. This is the culture of bookselling.

Historically, booksellers have used their spaces as sites of resistance against censorship and in support of the First Amendment. Bookstores have served as crucial networking hubs for challenging systemic societal issues—from Women’s Suffrage to the Civil Rights Movement to LGBT+ Equal Rights. These stores constructed safe spaces that brought people together, stimulated progressive conversation, and facilitated public protest. 

Booksellers have influenced what we read and contributed to our collective literary culture. They are spaces that bring authors and readers together. They pour their time and energy into all that books can represent for people.

This is a story worth telling.