As a blizzard blasted the East Coast in late February, a thousand booksellers from independent bookstores across the U.S. packed their winter gear, changed flights and braved snow to get to Pittsburgh by any means possible. They were there to attend an annual industry event, but this year was not like previous ones. A spirit of community and resistance ran through every interaction.
In part that reflected a surge in the number of bookstores in the U.S.: According to the American Booksellers Assn., 422 new bookstores opened in 2025, a 31% jump from 2024. “Coming out of COVID, people realized life is too short to do something you are not passionate about,” Allison Hill, chief executive of the association, told me. The event in Pittsburgh, Winter Institute, was the biggest one yet, with registration selling out in 40 minutes and hundreds on the waiting list.
The energy there also reflected the role that bookstores are playing at this moment in American history. Amid fear, frustration and anger, booksellers are providing resources and spaces for learning, organizing and respite.
Independent bookstores have long been considered third spaces, that place separate from home and work where you can build community. In my hometown of Austin, Texas, Jean Buckner runs Vintage Books and Wine, recommending wine and audiobook pairings. (A recent pairing? “Simply More” by Cynthia Erivo with Artomaña “Xarmant” Arabako Txakolina, 2024.) Reparations Club in Los Angeles hosts a “Read the Room” book club, where attendees sit together and read whatever they desire. Black Bird Bookstore in San Francisco recently introduced a monthly pie and board game night. Matter, in Denver, is not just a bookstore, but a revolutionary print shop, where locals can attend printmaking classes. Comma, in Minneapolis; Black Garnet in St. Paul, Minn.; and other local bookstores have been at the forefront of distributing resources to those affected by immigration raids in the area.
Interestingly, bookstore chain Barnes & Noble has adjusted its business strategy to match that of independent bookstores, giving each location more ownership over its design and introducing “shelf talkers” and curated staff picks. But the company is owned by a hedge fund, and many readers opt to shop small regardless.
There’s a saying in the book world that nobody opens a bookstore to get rich. Most likely, many of these new bookstores will not survive beyond five years. It’s a tough business, one that brings enormous economic and political challenges. Margins are razor-thin, often 1% to 3% of revenue. Every book sale matters. When Amazon launched in the 1990s, independent bookstores had 30% of the market share; today, that number is around 7%.
But what’s becoming all the more clear and important is how these stores are building these third spaces in the shadow of giant tech companies — especially Amazon. Shopping at an independent bookstore has, for many, become a form of protest.
When Amazon ran a “counter-sale” last year during Independent Bookstore Day — an annual event that takes place the last Saturday of April — the move backfired. The giant triggered a wave of support for independent bookstores that gave many their biggest day of sales — ever. People are more aware now that how and where they spend money is powerful. Booksellers see that up close.
Take Dilpreet Kainth, founder of Queens Book Bazaar in New York. Chatting after a full day of sessions, she told me how she burned out working in corporate media. “I really wanted to do something that would make a difference and actually support my local community.” She knew she made the right choice when, at her store’s South Asian-inspired book fair, local residents came up to her to express their excitement.
Or Janine Sickmeyer, who left the tech world to open Storyline in Upper Arlington, Ohio, because she “wanted to build something tangible and local — an everyday gathering place where stories bring people together.” Today, her store hosts eight book clubs, and members have transitioned from strangers to travel companions. “All the hard work feels completely worth it,” she said. “It’s a reminder that this was never just about the books we read. It’s also about the new stories we’re creating with people we might never have met otherwise.”
Despite the economic headwinds, ongoing censorship challenges and a decline in reading rates, the energy in the independent bookstore industry is one of defiance — and it’s animating shops nationwide. Booksellers new and old are giving it their all to rally their communities around books and to bring people together. As LeVar Burton said in his keynote address at Winter Institute: “Y’all really do make a difference in this world.”
Mark Pearson is the chief executive and co-founder of Libro.fm, an audiobook company that shares revenue with local bookstores.
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