Eso Won Books, an independent bookstore located at 4327 Degnan Boulevard in the Historic Leimert Park Village neighborhood of South Los Angeles, is one of the largest Black-owned bookstores in the U.S. In 2021, ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' awarded the business Bookstore of the Year.

Description

Eso Won Books is an 1,800-sq-ft bookstore with an inventory mix of African American classic and contemporary titles, including a children’s section. The bookstore regularly hosts author events and community gatherings.

History

Eso Won Books started in the summer of 1988 in Los Angeles. Eso Won, which means “water over rocks” in the Ethiopian Amharic language, was originally named Eso Won Books on Wheels. James Fugate and Tom Hamilton, founders and co-owners, said their goal was to sell books at community events, such as the L.A. Times Book Fair, and be “seen as not just a Black bookstore for Black people, but a Los Angeles bookstore in which everyone is welcome.” Eso Won Books has hosted author signings with Muhammad Ali and his biographer

Howard Bingham Howard Leonid Bingham (May 29, 1939December 15, 2016) was a biographer of Muhammad Ali and a professional photographer.Deford, FranYou don't know Muhammad Ali until you know his best friend''Sports Illustrated''. March 11, 2016 Bingham was born in ...

, historian Yosef AA ben-Jochannan,

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship ...

John Henrik Clarke John Henrik Clarke (born John Henry Clark; January 1, 1915 - July 16, 1998) was an African-American historian, professor, and pioneer in the creation of Pan-African and Africana studies and professional institutions in academia starting in the ...

, Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., poet

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets,Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds)"Nikki Giovanni" ''E ...

Berry Gordy, Jr. Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

, Patti LaBelle,

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

, Gloria Naylor,

Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez (born Wilsonia Benita Driver; September 9, 1934) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays ...

, Kwame Toure (Stokely Carmichal), and

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

Recognition

Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of “Between the World and Me” remarked in one interview that Eso Won Books is "my favorite bookstore" and was also on his first book tour.

In popular culture

* Issa Rae's '' Insecure'' tv series season 3 (2018), episode "Fresh-Like" includes a scene in Leimert Park outside Eso Won Books. * Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Story, a 2007 mystery novel by actor

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series '' L.A. Law''. Underwood has ...

and writers

Tananarive Due Tananarive Priscilla Due ( ) (born January 5, 1966) is an American author and educator. Due won the American Book Award for her novel '' The Living Blood''. She is also known as a film historian with expertise in Black horror. Due teaches a cours ...

and Steven Barnes, includes mentions of recognizable Los Angeles features such as the restaurant chain Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles and Eso Won Books.

References

External links