Independent bookstores are small bookselling businesses, usually with one or a small number of locations in a limited geographic area. They contrast with corporate or chain bookstores, operated by a larger company, often with many stores across a large area.

Australia

Foreign Language Bookshop Foreign Language Bookshop was the oldest and largest language bookshop in Australasia, established in 1938 as a free lending library by William Bernard (WB) Wigston. Brief history WB opened the doors to Foreign Language Bookshop in Bourke Street, ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Canada

Aqua Books Aqua Books was a Canadian independent bookstore opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Kelly Hughes in 1999. It was acknowledged for helping revitalize downtown Winnipeg and creating an eclectic mix of programs and events for the Winnipeg arts and cu ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

(defunct) *

Attic Books Attic Books is one of Canada's largest independent used bookstore in London, Ontario, Canada. It specializes in antiquarian books, maps, prints, and ephemera. History Marvin Post opened Attic Books in 1976. It was located on the top floor of 428 ...

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

Bakka-Phoenix Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, which specializes in science fiction and fantasy literature. It was started on Toronto's then-bohemian Queen Street West in May 1972 as a combined ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

* Bison Books in Winnipeg, Manitoba * Book City in Toronto, Ontario *

The Book Room The Book Room was an independent bookstore located on Barrington Street in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 1839, at the time of its closing in March 2008, The Book Room was Canada’s oldest bookstore, and the largest non-chain bookstore ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

was, at the time of its 2008 closing, the oldest bookstore in Canada (defunct) *

Camas Bookstore and Infoshop The Camas Bookstore and Infoshop is a not-for-profit infoshop located at 2620 Quadra Street in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. History A collective which included Allan Antliff started off renting shelf space at Dark Horse Books in Victor ...

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

Glad Day Bookshop Glad Day Bookshop is an independent bookstore and restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in LGBT literature. Previously located above a storefront at 598A Yonge Street for much of its history, the store moved to its current location ...

in Toronto, Ontario *

Highway Book Shop The Highway Book Shop was a bookstore and publishing company, located on Ontario Highway 11 near Cobalt, Ontario, which operated from 1957 to 2011. Considered a landmark and cultural institution in the region, it was one of the largest and most fam ...

near Cobalt, Ontario (defunct) *

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe, 1926–1971, was widely known in the Jewish community as Hyman's Bookstore. It was an important part of the early history of Spadina Avenue in Toronto, as well as the early Jewish community of Toronto. The store was ...

, independent

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

bookstore in Toronto, Ontario (defunct) *

Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's", is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village/ West End neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The bookstore wa ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

McNally Robinson McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by new owners Chris Hall and Lori Baker, formerly managed by Holly and Paul McNally. As of 2019 it h ...

, small independently run chain of stores across Canada *

Mondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse The Mondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse was a political bookstore and vegan cafe located in The Old Market Autonomous Zone at 91 Albert Street in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The name comes from the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation and other organi ...

in Winnipeg, Manitoba (defunct) *

The Monkey's Paw "The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs, first published in the collection '' The Lady of the Barge'' in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with ...

in Toronto, Ontario *

Munro's Books Munro's Books is a large independent bookstore in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Munro's has a staff of 30 and a large children's book section. The store celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2013. Since 1984, the store has been loca ...

in Victoria, British Columbia *

Spartacus Books Spartacus Books is a non-profit, volunteer and collectively run bookstore and resource centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1973. Spartacus sells new and used books, zines, comics, magazines, CDs, videos, T-shirts, ...

in Vancouver, British Columbia *

This Ain't the Rosedale Library This Ain't the Rosedale Library was an independent bookstore located in Toronto, Ontario."Can we keep the indie spirit?" ''Xtra!'', March 17, 2005. Located in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood for much of its history, the store moved to Kensin ...

in Toronto, Ontario (defunct) *

Toronto Women's Bookstore The Toronto Women's Bookstore was the largest nonprofit, feminist bookstore in Canada, before its closure in November 2012. It was run and staffed primarily by women of color, and sold fiction, poetry and non-fiction by women writers to promote ...

in Toronto, Ontario (defunct) *

The Word Bookstore The Word Bookstore, or simply The Word, is an independent bookstore in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, located in the McGill Ghetto downtown. It specializes in used philosophy and English poetry books. History The bookstore was started by Adrian King- ...

in Montreal

France

José Corti José Corti is a bookshop and publishing house located in Paris, France, and was founded in 1925. It is named after its founder, José Corticchiato (14 January 1895 – 25 December 1984). José Corticchiato started his business by publishing the ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

* Shakespeare and Company in Paris

Germany

BuchGourmet BuchGourmet (1987-2013) was an independent bookstore in Cologne, Germany, and during this time the oldest and biggest bookstore in Germany that focused solely on culinary media. The owner, Dieter Eckel, opened a 45 square meter store in 1987 afte ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Greenland

Atuagkat Bookstore Atuagkat Bookstore ( da, Atuagkat Boghandel) is a bookstore in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, located north of the Katuaq Culture Centre in the Nuuk Centrum. Founded in 1976, it is the largest and the oldest privately owned bookstore in the coun ...

Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...

Israel

Sefer ve Sefel Sefer ve Sefel ( he, ספר וספל, "Book and Mug") is an English-language secondhand bookshop in downtown Jerusalem, Israel. It was established in 1981 as the first combination bookshop/coffee shop in the country. Though the café was close ...

, Jerusalem

Jordan

* Al-Jahith's Treasury

Norway

Bokshop.no
in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Philippines

* Solidaridad book shop in the

Ermita Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...

district of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Singapore

BooksActually BooksActually is an independent bookstore operating online. It was formerly located in Singapore's Tiong Bahru district till 2020. History and description BooksActually was established by Kenny Leck and Karen Wai in 2005 on the second floor o ...

Tiong Bahru Tiong Bahru is a housing estate located within the Bukit Merah Planning Area, in the Central Region of Singapore. Tiong Bahru was constructed in the 1920s by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to the Housing Development Board and ...

South Africa

Fascination Books Fascination Books was one of South Africa's largest book chains with branches throughout South Africa. After 13 years of considerable growth, owner and founder Johan Marais applied for liquidation in October 2008. The company was the largest indepen ...

Taiwan

See

United Kingdom

An Ceathrú Póilí An Ceathrú Póilí ( en, The Fourth Policeman; founded 1983) is an independent bookstore based in Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich on the Falls Road in Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter. The shop primarily sells Irish language books and Irish traditio ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Arthur Probsthain Arthur Probsthain is an independent bookstore based in London, specialising in antique Asian and African books. History The bookstore was started in 1903 by Arthur Probsthain at Bury Place, and now bears his name. It has been located at 41 Gre ...

in London * Barter Books in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

Station,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

Blackwell's Blackwell UK, also known as Blackwell's and Blackwell Group, is a British academic book retailer and library supply service owned by Waterstones. It was founded in 1879 by Benjamin Henry Blackwell, after whom the chain is named, on Broad Street, ...

in Oxford *

Compendium Books Compendium Books was an independent bookstore in London specialising in experimental literary and theoretical publications, from 1968 until its closure in 2000. ''The Guardians John Williams described it as "Britain's pre-eminent radical book ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Daunt Books Daunt Books is a chain of bookshops in England, founded in 1990 by James Daunt. It originally specialised in travel books. In 2010, it began publishing. James Daunt later became CEO of Waterstones and the US bookstore chain Barnes & Noble. Bo ...

in London * Housmans in London * The Second Shelf in London * Stanfords in London

United States

References

{{Companies by industry List

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...