Munro's Books is a large

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada, located in a landmark heritage building on Government Street. It was founded in 1963 by Jim Munro and his then wife

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. Since Jim's retirement in 2014, the store retains no connection to the Munro family. The store celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2013. Since 1984, the store has been located in downtown Victoria in the neo-classical Royal Bank Building with a

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

ed ceiling, designed in 1909 for the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

by architect Thomas Hooper. Munro's Books has been described by journalist Allan Fotheringham as "the most magnificent bookstore in Canada, possibly in North America." The store was founded in 1963 by Jim Munro and his first wife

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

, the 2013 Nobel Prize-winning short-story writer. At the start, its stock was mostly

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

s. According to Jim Munro, Alice Munro began to write after reading some of the bookstore's stock and deciding angrily that "I can write better books than this," however Alice had her first story published 13 years before the bookstore opened, in 1950. Although Alice Munro did not have any relation to the bookstore for decades, the store still received fan and press calls asking for her. Textile artist Carole Sabiston, Jim Munro's second wife, created the tapestries that decorate the bookstore. The store management issued a statement in support of Alice and Jim Munro's daughter Andrea Skinner shortly after the publication of the story in major North American newspapers that Alice Munro's second husband had abused Munro's daughter./ Statement by Munro's books re Andrea Skinner
accessed 8 July 2024

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* Independent bookstores of Canada Shops in Victoria, British Columbia Retail companies established in 1963 1963 establishments in British Columbia Canadian companies established in 1963 {{canada-retail-company-stub

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