LGBTQ-Owned Bookstores

“Visibility is everything in small towns, where books are some of the only windows to a more accepting world.” Miss. O

LGBTQ-owned bookstores have been around for decades. Founded in 1973 in the City of Brotherly Love, Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room—honoring James Baldwin’s queer classic—is perhaps the oldest surviving LGBTQ and feminist bookstore in America. Charis Books and More, in Decatur, Georgia, was launched a year later. A Room of One's Own has been a fixture in downtown Madison, Wisconsin since 1975, and Chicago’s Women and Children First was started in 1979 by two women who fell in love as students at the University of Illinois.

These stores are more than shops to browse for books; they are hubs for both entertainment and enlightenment, meeting grounds for hearts and minds. They are, above all, vital community spaces.

Below, we’ve put together a comprehensive directory of LGBTQ-owned bookstores across America, shops that go above and beyond selling hardcovers and paperbacks to foster a sense of community, acceptance, and solidarity. We'll continue to add to this list, and if there are any that we missed, please make sure to let us know in the comments below!

Alabama

Burdock Book Collective, Birmingham;www.burdockbookcollective.com
1977 Books, Montgomery; www.1977books.com

Arizona

Antigone Books, Tucson, www.antigonebooks.com

Arkansas

Dog Ear Books, Russellville, www.ilovedogear.com

California

Rakestraw Books, Danville, www.rakestrawbooks.com
A Seat at the Table, Elk Grove, www.aseatatthetablebooks.org
The Salt Eaters, Inglewood, www.thesalteatersbooks.com/
Reparations Club, Los Angeles, www.rep.club
The Ripped Bodice, Los Angeles, www.therippedbodicela.com
Lavender Library, Sacramento, www.lavenderlibrary.com
Dog Eared Books, San Francisco, www.dogearedbooks.com
Omnivore Books on Food, San Francisco, www.omnivorebooks.myshopify.com

Florida

hello again, Cocoa Village, www.helloagainbooks.com
Tombolo Books, St. Petersburg, www.tombolobooks.com

Georgia

Bookish, Atlanta, www.bookishatl.com
Charis Books & More, Decatur, www.charisbooksandmore.com/

Hawaii

Kona Bay Books, Kailua, www.konabaybooks.com

Illinois

Women & Children First, Chicago, www.womenandchildrenfirst.com
Unabridged Books, Chicago, www.unabridgedbookstore.com
Lit. on Fire Books, Peoria, www.litonfirepia.com

Louisiana

Beausoleil Books, Lafayette, www.beausoleilbooks.com
Tubby & Coo's Mid-City Book Shop, New Orleans, www.tubbyandcoos.com

Maryland/Washington D.C.

Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, Baltimore, www.redemmas.org
Kramers, Washington D.C., www.kramers.com
Loyalty Bookstores, Silver Spring, MD & Washington D.C., www.loyaltybookstores.com

Massachusetts

East End Books, Provincetown, www.eastendbooksptown.com
Womencrafts, Provincetown, www.womencraftsptown.com
All She Wrote, Somerville, www.allshewrotebooks.com

Minnesota

Black Garnet Books, Minneapolis, www.blackgarnetbooks.com
The Irreverent Bookworm, Minneapolis, www.irrevbooks.com

Mississippi

Violet Valley, Water Valley, www.violetvalley.org

Missouri

Left Bank Books, St. Louis, www.left-bank.com

Montana

Montana Book Company, Helena, www.mtbookco.com

New Jersey

Here’s the Story, Union, www.heresthestorybooks.com

New York

Rust Belt Books, Buffalo, www.rustbeltbooks.com
Bluestockings Bookstore, Cafe & Activist Center, New York, www.bluestockings.com
Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, New York, www.bookshop.org/shop/bgsqd
W.Whitman Books, Middleburgh, www.facebook.com/bestreads304
One Grand Books, Narrowsburg, www.onegrandbooks.com
Golden Notebook Bookstore, Woodstock NY @goldennotebook.com
Astoria Bookshop, Queens,astoriabookshop.com