Science fiction, fantasy and horror bookstores
Beginning in the 1970s, with the popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, a variety of independent bookstores specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and related genres (often mystery, comics, games, and/or collectibles), began opening.[1] Among the first were Bakka-Phoenix Bookstore in Toronto and A Change of Hobbit in Southern California, both established in 1972. As independent bookstores suffered during the business shifts of the late 20th and early 21st century, many of these closed.[2] During their heyday, however, they were a key part of science fiction fandom, facilitating not just publishing, distribution, and promotion of books, but public events, social events, and community-building.
List of bookstores
This list is meant to include past and present "brick-and-mortar" bookstores. Bookstores that were once "brick-and-mortar", but have moved online, should be included. Bookstores that have only ever been solely online vendors should be listed separately.
United States
California
- A Change of Hobbit, 1972-1991, in Southern California[3][4]
- The Other Change of Hobbit, established 1974 in Berkeley,[1] later in El Cerrito (now mail-order only)
- Cobblestone Books, Sacramento, CA (by appointment only)
- Dark Delicacies, Burbank, CA
- Dark Carnival, Berkeley, California[2]
- The Future Fantasy Bookstore, Palo Alto, a pioneer in online sales (now closed).[5]
- Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA (established 1993) and a second Redondo Beach location (opened in 2011[6][7])
- Mystery and Imagination, Glendale (Los Angeles-area), CA
- Barry Levin Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature, Santa Monica, California
- Borderlands Books, San Francisco, California, established 1998 (one of the most recently established SF bookstores in the country);[2] considering closing as of 2015[8]
West
- Future Dreams Books, Portland, Oregon
- Escape While There's Still Time Books. Eugene, OR (closed)
- The Book Station. Eugene, OR (closed)
Midwest
- Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- DreamHaven Books, Minneapolis, Minnesota (est. 1977[9]
- 20th Century Books, Madison, Wisconsin
- The Stars Our Destination, Chicago (closed);[2] eventually moved online as DreamHaven Books and Comics
- Griffon Bookstore, South Bend, Indiana
- Robots and Rogues, Lafayette, Indiana
Northeast
- Flights of Fantasy, Albany, NY
- GenreInk, Keene, NH
- Pandemonium Books and Games, Cambridge, MA (founded 1989)
- Seek Books, West Roxbury (Boston), MA (2009-2014)
- Eyes of the Owl, Wolfeboro, NH (established 1978; 1999 first online;[10] 2015 seasonal and online)
- Forbidden Planet, New York City (two locations at one point, downtown store still exists and is in its third location as of 2015)
- Science Fiction, Mysteries and More, New York City (opened 1992, closed in 1998) [2]
- Singularity and Co., Brooklyn, New York (established 2012 as a Kickstarter-funded SF bookstore[11][12]
- The Science Fiction Shop, New York City, founded by Baird Searles in the 1970s (four locations thru 1990s, closed)
South / Southwest
- Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy, Austin, TX
- Austin Books & Comics, Austin, TX
Canada
- Bakka-Phoenix, Toronto, Ontario (established 1972)
- Cold Drake Books, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Bookmarc Books, Victoria, British Columbia (open by appointment)
- White Dwarf Books, Vancouver, British Columbia
Australia
- Galaxy Bookshop, Sydney, Australia
- White Dwarf Books, Perth, Australia
- Minotaur, Melbourne, Australia
England
- Another World SFF, Birmingham, England
- Forbidden Planet, London
Germany
- OtherLand Buchhandlung für Science Fiction und Fantasy in Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Scotland
- Transreal Fiction, Edinburgh, Scotland (est. 1997)
Sweden
- Science Fiction Bokhandeln, Stockholm, Sweden; Göteborg; Malmö
Notes
- 1 2 Bullock, Ken (August 10, 2010). "The Other Change of Hobbit is Living in South Berkeley". The Berkeley Daily Planet.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Lisa Pickoff-White, "Borderlands Helps Make the Bay Area a Sci-Fi Bookstore Haven", SF Weekly, April 2, 2008.
- ↑ Duke Helfand, "For Science Fiction Fans, Old Habit Dies Hard : Change of Hobbit Devotees Are Already Mourning Bookstore Demise", Los Angeles Times, Feb. 10, 1991.
- ↑ Sherry Gottlieb, "Escape Velocity: A History of A Change of Hobbit Bookstore".
- ↑ http://public.wsu.edu/~jsv/Mgt580/Cases/Eleccomm/commerce.html
- ↑ Charlie Jane Anders, "One of the country's best science fiction bookstores expands to a second location", io9.com, Feb. 25, 2011.
- ↑ Elizabeth Knapp, "Mysterious Galaxy to Open Second Location", American Booksellers Association.
- ↑ Borderlands-Books.com
- ↑ Our Store History, last visited Dec. 29, 2015.
- ↑ WayBack Machine, untitled page archive from Oct. 2, 1999, Jan. 13, 2015.
- ↑ Paul Miller, "New York's first sci-fi bookstore opens its doors, wants to save forgotten novels from cosmic oblivion", The Verge, Aug. 13, 2012.
- ↑ Gili Malinsky, "Preserving the Future from the Past", New York Times, Nov. 3, 2013.
External links
- "Bookstores Specializing in Science Fiction", Biblio.com (last visited March 31, 2014)
- Independent Genre Bookstores, Worlds Without End (last visited March 31, 2014)
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