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,[5] Sacramento, CA (by appointment only)
- Dark Delicacies,[6] Burbank, CA
- Dark Carnival,[7] Berkeley, California[2]
- The Future Fantasy Bookstore, Palo Alto, a pioneer in online sales (now closed).[8]
- Mysterious Galaxy,[9] San Diego, CA (established 1993) and a second Redondo Beach location (opened in 2011[10][11])
- Mystery and Imagination,[12] Glendale (Los Angeles-area), CA (now closed)
- Barry Levin Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature,[13] 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[14]
West
- Future Dreams Books,[15] 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,[16] Minneapolis, Minnesota
- DreamHaven Books,[17] Minneapolis, Minnesota (est. 1977[18]
- 20th Century Books,[19] Madison, Wisconsin
- The Stars Our Destination, Chicago (closed);[2] eventually moved online as DreamHaven Books and Comics[20]
- Griffon Bookstore,[21] South Bend, Indiana
- Robots and Rogues,[22] Lafayette, Indiana
Northeast
- Flights of Fantasy,[23] Albany, NY
- GenreInk,[24] Keene, NH
- Pandemonium Books and Games,[25] Cambridge, MA (founded 1989)
- Seek Books,[26] West Roxbury (Boston), MA (2009-2014)
- Eyes of the Owl,[27] Wolfeboro, NH (established 1978; 1999 first online;[28][29] 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,[30] New York City (opened 1992, closed in 1998) [2]
- Singularity and Co.,[31] Brooklyn, New York (established 2012 as a Kickstarter-funded SF bookstore[32][33]
- 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,[34] Austin, TX
Canada
Australia
England
- Another World SFF, Birmingham, England
- Forbidden Planet, London
Germany
- OtherLand Buchhandlung für Science Fiction und Fantasy,[42] Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Scotland
- Transreal Fiction,[43] Edinburgh, Scotland (est. 1997)
Sweden
- Science Fiction Bokhandeln,[44] Stockholm, Sweden; Göteborg; Malmö
Notes
- Bullock, Ken (August 10, 2010). "The Other Change of Hobbit is Living in South Berkeley". The Berkeley Daily Planet.
- 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".
- "Welcome to Cobblestone Books Online!". www.cobblestonebooks.com.
- "Dark Delicacies". Dark Delicacies.
- "Dark Carnival Bookstore". darkcarnival.com.
- http://public.wsu.edu/~jsv/Mgt580/Cases/Eleccomm/commerce.html
- http://www.mystgalaxy.com/
- 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.
- http://www.mysteryandimagination.com/
- "Rare Science Fictions - SEO A.I. & The Science Of Google's RankBrain Search Algorithem". www.raresf.com.
- "Borderlands Books : Used&New Science Fiction, Fantasy&Horror". borderlands-books.com.
- http://www.futuredreamstore.com
- "Uncle Hugo's & Uncle Edgar's Bookstores - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Mystery Books". www.unclehugo.com.
- "Home". DreamHaven.
- Our Store History, last visited Dec. 29, 2015.
- "20th Century Books - Small Press Comics, Comix, Manga, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Mystery - New and Used". www.southparkbooks.com.
- "Home". DreamHaven.
- "Griffon Bookstore - Board Games - Used Board Games - Dice Games - Gaming - Books - Griffon Bookstore". www.griffon-bookstore.com.
- http://www.robotsandroguesbooks.com
- http://www.fof.net/
- "GenreInk - We sold books. Not sure what's next!".
- "Pandemonium Books and Games". www.pandemoniumbooks.com.
- "seekbooks.org - Diese Website steht zum Verkauf! - Informationen zum Thema used books science fiction horror fantasy sci fi vampires movies tarot readings boston philosophy". www.seekbooks.org.
- "Eyes of the Owl - www.UsedBooks.TK * * Great Books from New Hampshire promptly delivered to your home, school, library, or business. * *". www.usedbqqks.com.
- "Eyes of the Owl - Used Books". 2 October 1999. Archived from the original on 2 October 1999.
- WayBack Machine, untitled page archive from Oct. 2, 1999, Jan. 13, 2015.
- "SCIENCE FICTION, MYSTERIES & MORE BOOKSTORE". 2 December 1998. Archived from the original on 2 December 1998.
- http://singularityand.co/
- 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.
- http://www.austinbooks.com
- "Bakka-Phoenix Books". www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com.
- "HugeDomains.com - ColdDrake.com is for sale (Cold Drake)". www.hugedomains.com.
- "Log In or Sign Up to View". www.facebook.com.
- "WHITE DWARF BOOKS". www.deadwrite.com.
- "Galaxy Bookshop - Australia's most experienced Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror specialist bookshop". www.galaxybooks.com.au.
- "White Dwarf Books". www.whitedwarfbooks.com.
- "Minotaur Entertainment Online". www.minotaur.com.au.
- "Home - Otherland Berlin". www.otherland-berlin.de.
- "transreal.co.uk". www.transreal.co.uk.
- "Science Fiction Bokhandeln". www.sfbok.se.
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)