Over 600 New Indie Bookstores Opened Last Year, Up 87%

More than 600 new independent bookshops opened across the U.S. last year, an 87% year-over-year increase, according to the American Booksellers Association. A growing share of them bet on one genre — romance, horror, sci-fi, theater or zines — rather than competing head-on with Amazon and big-box chains.

"Bookstores offer an alternative to online algorithms, multi-billion dollar investment companies, and cookie cutter neighborhoods," the association wrote in its latest annual report. "They offer authentic shopping experiences that align with customer values with an emphasis on community."

The specialization thesis has industry backers.

"A small store can't win on selection or price anymore," Joel Goldstein, president of Mr. Checkout Distributors, said in emailed comments. "A general independent bookstore competes with Amazon on every title. A romance or horror shop competes on one shelf and can go deeper on it than anyone else. Specializing is how a small store turns its size into an advantage."

Why is Chicago the genre bookstore capital?

Chicago exemplifies the trend, according to Placer.ai, which ranks it as a top market for readers. Bookstore visits in the city rose more than 11% year over year, and in August Chicago hosted its biggest Independent Bookstore Day on record, with over 80 locations participating.

Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai, said consumers are driving the resurgence. "Bookstores have seen a renewed consumer interest as people look to increase their participation in hobbies and other social activities," she said in emailed comments. "In person and digital book clubs are on the rise, and shoppers are looking to connect with those around them more meaningfully."

What do genre stores offer that big-box retailers can't?

The answer starts with the in-store experience. Americans increasingly seek "third spaces" outside home and work — coffee shops, bars and retail stores — according to a new report from AlixPartners.

The consultancy found that retail technology has effectively trained consumers "as a para-store associate" through buy-online-pickup-in-store, in-store request screens, inventory search engines, scan-and-go and self-checkout. Yet shoppers now prioritize basics: stock availability, clean and navigable stores, and staff who can help. They are increasingly tuning out tech such as virtual try-on, per AlixPartners.

That plays to the strengths of small, owner-curated genre shops, experts said.

"Genre-focused bookstores allow us to walk into a bookstore and we know we are going to feel at home and comforted," said Morgann Book, co-founder of Bookish Media, who hosts the "Off The Shelf" podcast and writes the Well Read newsletter.

"I've been to so many romance bookstores, and everyone who works there reads romance. They love romance," Book said. "They can help you find something if you say 'I want this trope set in this time with this amount of pages.'"

Goldstein framed the advantage starkly: "An algorithm tells you what sold, and a shop owner who lives in the genre tells you what's good."

How big a role does BookTok play?

Genre demand first organized itself online, and stores followed it, according to Goldstein. "The demand got organized online first, and the stores followed it," he said.

BookTok — the TikTok corner where creators review books, discuss trends and record reading reactions — is a central engine.

"BookTok is a huge driver in what people are reading," Book said. "BookTok has curated people's reading recommendations, and what they're picking up and what they don't pick up."

TikTok, Instagram and Discord have made genres more prominent, experts said. That visibility has also eroded old hierarchies.

"Let's face it. Traditionally, specific genre-lovers were kind of looked down on. Horror, romance or fantasy were seen as 'not serious' literature," said Marty Bauer, e-commerce and retail expert at Omnisend. "People are now pushing back on this snobbery and enjoying themselves guilt-free."

Subcultures become part of personal identity, and genre stores embrace those identities, Bauer said. "It's as much a space to socialize as it is to buy books."

Romance bookstores in particular draw group visits, Book said: "You're creating an experience that women can go with their friends and make it an outing. Go to a romance bookstore, and sometimes there's a fun mirror and they can take photos. That is what sometimes Gen Z women want to do. They want to have an experience."

What does a Chicago genre book crawl look like?

Chicago's neighborhoods and passionate reader base make it a proving ground for the model. Six stops show how a literary niche becomes a retail destination.

• The Understudy (Andersonville): Over 3,500 plays, technique books, fiction and titles on creativity, wellness and justice, plus a cafe serving coffee, five tea varieties and seasonal drinks. The store hosts concerts, play readings, meetups and drag performances, and sells owl-logo merch.
• Quimby's (Wicker Park): An independently owned shop stocked with small-press zines — an artform dating to the 1930s that spread in the 1970s after the copy machine — plus books, literary magazines, chapbooks and comics. "We favor the unusual, the aberrant, the saucy and the lowbrow," the company says. It runs events, exhibits and a print-and-design service, Quimby's Ink.
• Goblin Market (Lakeview): A two-level store carrying manga, graphic novels, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and an extensive LGBTQ+ selection, plus board games and collectible card games. "We're not just a store; we are a community-driven space that celebrates the magic of storytelling and diversity," the company says. Downstairs seating supports game play, and a mutual aid shelf offers whistles, hand warmers, pregnancy tests, COVID tests, sanitary products and dog food — take what you need, leave new sealed items.
• Partners in Crime (near Irving Park): Opened this year for romance and mystery readers, with a fake cozy fireplace, a colorful mural, a kids section and granular categories including dark, sports and paranormal romance, vintage mystery, true crime and mystery thrillers. Themed magnets, candles, stickers and postcards round out the offer.
• Bucket O'Blood (Avondale): New and used horror, sci-fi and fantasy books, horror movies and vinyl focused on heavy metal, hardcore and punk, plus listening parties, screenings and author events. After 11 years, the store announced this summer it will not renew its lease, which expires at the end of November, and is exploring a new storefront.
• AlleyCat Comics (Andersonville): Tucked behind a narrow alleyway off North Clark Street, it stocks comics, manga, sale titles, games, Warhammer figurines, pins, Tarot cards and witchy products.

The crawl's variations — one theater shop, one zine shop, one romance-mystery hybrid — illustrate the model's flexibility. As Bucket O'Blood's lease exit shows, niche appeal does not guarantee tenure, but a storefront hunt is not a closed book.