Science fiction, fantasy and horror bookstores

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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 Andromeda Books in Birmingham, England, established in 1971,[2] and 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.[3] 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[4][5]
  • The Other Change of Hobbit, established 1974 in Berkeley,[1] later in El Cerrito (now mail-order only)
  • Cobblestone Books,[6] Sacramento, CA (by appointment only)
  • Dark Delicacies,[7] Burbank, CA
  • Dark Carnival,[8] Berkeley, California[3]
  • The Future Fantasy Bookstore, Palo Alto, a pioneer in online sales (now closed).[9]
  • Mysterious Galaxy,[10] San Diego, CA (established 1993) and a second Redondo Beach location (opened in 2011[11][12])
  • Mystery and Imagination,[13] Glendale (Los Angeles-area), CA (now closed)
  • Barry Levin Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature,[14] Santa Monica, California
  • Borderlands Books, San Francisco, California, established 1998 (one of the most recently established SF bookstores in the country);[3] considering closing as of 2015[15]

West[]

  • Future Dreams Books,[16] Portland, Oregon
  • Escape While There's Still Time Books. Eugene, Oregon (closed)
  • The Book Station. Eugene, Oregon (closed)

Midwest[]

  • Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore,[17] Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • DreamHaven Books,[18] Minneapolis, Minnesota (established 1977)[19]
  • 20th Century Books,[20] Madison, Wisconsin
  • The Stars Our Destination, Chicago (now closed);[3] eventually moved online as DreamHaven Books and Comics[21]
  • Griffon Bookstore,[22] South Bend, Indiana
  • Robots and Rogues,[23] Lafayette, Indiana

Northeast[]

  • Flights of Fantasy,[24] Albany, New York. Currently online only.
  • GenreInk,[25] Keene, New Hampshire
  • Pandemonium Books and Games,[26] Cambridge, MA (established 1989)
  • Seek Books,[27] West Roxbury (Boston), MA (opened 2009, closed in 2014)
  • Eyes of the Owl,[28] Wolfeboro, NH (established 1978; 1999 first online;[29][30] 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,[31] New York City (opened 1992, closed in 1998) [3]
  • Singularity and Co.,[32] Brooklyn, New York (established 2012 as a Kickstarter-funded SF bookstore[33][34]
  • The Science Fiction Shop, New York City, founded by Baird Searles in the 1970s (four locations thru 1990s, closed)

South / Southwest[]

  • Sandman Books,[35] Punta Gorda, Florida (established 2006)
  • Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy,[36] Austin, Texas
  • Austin Books & Comics,[37] Austin, Texas

Canada[]

  • Bakka-Phoenix,[38] Toronto, Ontario (established 1972)
  • Cold Drake Books,[39] Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Bookmarc Books,[40] Victoria, British Columbia (open by appointment)
  • White Dwarf Books,[41] Vancouver, British Columbia

Australia[]

  • Galaxy Bookshop,[42] Sydney, Australia
  • White Dwarf Books,[43] Perth, Australia
  • Minotaur,[44] Melbourne, Australia

England[]

  • Andromeda Books, Birmingham, England (1971-2002) [45]
  • Another World SFF, Birmingham, England
  • Forbidden Planet, London

Germany[]

  • OtherLand Buchhandlung für Science Fiction und Fantasy,[46] Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Scotland[]

  • Transreal Fiction,[47] Edinburgh, Scotland (est. 1997)

Sweden[]

  • Science Fiction Bokhandeln,[48] Stockholm, Sweden; Göteborg; Malmö

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b Bullock, Ken (August 10, 2010). "The Other Change of Hobbit is Living in South Berkeley". The Berkeley Daily Planet.
  2. ^ "Andromeda bookshop closes after 30 years. - Free Online Library".
  3. ^ a b c d e Lisa Pickoff-White, "Borderlands Helps Make the Bay Area a Sci-Fi Bookstore Haven", SF Weekly, April 2, 2008.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Sherry Gottlieb, "Escape Velocity: A History of A Change of Hobbit Bookstore".
  6. ^ "Welcome to Cobblestone Books Online!". www.cobblestonebooks.com.
  7. ^ "Dark Delicacies". Dark Delicacies.
  8. ^ "Dark Carnival Bookstore". darkcarnival.com.
  9. ^ http://public.wsu.edu/~jsv/Mgt580/Cases/Eleccomm/commerce.html
  10. ^ http://www.mystgalaxy.com/
  11. ^ Charlie Jane Anders, "One of the country's best science fiction bookstores expands to a second location", io9.com, Feb. 25, 2011.
  12. ^ Elizabeth Knapp, "Mysterious Galaxy to Open Second Location", American Booksellers Association.
  13. ^ http://www.mysteryandimagination.com/
  14. ^ "Rare Science Fictions - SEO A.I. & The Science Of Google's RankBrain Search Algorithem". www.raresf.com.
  15. ^ "Borderlands Books : Used&New Science Fiction, Fantasy&Horror". borderlands-books.com.
  16. ^ http://www.futuredreamstore.com
  17. ^ "Uncle Hugo's & Uncle Edgar's Bookstores - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Mystery Books". www.unclehugo.com.
  18. ^ "Home". DreamHaven.
  19. ^ Our Store History, last visited Dec. 29, 2015.
  20. ^ "20th Century Books - Small Press Comics, Comix, Manga, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Mystery - New and Used". www.southparkbooks.com.
  21. ^ "Home". DreamHaven.
  22. ^ "Griffon Bookstore - Board Games - Used Board Games - Dice Games - Gaming - Books - Griffon Bookstore". www.griffon-bookstore.com.
  23. ^ http://www.robotsandroguesbooks.com
  24. ^ http://www.fof.net/
  25. ^ "GenreInk - We sold books. Not sure what's next!".
  26. ^ "Pandemonium Books and Games". www.pandemoniumbooks.com.
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ "Eyes of the Owl - www.UsedBooks.TK * * Great Books from New Hampshire promptly delivered to your home, school, library, or business. * *". www.usedbqqks.com.
  29. ^ "Eyes of the Owl - Used Books". 2 October 1999. Archived from the original on 2 October 1999.
  30. ^ WayBack Machine, untitled page archive from Oct. 2, 1999, Jan. 13, 2015.
  31. ^ "SCIENCE FICTION, MYSTERIES & MORE BOOKSTORE". 2 December 1998. Archived from the original on 2 December 1998.
  32. ^ http://singularityand.co/
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ Gili Malinsky, "Preserving the Future from the Past", New York Times, Nov. 3, 2013.
  35. ^ "Sandman Books | Southwest Florida's Largest Independent Bookshop | Punta Gorda | Florida". www.sandmanbooks.com. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  36. ^ "Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy®". Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy®. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  37. ^ http://www.austinbooks.com
  38. ^ "Bakka-Phoenix Books". www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com.
  39. ^ "HugeDomains.com - ColdDrake.com is for sale (Cold Drake)". www.hugedomains.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  40. ^ "Log In or Sign Up to View". www.facebook.com.
  41. ^ "WHITE DWARF BOOKS". www.deadwrite.com.
  42. ^ "Galaxy Bookshop - Australia's most experienced Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror specialist bookshop". www.galaxybooks.com.au.
  43. ^ "White Dwarf Books". www.whitedwarfbooks.com.
  44. ^ "Minotaur Entertainment Online". www.minotaur.com.au.
  45. ^ "Andromeda bookshop closes after 30 years. - Free Online Library".
  46. ^ "Home - Otherland Berlin". www.otherland-berlin.de.
  47. ^ "transreal.co.uk". www.transreal.co.uk.
  48. ^ "Science Fiction Bokhandeln". www.sfbok.se.

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