In 2020, during the pandemic, independent bookstores were supposed to be dying. E-commerce was accelerating. Big box retailers were shrinking. The narrative was clear: physical retail was obsolete.
Then something unexpected happened.
Since 2020, the number of independent bookstores in America has grown by 70%—from 1,916 to 3,218 member stores in the American Booksellers Association. That's 1,302 new stores in four years. In 2024 alone, 323 new independent bookstores opened. As of October 2025, another 100 had already opened this year.
This isn't a blip. This is a structural shift in how readers discover and purchase books.
And if you're an author or publisher, this changes everything about how you should think about your launch strategy.
Before we dig into implications, let's ground this in numbers:
To put this in perspective: we're opening nearly one new independent bookstore per day in the United States.
The renaissance isn't just generalist bookstores. Specialty and niche stores are leading:
This matters beyond sentiment:
For a dying retail category, that's not dying behavior.
The pandemic accelerated something that was already brewing: readers want experience, curation, and community more than pure convenience.
Coffee shops, bookstores, and community gathering places became more valuable during lockdown. When they reopened, people showed up. Bookstores became:
Amazon optimizes for efficiency. Independent bookstores optimize for serendipity and connection.
Walk into a Walmart or Target book section and you'll see bestsellers and whatever's on the end-cap. Walk into an independent bookstore and you'll see:
Curation matters because readers trust it. When a bookseller hand-selects a book, it feels like a recommendation from someone who reads, not an algorithm result.
Social media, particularly TikTok, is driving physical bookstore traffic in ways nobody predicted:
This is new. For 15 years, the trend was "discover online, buy online." Now it's increasingly "see online, buy in person."
The most vivid example is romance publishing. Romance readers have always been passionate. But in the last 18 months, specialty romance bookstores have become a category:
Romance readers didn't need Amazon to find books. They needed community and expertise. Independent bookstores gave them that.
If you're publishing a book in 2025 or 2026, the independent bookstore renaissance changes your strategy in concrete ways:
Ten years ago, getting your hybrid-published book into independent bookstores was difficult. Stores prioritized traditionally published books. Hybrid and self-published books were seen as risky or low-quality.
That's changing.
Independent bookstores curate based on quality and fit, not publisher pedigree. If your book is good and fits their audience, they'll stock it.
What this means:
Ten years ago, author readings and bookstore events felt like relics. Now they're back and drawing crowds.
Why?
If you're with a publisher or doing your own book promotion, author events should be part of your launch strategy, not an afterthought.
With 3,218+ independent bookstores, you can now think regionally:
This is feasible for hybrid-published and self-published authors in ways it wasn't before.
If you've written romance, horror, LGBTQ+ fiction, or books for specific communities, specialty bookstores are actively seeking quality titles.
This is opportunity. Most authors don't realize it exists.
If this is new opportunity, how do you capitalize on it?
Independent bookstores order through Ingram (the major book distributor). If your book isn't available through Ingram, bookstores can't easily stock it.
Identify independent bookstores that fit your book:
Contact bookstores with:
Bookstore owners and managers are readers. They respond to genuine pitches about good books and author passion.
If you're with a publisher (traditional or hybrid), they should have relationships with independent bookstores. Leverage those relationships:
When you do bookstore events, make them valuable:
Good events drive sales (both immediate and ongoing), build community, and create social media content.
The 70% growth in independent bookstores is telling us something important: the publishing industry is not consolidating into pure digital.
Instead, we're seeing a bifurcation:
Both are thriving. Both serve different reader needs.
For authors, this means:
This is a huge shift from the "Amazon killed bookstores" narrative that dominated for 15 years.
If you're planning a book launch, factor the independent bookstore renaissance into your thinking:
The independent bookstore renaissance is real. It's opportunity. And most authors aren't taking advantage of it because they're still thinking in 2015 terms.
The Agency at Brown Books has long-standing relationships with independent bookstores across the country. One of our core competencies is helping authors get placed in the right bookstores, coordinate events, and build local and regional momentum. If bookstore placement is part of your launch strategy, that's exactly the kind of work we do.
