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 Andromeda Books in Birmingham, England, established in 1971,[2] and 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.[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.

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, OR (closed)
  • The Book Station. Eugene, OR (closed)

Midwest
  • Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore,[17] Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • DreamHaven Books,[18] Minneapolis, Minnesota (est. 1977[19]
  • 20th Century Books,[20] Madison, Wisconsin
  • The Stars Our Destination, Chicago (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, NY
  • GenreInk,[25] Keene, NH
  • Pandemonium Books and Games,[26] Cambridge, MA (founded 1989)
  • Seek Books,[27] West Roxbury (Boston), MA (2009-2014)
  • 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
  • Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy, Austin, TX
  • Austin Books & Comics,[35] Austin, TX

Canada
  • Bakka-Phoenix,[36] Toronto, Ontario (established 1972)
  • Cold Drake Books,[37] Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Bookmarc Books,[38] Victoria, British Columbia (open by appointment)
  • White Dwarf Books,[39] Vancouver, British Columbia

Australia
  • Galaxy Bookshop,[40] Sydney, Australia
  • White Dwarf Books,[41] Perth, Australia
  • Minotaur,[42] Melbourne, Australia

England
  • Andromeda Books, Birmingham, England (1971-2002) [43]
  • Another World SFF, Birmingham, England
  • Forbidden Planet, London

Germany
  • OtherLand Buchhandlung für Science Fiction und Fantasy,[44] Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Scotland
  • Transreal Fiction,[45] Edinburgh, Scotland (est. 1997)

Sweden
  • Science Fiction Bokhandeln,[46] Stockholm, Sweden; Göteborg; Malmö

Notes
  1. Bullock, Ken (August 10, 2010). "The Other Change of Hobbit is Living in South Berkeley". The Berkeley Daily Planet.
  2. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Andromeda+bookshop+closes+after+30+years.-a082593678
  3. 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. http://www.austinbooks.com
  36. "Bakka-Phoenix Books". www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com.
  37. "HugeDomains.com - ColdDrake.com is for sale (Cold Drake)". www.hugedomains.com. Cite uses generic title (help)
  38. "Log In or Sign Up to View". www.facebook.com.
  39. "WHITE DWARF BOOKS". www.deadwrite.com.
  40. "Galaxy Bookshop - Australia's most experienced Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror specialist bookshop". www.galaxybooks.com.au.
  41. "White Dwarf Books". www.whitedwarfbooks.com.
  42. "Minotaur Entertainment Online". www.minotaur.com.au.
  43. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Andromeda+bookshop+closes+after+30+years.-a082593678
  44. "Home - Otherland Berlin". www.otherland-berlin.de.
  45. "transreal.co.uk". www.transreal.co.uk.
  46. "Science Fiction Bokhandeln". www.sfbok.se.
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