IndieBound Blog

At fourteen years old, Halley Vincent is the youngest bookstore owner in America. That’s not an honorary title. Vincent is the founder of Seven Stories in Shawnee, Kansas. She manages the shop, curates the collection, forges community partnerships, and so much more. 

Source Booksellers in Detroit, Michigan, has been going strong for 34 years. The owner, Janet Webster Jones, is the winner of 2023’s Voice of the Heartland Award. She started bookselling while she was working in the Detroit public school system, and continued bookselling full-time when she retired. 

I sat down with Janet Webster Jones and her daughter, Alyson Jones Turner, to talk about the evolution of Source Booksellers and to get Jones’ perspective on the industry as one of our oldest and most experienced booksellers. 

The Islander Bookshop in Kodiak, Alaska, recently expanded from their initial 800 sq ft location into a 3,000 sq ft space in the brand new Kodiak Marketplace. I spoke to The Islander Bookshop’s founder and co-owner, Melissa Haffeman, to hear about the recent expansion and what it's like to own an independent bookstore on an Alaskan island.

“Words Unite Bookstore was created with the everyday booklovers and indie-authors in mind,” said owner Ashley Marie Booker-Knight.

Lion’s Tooth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, isn’t just a bookstore — it’s a vital part of Milwaukee’s thriving art scene. 

More Than Words, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit bookstore, is dedicated to helping young adults take charge of their lives.