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IndieBound Blog

The King's English Bookshop

The King’s English Bookshop has been serving Salt Lake City, Utah, since 1977. With 47 years of bookselling behind it, I met with co-owner Anne Holman to learn more about the store’s history, its growth, and what’s in store for the future.

Em and Em's Books in Buffalo, New York

Em and Em’s Books is an online and pop-up independent bookstore based in Buffalo, New York. As a queer and partially native-owned business, focuses on work by LGBTQIA2S+, BIPOC, and women authors and donates a portion of the profits each month to a different charity or nonprofit. 

I met with co-owners Emma Hayes and Emily Graham to learn more about the store’s origin, operation, and future goals.

The Death By TBR Books logo. A cat, half skeleton, sits atop a pile of books.

When Stephanie Csaszar opened a physical bookstore in 2018, she had next to no online presence. But as the pandemic progressed and her own health deteriorated, Csaszar made the shift to a fully online store. Today, Death By TBR Books specializes in genre fiction and operates out of Csaszar’s home in Washington. I sat down with Csaszar to learn how she came to bookselling, how Death By TBR has evolved, and where it’s going in the future.

An exterior photo of Spiral Circle. A white house with light green trim.

Spiral Circle, a metaphysical bookstore in Orlando, Florida, will celebrate its 50th year of operation in 2025. Founded in 1975, the shop has long been a little haven near downtown Orlando. I met with owner Julie Wilder, as well as Christina Ray, intuitive reader and book buyer, to learn more about Spiral Circles’ past and future, as well as the unique challenges of running a metaphysical bookstore. 

Plot Twist Books before and after it was bought and remodeled by Matt Browning.

In 2023, Plot Twist Books in South Charleston, West Virginia, announced the addition of an Airbnb to their bookstore. The fully furnished room adjoining the bookstore, boasted a private entrance and 24/7 access to the shop. Immediately enamored with the idea of spending the night in a bookstore, I made a mental note (and several physical ones) to check in with Plot Twist in the future to see how the Airbnb was working out. So, a year after the announcement, I met with Plot Twist co-owner, Matt Browning, to learn more about him, the bookstore, and the Airbnb.

The logo Cupboard Maker Books and an exterior photo of the building, which has been painted with the spines of popular books.

Cupboard Maker Books is a new and used bookstore in Enola, Pennsylvania, that has been in operation for 26 years! Every year, Cupboard Maker Books celebrates Bookstore Romance Day, so owner Michelle Haring tells us more about the store and Cupboard Maker Books' plan for this Bookstore Romance Day.