{"id":115115,"date":"2026-02-16T10:27:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115115\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T10:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:27:11","slug":"a-guide-to-the-unique-offerings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115115\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to the unique offerings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bookThe Free Library\u2019s Book Bike is a modified cargo trike. The compartment can hold roughly 100 books. (Courtesy of Gabe Donahue)<\/p>\n

For Christina Rosso-Schneider, co-owner of A Novel Idea<\/a>\u00a0 in East Passyunk, Philadelphia\u2019s independent bookseller landscape\u00a0 is rooted in community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we rival bigger cities like New York in terms of our literary community and the bookstore scene,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very Philly, we all kind of have our own little niche.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Philly\u2019s indie bookstore ecosystem is vast \u2013 with over 40 small businesses within the city limits and even more bookstore chains, there are options for everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rosso-Scheinder says she and her husband decided to add to Philly\u2019s independent book scene in 2018. Her idea started as an observation: East Passyunk didn\u2019t have a bookstore at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne night we were walking around and looked into an empty storefront and I said something like, \u2018Oh, this would be a great spot for a bookstore,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd my husband was like, \u2018What if we opened a bookstore?\u2019 And we laughed about it, but then we kept coming back to this idea of opening a bookstore over the next couple of days.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" The A Novel Idea team has decorated a selection of books with fun designs and clues for their \u201cBlind Date with a Book.\u201d (Courtesy of A Novel Idea)<\/p>\n

As an author herself, Rosso-Scheinder said there was a time in her career when didn\u2019t see work from local writers represented in Philly bookstores. A Novel Idea aims to change that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we have a dedicated section when you first walk into the store that features local authors and local presses, ranging from self-published to very large presses,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have such incredible artists in Philadelphia, and it\u2019s atypical for bookstores to have this much space dedicated to self-published or small-press authors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrying that community vibe forward, Rosso-Schneider said, she and her husband will host any unique activity or event they are able to at the store.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve hosted everything in the last seven years,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have two monthly book clubs. We do a ton of book signings and book launches and author talks. We\u2019ve had three weddings, we\u2019ve had murder mystery parties, we had an original play, we have writing workshops, and then we have witchcraft workshops.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Niche offerings<\/p>\n

Other\u00a0bookstores in Philly focus on specific genres or topics. Tina and Anthony Long own Thrillerdelphia<\/a> and Cupid\u2019s Bookshop<\/a> in Manayunk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shops home in on their respective\u00a0 genres \u2014 horror and romance \u2014 with themed events, curated selections and fitting decor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tina said curating Cupid\u2019s Bookshop\u2019s selections and decor was a welcome challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted it to look like a Valentine\u2019s Day Candy Box,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bookshop <\/a>now hosts events ranging from candlemaking classes to \u201cHeated Rivarly\u201d painting classes \u2014 in a nod to the popular show about hockey opponents who fall in love, based on a book series by Canadian author Rachel Reid. Of course, the store also carries a colorful selection of romance novels and series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thrillerdelphia has its own unique layout and fanbase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cManayunk does have a pretty lively Halloween community,\u201d Anthony said. \u201cAnd we also have a Haunted House on Main Street called Lincoln Mills that\u2019s open a few different times throughout the year as well. So we felt like there was a good little spooky community here to cultivate as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gralin Hughes Jr. who co-owns Multiverse in Chestnut Hill, said community cultivation has helped grow his store, too. He said the fantasy-focused bookshop thrives from its regulars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people who come in weekly and occasionally daily,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have families who are expecting now and getting to watch their kids grow up around these books and these stories with their parents has been really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiverse specializes in comics, sci-fi, fantasy and manga. Co-owner Sara Zia Ebrahimi Hughes said the store is meant to be accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision was to create a space where all levels of fandom could be celebrated, so that people who were interested in sci-fi or fantasy or manga or comics could feel welcomed,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that you don\u2019t have to be an expert or know all the characters or all the things to be able to engage, but also as a way to kind of bridge their interests to more independent things they may also be interested in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The store also offers events and partnerships \u2013 including Dungeons & Dragons events, and Valentine\u2019s Day \u2018date nights,\u2019 she explained.<\/p>\n

She said the store is meant to be a space that brings joy and calm to all readers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, graphic novels and comics are dismissed as not \u2018real\u2019 reading,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are big advocates of the idea that reading is reading, no matter what form it is, whether it\u2019s visually driven or text only, or even in audiobooks. Having a space that celebrates all forms of reading is really important to us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Hand and The Head offers a unique combination: it is a small bookstore, an independent publisher, and a non-profit.(Courtesy of The Head and The Hand)<\/p>\n

Linda Gallant, project director at Head and the Hand in Fishtown, says her store offers a space for local artists to showcase their talents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely most proud of our local lit shelf,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the first section that\u2019s positioned as you enter the space where we have authors based in Philly, we have books set in Philadelphia and the greater Philadelphia region, and we have publishers from Philly or who have a meaningful connection to the greater Philadelphia.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other bookstores, like Julia de Burgos Bookstore in Kensington, curate a bilingual book selection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing resource, because we have books for all ages of every genre in English and Spanish,\u201d said Lisa Moser, the bookstore manager. \u201cAnd so our best seller is by far the children\u2019s books.\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers enjoy passing along Latinx culture to their children, she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Julia de Burgos bookstore at Taller Puertorrique\u00f1o has been in North Philly for decades, but changed its name in 2022 to reflect its collection of Latin American literature Credit: Courtesy Julia de Burgos Bookstore<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone is second- or third-generation, they want to pass down both the culture and the language to their child,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The store also sells merchandise from local Latinx artists. Moser said purchasing products from the store is a \u201cwin-win,\u201d as proceeds go directly to Taller Puertorrique\u00f1o, a nonprofit Puerto Rican cultural center in North Philly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of different programs,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a free after-school program and a youth artist program. We do a summer camp. We do various community events throughout the year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moser said the Philly bookstore scene is unique in the support individual stores show to each other and local authors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018A hard time to own a bookstore\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jon Bekken opened the West Philly bookstore, Bindlestiff Books, in 2005. He said he has seen shifts in the city\u2019s bookstore ecosystem over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the city, there have been some new bookstores that have come in,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, we\u2019ve had a couple of long-established bookstores that have gone under in the time we\u2019ve been open.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bekken said there needs to be more focus on things like the Philly Bookstore Map,<\/a> which involved collaboration with bookstores all over the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tina Long of Thrillerdelphia and Cupid\u2019s Bookshop emphasized that creativity has been a \u201clifesaver\u201d for her as a bookstore owner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s a really tough environment right now to help an all-general bookstore, because there are just so many titles that come out every week, and [it would just be hard to] store all of it,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so, again, it\u2019s tough. The margins are tight, so you have to find other ways to make it work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The 2025 Philly Bookstore Crawl passport, which tracks which bookstores people have visited during the event.(Photo courtesy of Philly Book Crawl)<\/p>\n

Tina\u2019s husband and co-owner Anthony Long said owning a bookstore also comes with a lot of underlying work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a bookstore owner today is to wear a lot of hats,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd those are web and graphic designer and social media manager and to do all of the back end, and invoicing and financials,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then everything still branches off the social media component. You have to engage with your community, but you also have to engage with authors, and you have to engage with the publishers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gallant of Head and the Hand said her ability to successfully run her store relies heavily on the support of the community \u2013 both from other bookstores and customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels like it\u2019s an uphill battle,\u201d she said. \u201cSo anybody that\u2019s making that effort and really trying to be thoughtful about their curation and the programming that they\u2019re offering to their supporters and their community members is just like, \u2018Yes, please, keep going.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Dr. Pickles hangs out in the window at the Book Trader in Philadelphia\u2019s Old City neighborhood. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Collaboration and community\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rosso-Schneider said that, since opening up A Novel Idea over seven years ago, she has seen a lot of support from the surrounding community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people thought we were crazy to be opening, and since we opened, we saw other bookstores like Head and the Hand and Harriet\u2019s open up,\u201d she said. \u201cNow we have multiple romance bookshops, and we\u2019ve seen this kind of renaissance happening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the biggest thing I love about the Philadelphia bookstore community is proving that bookstores and reading aren\u2019t dead, and that people are really interested in it and are seeking community connection.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tina Long agrees, saying Philly\u2019s dedicated book community makes it possible to sustain these shops.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPhilly loves Philly,\u201d she said. \u201cWe support local businesses. So, I think it\u2019s just been great. The outpouring of support we\u2019ve had for books gives us more of a budget to buy more books, and expand to our second store.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sara Zia Ebrahimi Hughes of Multiverse said the network of community bookstores also helps her store stay community-oriented.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are one of four bookstores in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do collaborate with the other ones on different types of events, but we each have our own unique, narrow lane and I think that theme of \u2018niche\u2019 or themed bookstores seems to be on the rise, both in Philly and nationally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the last three years, she and her husband have created a space where community members like to collaborate and come together, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come in specifically to talk to [my husband] on a particular day, and it\u2019s part of their weekly ritual or experience,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd similarly, I\u2019m more on the book side of the weekly book recommendations that we put up, that people like to see.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And as Gallant describes, competition isn\u2019t the norm among Philly bookshops.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like, in Philly, there\u2019s a sense of us \u2014 \u2018We can do this,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no sort of competition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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