Photograph by Cavan Images / Getty Images
Calling all book lovers: there’s a book crawl taking place this week and it has your name all over it. It’s the Atlanta Indie Bookshop Crawl, and it runs November 21 through November 26 at 24 independent bookshops around the Atlanta area.
Drawing inspiration from similar crawls in other cities, Bunnie Hilliard, owner of Brave + Kind Bookshop in Decatur (which specializes in children’s books), and her events coordinator, Vania Stoyanova, are encouraging readers of all kinds to get out and support the local bookstores around the metro. To participate, sign up online, and you’ll be sent a passport. “[Shoppers] will then take that with them this next week, and sign off as they visit the bookstores,” explains Stoyanova. “As long as they collect the five stamps—and therefore visit five bookstores—they get a 25 percent discount during the month of December to shop a little more [and] find more goodies and exciting things at the bookshop.”
There’s a range of participating bookstores to suit every niche and interest, from Atlanta Vintage Books, which sells used and rare books, to the Little Shop of Stories which specializes in children’s books. You can even hit the road and visit Only With Love Books, a multicultural bookstore in Lawrenceville, or the Story Shop in Monroe.
Getting bookstores on board was not difficult, says Stoyanova. “I don’t know who’s more excited, the bookstores or the readers or who get to participate in all of this,” she says. “We’re just excited to be able to create this community, just between even the bookstores ourselves, and to hopefully continue to grow that in the coming years.”
The event concludes on November 26, a.k.a. Small Business Saturday. To celebrate, participants are invited to meet at the Decatur Library on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. for snacks, raffles, giveaways, and entertainment.
The hope, of course, is that book lovers will forge connections with new bookstores (or renew their love with old ones) that will stretch beyond this one week. “There’s just so much Atlanta has to offer,” Stoyanova says.
The participating bookstores:
44th & 3rd Bookseller, 451 Lee Street, West End
A Capella Books, 208 Haralson Avenue Northeast, Inman Park
Bookish Atlanta, 1188 Glenwood Avenue Southeast, East Atlanta Village
Bibliotech, 1390 McLendon Avenue Northeast, Candler Park
Tall Tales, 2105 Lavista Road Northeast, North Druid Hills
Virginia Highland Books, 1034 North Highland Avenue Northeast, Virginia-Highland
Brave + Kind Bookshop, 722 West College Avenue, Decatur
Charis Books & More, 184 South Candler Street, Decatur
Eagle Eye Book Shop, 2076 North Decatur Road, Decatur
The Listening Tree, 2308 Candler Road, Decatur
Little Shop of Stories, 133 East Court Square, Decatur
Atlanta Vintage Books, 3660 Clairmont Road, Chamblee
Johns Creek Books & Gifts, 6000 Medlock Bridge Parkway, Johns Creek
Read It Again Bookstore, 3630 Peachtree Parkway, Suwanee
Only With Love Books, 1565 Woodington Circle, Lawrenceville
Rejoice: Christian Books & Gifts Store, 629 Scenic Highway South, Lawrenceville
The Book Exchange, 2932 Canton Road, Marietta
The Book Worm Bookstore, 4451 Marietta Street, Powder Springs
All Things Inspiration Giftique, 1400 Veterans Memorial Highway Southeast, Mableton
The Crazy Book Lady, 5058 Cherokee Street, Acworth
Foxtale Book Shoppe, 105 East Main Street, Woodstock
The Story Shop, 124 North Broad Street, Monroe
Onyx Bookstore Cafe, 3301 Salem Road, Covington
Yes, Please: A Bookhouse and Carespace, 2984 Decatur Avenue, Scottdale
