The Best Independent Bookstores in America

A series of illustrations created for Best Independent Bookstores in America, a visual feature published by Condé Nast Traveler Digital on National Independent Bookstore Day, April 25, 2026. The project spans 20 independent bookstores across the United States — from a 200-year-old stone barn in Pennsylvania to the only bookstore on the island of St. Croix.

Nā Mea Hawai'i

Honolulu, Hawaii

Deep Vellum Books

Dallas, Texas

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Chatham, MA (Cape Cod)

Duck's Cottage

Outer Banks, NC

Undercover Books & Gifts

St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Antigone Books

Tucson, Arizona

Back of Beyond Books

Moab, Utah

Taylor Books

Charleston, West Virginia

Yu & Me Books

New York City (Chinatown), NY

Square Books

Oxford, Mississippi

John K. King Used & Rare Books

Detroit, Michigan

Titlewave Books

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Birchbark Books & Native Arts

Anchorage, Alaska

West Chester, Pennsylvania

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery

Seattle, Washington

Sankofa Video Books & Café

Washington, D.C.

Baldwin's Book Barn

The Last Bookstore

Los Angeles, California

Parnassus Books

Nashville, Tennessee

Noe Valley Bookstore

San Francisco, California

Myopic Books

Chicago, Illinois