Embracing the indies: Independent Bookstore Day shows bookstores are making a comeback

SALT LAKE CITY — Weller Book Works has the distinction of being one of the oldest independent bookstores in Salt Lake City, but this Independent Bookstore Day, the shop will be sharing the stage with a number of new, up-and-coming stores across Utah.

And Catherine Weller, the shop's co-owner, couldn't be happier about it.

"There was a time when we were kind of watching bookstores go away, but in the past several years, the increase in bookstores nationwide, in our city and in our state has just been phenomenal," Weller told the Deseret News. "It's really great to see so many mostly younger people starting bookstores with new ideas and a lot of vibrancy that they're bringing to the industry."

Independent Bookstore Day, a nationwide celebration of what indie bookstores contribute to their communities, is happening Saturday. And this year in Utah, there will be over 20 bookstores participating.

Some of them, like Weller, have been a part of the fabric of Utah's bookstore community for decades, including Salt Lake City's The King's English Bookshop and Ken Sanders' Rare Books. But others, like Midway's Folklore Bookshop or Draper's Book Box, are relatively new to the scene.

Utah's bookstores are also diverse, some of them even catering to specific niches like romance readers, sci-fi and fantasy fans and more. And Independent Bookstore Day is one way to entice people into visiting new stores that they might not have thought about normally.

"They're going to show up at these bookstores (on Independent Bookstore Day), and they may not even know what they're walking into, which I think is really fun," said Anne Holman, co-owner of the King's English. "Walking into a new bookstore is really fun."

What is Independent Bookstore Day?

Independent Bookstore Day is not only growing in Utah — this year will be the largest event nationwide in its 13-year history, per the American Booksellers Association, which organizes the event each year.

Over 2,000 independent bookstores in all 50 states have signed up to participate this year, the ABA shared in a press release, celebrating "with exclusive merchandise, special programming, and one-of-a-kind in-store experiences that highlight what makes indie bookstores essential to their communities."

In some states, indie bookstore lovers can participate in a "bookstore crawl," visiting a certain number of stores in one day in exchange for prizes. Over 40 crawls are being hosted around the country this year, including one in Utah that spans stores from Moab to Logan.

Weller Book Works and the King's English will both be participating in Utah's bookstore crawl this year, but they have other fun activities planned as well — from a special story time for families at King's English to a storewide golden ticket hunt (with a prize of 12 free audiobooks) at Weller Book Works.

But the event is just as fun for booksellers as it is for the people who attend.

"Indie Bookstore Day is a special day in a bookseller's life," Weller said. "It's warming to our heart."

How indie bookstores are making a comeback

The growth of Independent Bookstore Day highlights the growth of independent bookstores in general.

It wasn't too long ago that, due to the convenience and sometimes lower prices of mega-sellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, many independent bookstores were struggling and even disappearing. In fact, the number of bookstores hit an all-time low in 2009. But, as business magazine Fast Company put it in a December headline, "Indie bookstores are making a shocking, triumphant comeback."

Around 422 independent bookstores opened in 2025 — a 31% rise from the year before, according to data from the American Booksellers Association, per The Guardian. And in the last five years, the number of indie bookstores has risen by 70%.

What's more, in a survey of 382 American Booksellers Association members, 73.3% said their sales were up in 2025 from the year before — and 15.4% of the remainder said they hadn't been open long enough to compare their sales.

What's behind the growth?

Weller sees it as part of a larger trend, not just among bookstores but in retail in general.

"People are beginning to really see the value of locally owned businesses," she said. "For all kinds of things — for what we contribute to the economy, which is very large, (and) for what we contribute to a community."

When it comes to the economic impact of local stores, "your dollar spent here, stays here," Weller said.

Independent stores often go to local suppliers, she said, and "that's really big because it adds to the tax base. It adds to the health and the jobs of other people in the community."

Holman has seen much of the push to shop locally come from younger generations, including Gen Z and millennials, she said.

"They've embraced the indies, not just for books, but for everything," Holman said. "They don't want to shop on Amazon. They want to support their local communities, and they want to be a part of it."

Finding community through indie bookstores

Although the COVID-19 pandemic at first posed a challenge to independent bookstores — and small stores in general — it ultimately helped provide some of the boost that bookstores are continuing to enjoy, according to Fast Company. Not only did online sales see an increase, but after the pandemic, many shoppers experiencing "digital fatigue" were ready to return to in-person experiences.

Holman saw that firsthand at the King's English, noting that after the pandemic, "everybody was really ready to come back out into the street and meet their neighbors and meet their local shopkeepers."

The King's English has continued to see an increase in young people, and young families in particular, coming into the store, Holman said. But they're not just there to buy books — they're looking for experiences.

"They walk in the door, and they want to talk about books, and they want to talk about who lives in our neighborhood, and they come from all over," she said. "They come to see authors, they come to story time. It's just, you know, all things that you can only get in indie stores."

Part of the in-person appeal is the booksellers themselves, who create a more curated experience than what a shopper might find in the sprawl of Amazon or other large book chains, according to Weller. And that creates an air of "authenticity" that's more difficult to find online.

"When people come into our store, one of the first things they see are our staff recommendations," Weller said. "And these are recommendations from real people. You can find them in our bookstores, not an algorithm that's generating something for you. And that sense of authenticity is very, very meaningful to people today, particularly young people."

Holman believes that bookstores have something unique to offer in this particular moment.

"With the way the economy and the government is right now, I think people are hungrier than ever for a sense of civic, communal kindness and, you know, an eagerness to be a part of something bigger than themselves," she said. "And bookstores have always been ... one of the places that really do that."

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