Photograph by Martha Williams
Georgia’s literary history is rich with remarkable women writers like Anne Rivers Siddons, Pearl Cleage, Flannery O’Connor, Tayari Jones, and Alice Walker. It’s no surprise that legacy carries into the metro’s brick-and-mortar bookshops.
1. The 2011 closure of Borders, one of Atlanta’s largest sellers of Black literature, left readers wanting. Five years later, Monique S. Hall started
Book Boutique as a pop-up at the Essence Music Festival to help fill that space. Now with an Atlantic Station location, the boutique has kept its festival vibe and added apparel and a cafe. Come for your next great read, stay for Taco Tuesday, Seafood Friday, weekend brunch, or a twice-a-month spoken-word poetry series. Expect new locations in Alpharetta, Augusta, and Charlotte, North Carolina, this year.
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Subscriber only It s been one year since a Bundaberg business first opened its doors and the local shop owner is celebrating with an upcoming event. When Tunja Cottier decided to open a bookstore in the midst of a pandemic, people advised her to reconsider. But after 12 successful months of running the Bargara Book Boutique, the avid reader said she hasn t regretted the decision once. Everyone said I was crazy for opening a bookstore because everyone reads online now but I m a real book lover and there are a lot of us out there … it s so different to reading something on a tablet and then actually holding a book in your hand, Ms Cottier said.