My Bookstore Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop

In this enthusiastic, heartfelt, and sometimes humorous ode to bookshops and booksellers, 50 known authors pay tribute to the brick-and-mortar stores they love and often call their second homes. Authors and bookstores are inextricably tied to one another. The relationship between an author's local store and that store's owners and staff can last for years, if not decades, and grow phenomenally close. Sometimes it's the author's local store that has supported him during the first uncertain days of his career. It's the place an author relies upon for word of new releases or a keen recommendation of an obscure work or an up-and-coming writer. The bookstore is a place of community for an author who spends her time pursuing what is generally a solitary existence. My Bookstore collects the stories, praise, and words of thanks, for stores across the U.S. and around the world, in 50 short essays written by our most beloved authors. Some of the pieces are sentimental, some are hilarious, all are unforgettable and inspiring. Sidebars tell of the history of the store, it's idiosyncrasies, and little-known secrets and legends. Fifty black-and-white line drawings illustrate each shop's front door or distinguishing features.

Ronald Rice has worked in book publishing as a sales and marketing professional for twenty-five years, working with and promoting bookstores. He was a four-time nominee for Publishers Weekly Sales Representative of the Year and has served multiyear terms on both the NEIBA and SEBA advisory councils. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Richard Russo is the author of ten books. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls. He lives in Camden ME and Boston, MA.

Emily St. John Mandel is the author of four books including Station Eleven, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Leif Parsons is an award-winning illustrator who's work has been published in the New York Times and Harper's. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.