Thirteen independent bookstores across greater Los Angeles will join forces July 24-26 for the inaugural Los Angeles Indie Book Crawl, a free weekend event inviting readers to explore the region's literary scene.
The crawl, held during regular store hours, stretches from Manhattan Beach to Montrose and from West Hollywood to Pasadena, with stops in Studio City, Santa Monica, Culver City and beyond. Organizers modeled the event on popular book crawls in San Diego and Seattle.
To participate, readers visit any of the stores between July 24 and 26 and make a first purchase of at least $10. That earns a Book Crawl Passport and a first stamp. Visitors then travel to the remaining stores, in any order, making a purchase of $10 or more at each stop. Prizes and exclusive merchandise are available at every location.
The more stores participants visit, the more prizes they collect. Those who get their passports stamped at all 13 stores will receive a goodie bag of bookish treats, including a grand prize of $25 gift cards at each store — a total value of $325.
Each store has listed nearby Los Angeles landmarks and neighborhood gems that visitors can add to their itineraries.
"Independent bookstores are having a resurgence," said Jennifer Caspar, founder and owner of Village Well Books & Coffee, a bookstore and cafe in downtown Culver City that opened in 2020. "They are the third places people need more than ever in this era of digital optimization which can be very alienating and lead to loneliness."
Organizers said supporting independent bookstores keeps money in the local economy and sustains vital community spaces that offer human-curated recommendations and serve as hubs for local authors, book clubs and civic engagement.
Participating stores are Annabelle's Book Club LA, The Book Jewel, Book Soup, Chevalier's Books, Children's Book World & CBW Teens & Adults, diesel, A Book Store, Malik Books, Once Upon A Time, pages: a bookstore, The Ripped Bodice, Skylight Books, Village Well Books & Coffee and Vroman's Bookstore.
Participants are encouraged to use public transit. Store hours, descriptions and weekend schedules are at https://www.laindiebookcrawl.com/about-5. More information is at https://www.laindiebookcrawl.com/ and on Instagram @laindiebookcrawl.
Edited by SMDP Staff