By Marissa Wells
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — From neighborhood gathering spaces and children’s reading rooms to curated collections celebrating Black literature, romance and local authors, Los Angeles’ independent bookstores each tell a different story about the communities they serve.
Thirteen of those bookstores have joined forces and are inviting the public to experience that diversity firsthand for the inaugural Los Angeles Indie Book Crawl, taking place July 24-26.
Inspired by the popular San Diego Book Crawl, the Los Angeles Indie Book Crawl was conceived by Jennifer Caspar, founder and owner of Village Well Books & Coffee in Culver City, who organized the event to bring together independent bookstores across the region and encourage readers to explore Los Angeles’ literary landscape.
“Independent bookstores are having a resurgence,” Caspar said. “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. People still like to browse, touch and see physical books, and hang out in stores that are places, where community and culture — and sometimes coffee — meet.”
The collaboration highlights the role of independent bookstores as community gathering spaces throughout Los Angeles, with each location celebrating the unique the neighborhoods and communities that surround them.
“We hope the L.A. Indie Book Crawl is able to serve the community and raise awareness of the independent bookstores,” said Malik Muhammad, founder and owner of Malik Books. “This collaboration is a step in the right direction in magnifying our love for our communities and letting them know we’re here for them.
“I like to think that Malik Books has made an impact and inspired thousands of people to read, to achieve, to love themselves and to love reading in an effort to become whatever it is, that they desire to be,” he added.
“Each bookstore has its own personality, and that’s what makes them special,” Caspar said. “If people love one of us, we know they’re going to find things to love in the others. This is a way to lift all of us up, introduce more people to our stores, and encourage readers to support independent bookstores.
“As much as people love coming to bookstores and spending time in them, they’re still not always profitable entities and require continued support,” he added.
Participating bookstores include: Village Well Books & Coffee (Culver City), Malik Books (Culver City), The Ripped Bodice (Culver City), Skylight Books (Hollywood/Los Feliz), Book Soup (West Hollywood), Annabelle’s Book Club LA (Studio City), The Book Jewel (Westchester), Chevalier’s Books (Larchmont Village), Children’s Book World & CBW Teens & Adults (West Los Angeles), diesel, A Book Store (Santa Monica), Once Upon A Time (Montrose), pages: a bookstore (Manhattan Beach), and Vroman’s Bookstore (Pasadena).
The free event will take place during regular business hours July 24-26. Visitors can begin at any participating bookstore with a purchase of at least $10 to receive a Book Crawl Passport and first stamp. Additional stamps can be collected by making qualifying purchases at other locations throughout the weekend.
Exclusive merchandise and prizes will be available at each store, and participants who collect stamps from all 13 locations will be entered to win a grand prize of $25 gift cards from each participating bookstore.
Because the crawl spans communities throughout Los Angeles County, organizers encourage participants to use public transportation when possible while exploring the city’s diverse literary scenes.
For more information and event details, visit laindiebookcrawl.com.
