Southern Bookstores Byway
Bookstores tell their own stories—especially the independents that pepper the Southern landscape and become special, almost revered safe havens for lovers of the written word.
Can you imagine a world without them? In a time when some of the greatest literary works are under attack, being pulled from library shelves or banned from reading lists, bookstores remain dedicated to freedom of expression as champions of First Amendment rights.
Supporting your local bookstore is one way to ensure present and future generations have access to the minds and words of talented writers and thinkers—and Porchlight encourages our subscribers to visit your favorite bookseller and others across the South.
As you can see from the maps linked below, everyone in the South is in close proximity to an independent bookseller, and new locations are waiting to be explored just a short drive away.
For the adventurous book lover, Porchlight has put together the Southern Bookstores Byway. You can start at any pinned location, click the next closest, and find driving directions.
We began the virtual tour at Nashville’s Parnassus Books and headed west with stops at The Book Rest in Savannah and Burke’s Book Store in Memphis before crossing the Tennessee state line into Mississippi to visit Square Books in Oxford where the team offers so many regular author events for the reading public.
A jaunt to the east will take you to Ernest & Hadley Booksellers in Tuscaloosa as you zigzag across the map to Alabama then back southwest to Jackson’s Lemuria, one of the premier bookstores in our part of the country.
The Gulf of Mexico will be calling now. On the way to sandy shores, Mobile offers The Haunted Book Shop, and a few miles south, Fairhope is home to Page & Palette.
Due west, cross the Florida panhandle to Tallahassee’s Midtown Reader & Piebrary for book treats and sweets, then swerve northeastward to historic Savannah, Georgia to stop at E Shaver Booksellers.
Not far up the eastern seaboard, you’ll arrives at The Itinerant Literate in Charleston, South Carolina. A turn inland takes you to iconic Hub City Bookshop & Press in Spartanburg.
Time to leave the lowlands and cross the southern Appalachian range to Addison Books in Knoxville and The Book & Cover in nearby Chattanooga. From there, stop in Columbia at the historic town square to peruse the selections at Duck River Books and then to Franklin—just a hop from another historic roundabout—where you’ll finish your Southern Bookstores Byway journey at Landmark Booksellers.
Whether in your imagination or actually behind the wheel, you’ve just crossed five states and visited sixteen booksellers—and convenient tangents would have taken you near twenty-one other locations offering books, readings, and friendly welcomes.
Porchlight thanks you for taking this journey and for supporting your independent booksellers. If you take to the road and complete part or all of the Southern Bookstores Byway, drop us a line and share the details at randy@readporchlight.com. We’d love to hear from you.
