Last week, after hearing about a trio of local bookstores facing closure or sale, we looked at some of Toronto’s past purveyors of literature. As we wrote then, it feels as if Toronto is experiencing a cycle of closures similar to the late 1990s. Back then, blame initially fell upon big box stores like Chapters [...]

Ballenford Books. David Mirvish Books. Pages. This Ain’t The Rosedale Library. All established book stores that have closed within the past four years. With The Book Mark joining that list, Dragon Lady Comics shutting its physical store, and Glad Day Bookshop up for sale, it feels as if Toronto is experiencing a cycle of closures [...]

It’s a story we’ve heard too many times before, but that doesn’t make it any less troubling: after more than 30 years in business, Dragon Lady Comics will be closing its doors for the last time on February 1. According to manager Joe Kilmartin, a combination of factors led to the store’s demise, including a [...]

Photo by Erin Balser/Torontoist. The Children’s Book Bank is a dream of a book store. The stock is diverse and plentiful. Colourful mobiles hang from the ceiling, lounging is encouraged in the overstuffed chairs, an art corner beckons with markers and posterboard, and posters of classic literary characters adorn the walls. Children are running around, [...]

Photo by Erin Balser/Torontoist. Nestled near the corner of Broadview and Queen is Roxanne Reads: New & Used Books. The store may be small, but it’s full of life, just like owner Roxanne Deans herself. After spending some time working a downtown corporate job, the urge to get back into a creative industry proved to [...]

College Street’s Alexandrina block: the future home of “Of Swallows, Their Deeds, & the Winter Below” and the Toronto New School of Writing. Photo by Remi Carreiro/Torontoist. Coming out of a year that saw one long-standing institution buried and another putting out a last-ditch S.O.S., you’d be crazy to get into the independent bookselling business [...]