seattle

Seattle Genre Bookstores Pop Up

Seattle’s list of independent bookstores grew in 2025, with the addition of two “pop-ups” devoted to genre fiction. Both Haunted Burrow Books on Capitol Hill and Lovestruck in Lake City opened this summer in temporary locations.

Haunted Burrow Books, 430 15th Ave E., specializes in  horror, dark fantasy, sci-fi, and occult books. The temporary store is located near the Punk Rock Flea Market’s ongoing Quality Flea Center (aka the QFC slated for demolition) and should be there through the end of the year. Owner Roxanne Guiney is a member of the Northwest Editor’s Guild and Horror Writers of America. Along with selling new books, the shop offers “Blind Dates” with books wrapped up and sold with a bag of tea. The outer wrapping gives some clues as to the “tropes” of the story, such as “dark academia” or “vampires.” These surprise packages are also available online at https://hauntedburrowbooks.com/.

Lovestruck in Seattle at 12315 Lake City Way NE is a romance book store, open through October with the support of Seattle Restored. The Seattle Restored program works to place local entrepreneurs, pop-ups, and art installations in empty storefronts. McKenna Rain, the artist behind Palm Creative, has mixed her love of romance with her own products to stock Lovestruck. Her retail efforts can be seen at https://palmcreativeshop.com/. Fans of the pink store can also follow it on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lovestruckinseattle/ to find out about special events and drawings.

Bainbridge Island Book Festival Launched

The owner of Eagle Harbor Bookstore, several Bainbridge Island authors, and enthusiastic readers have launched the Bainbridge Book Festival. The inaugural event takes place this October.

Nicola Yoon, the New York Times bestselling author of One of Our Kind, will be the keynote speaker at the Launch Party, October 4, at the Stan Pocock Legacy Rowing Center. Tickets, which support the nonprofit festival, will be $125 and include a copy of One of Our Kind. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.bainbridgebookfestival.org/.

The remainder of the Bainbridge Book Festival will take place October 5, 10am to 4pm.

Festival Saturday author events are free and open to all. These talks will take place at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (auditorium), the Bainbridge Island Senior/Community Center, and the Stan Pocock Legacy Rowing Center. The full list of participating authors can be seen here: https://www.bainbridgebookfestival.org/2024-festival/festival-saturday/.

Further information about the festival can be found at https://www.bainbridgebookfestival.org/. Bainbridge Island is located in the Puget Sound and can be reached from the mainland by bridge on the Kitsap County side and by ferry from Seattle, WA.

Thank you to Eagle Harbor Bookstore for the information on the festival. Screenshot from festival website. Have an event of interest to independent publishers and indie authors? Send it to bpnwnewnews at aol.com.