Romance Bookstore Update: January 2026
There are now 227 physical romance bookstores worldwide; 8 new physical stores opened in January.
This update is a bit shorter than usual, as I’m going to hold off on reporting on a few items until the end of Q1 when I have more data for the year.
According to my research, there are now 227 physical romance bookstores in 11 countries around the world, 158 (or 70%) of which are in the United States.
If we also include online and pop-up romance bookstores, the total number of stores grows to 380 (270 or 71% of which are in the United States).
Have you heard about the Insider version of the Romance Bookstore Directory?
It’s a new benefit for my annual paid subscribers.
These detailed updates are a benefit for paid subscribers (only US$5/month or US$50/year). Everyone can see the high-level numbers before the paywall, but you’ll need to subscribe for all the juicy details…including a list of all the upcoming romance bookstore openings! 🗓️
There are now 415 bookstores in the directory (including Coming Soon)—14 were added in January.
The following is a breakdown of bookstores by type: Physical, Online, Pop-up, and Coming Soon along with a list of ALL the recently added and updated stores in each category! This includes some new charts as well. 📊
📌 Please note that these categories overlap—a store can categorized as multiple types. For example, a bookstore can be online and have pop-ups, with a physical location coming soon.