Which New Orleans bookstores are Black-owned?

Baldwin & Co. on Elysian Fields Avenue and Community Book Center on Bayou Road.

Is there a New Orleans bookstore open late at night?

Frenchmen Art & Books on Frenchmen Street keeps late-night hours, so you can browse between sets at the nearby music clubs.

Which New Orleans bookstore has a bar?

The Garden District Book Shop has Bar Epilogue, a cocktail bar inside the shop at The Rink on Prytania Street. Baldwin & Co. has a coffee bar.

Where can I buy used books in New Orleans?

Blue Cypress Books on Oak Street sells new and secondhand books and takes trade-ins for store credit.

Where can I find comics in New Orleans?

Crescent City Comics on Calhoun Street carries new and vintage comics, graphic novels and tabletop games. Tubby & Coo's also stocks graphic novels alongside science fiction and fantasy.

Independent Bookstores in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans bookstores follow the city's neighborhoods. Uptown has two general bookstores and a comics shop. The Garden District Book Shop has been in The Rink on Prytania Street since 1979. Downriver, the Marigny and Seventh Ward are home to the city's two Black-owned bookstores and a shop on Frenchmen Street that stays open late among the music clubs.

Several double as places to stay a while: a bar inside the Garden District Book Shop, a coffee bar and courtyard at Baldwin & Co., and a café next to Octavia Books.

8 bookstores listed · Guide updated November 2026

New Orleans bookstores by neighborhood

Uptown and Riverbend

Octavia Books — 513 Octavia Street, a couple of blocks off Magazine. New books, a strong children's section and regular author signings, with Café Malou next door.
Blue Cypress Books — 8123 Oak Street. Woman-owned since 2008, with new and secondhand books on two floors. You can trade in books for store credit.
Crescent City Comics — 3135 Calhoun Street. New, back-issue and vintage comics, graphic novels, and tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

Garden District and Lower Garden District

Garden District Book Shop — Inside The Rink at 2727 Prytania Street. New and signed books with a long Anne Rice connection, plus Bar Epilogue, a cocktail bar inside the shop.
Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Book Shop — A queer-owned traveling bookshop with a pocket store inside The Good Shop at 1114 Josephine Street. Its focus is science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance and queer books.

Marigny and the Seventh Ward

Frenchmen Art & Books — 600 Frenchmen Street. Open since the 1970s, with local history, LGBTQ+ books and local art, and open late every night.
Baldwin & Co. — 1030 Elysian Fields Avenue. A Black-owned coffee shop and bookstore named for James Baldwin, with a courtyard and regular events featuring Black authors.
Community Book Center — 2523 Bayou Road. Founded in 1983 by Vera Warren-Williams, with African-centered books, local art and handmade jewelry.

All 8 bookstores in New Orleans, Louisiana

Questions about bookstores in New Orleans

Which New Orleans bookstores are Black-owned?: Baldwin & Co. on Elysian Fields Avenue and Community Book Center on Bayou Road.
Is there a New Orleans bookstore open late at night?: Frenchmen Art & Books on Frenchmen Street keeps late-night hours, so you can browse between sets at the nearby music clubs.
Which New Orleans bookstore has a bar?: The Garden District Book Shop has Bar Epilogue, a cocktail bar inside the shop at The Rink on Prytania Street. Baldwin & Co. has a coffee bar.
Where can I buy used books in New Orleans?: Blue Cypress Books on Oak Street sells new and secondhand books and takes trade-ins for store credit.
Where can I find comics in New Orleans?: Crescent City Comics on Calhoun Street carries new and vintage comics, graphic novels and tabletop games. Tubby & Coo's also stocks graphic novels alongside science fiction and fantasy.