Books Are Magic is an independent bookstore in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. It was founded by

Emma Straub Emma Straub (born ) is an American novelist and bookstore owner. Her novels include ''Modern Lovers'', ''The Vacationers'', ''Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures'' and ''All Adults Here''. She is the author of a short story collection entitled ''Ot ...

in 2017 with a

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

location in Carroll Gardens. A second location was opened in

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...

in 2022.

History

, who worked at BookCourt after having first set up an event there for a novella she had published called ''Fly-Over State'', witnessed various notable writers come in to shop and do events, including

Jennifer Egan Jennifer Egan (born September 7, 1962) is an American novelist and short-story writer. Her novel, ''A Visit from the Goon Squad,'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. From 2018 to 2020, she ...

Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'' drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, earned a Jame ...

, and

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...

. There were also frequent customers Straub saw, such as

Paul Dano Paul Franklin Dano (; born June 19, 1984) is an American actor. His work includes both independent and mainstream projects, and his accolades include nominations for a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

and

Hope Davis Hope Davis (born March 23, 1964) is an American actress. Her performances on stage and screen have earned various awards. She made her film debut in Joel Schumacher's '' Flatliners'' in 1990. She then starred in the critically acclaimed films ...

. After a few years, Straub quit when she was several months into her pregnancy, as well as coming up on a deadline for a manuscript. In December of 2016, BookCourt owners Henry Zook and Mary Gannett closed BookCourt and sold their building. Straub and her husband, Mike, discussed with Zook and Gannett about the matter, after which Straub and Mike planned to open a bookstore on their own, consulted various booksellers they knew, and found a location nearby in nearby Carroll Gardens. Among those supporting Straub and her husband's efforts was Christine Onorati from the WORD Bookstore in Greenpoint. The lease for Books Are Magic was signed in February of 2016. The independent bookstore opened on May 1. On opening day, several notable writers appeared, including

Phil Klay Phil Klay ( ; born 1983) is an American writer. He won the National Book Award for fiction in 2014 for his first book-length publication, a collection of short stories, '' Redeployment''. In 2014 the National Book Foundation named him a 5 under ...

, Jazmine Hughes, and Kyle Lucia Wu. ''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

'' stated that it was " perfectly situated to become a destination for anyone looking to tap into the borough’s literary mystique."

Jenna Bush Hager Jenna Welch Bush Hager (née Bush; born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the host of '' Today with Jenna & Friends'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program, ''Today.'' Hager and her frater ...

called it her favorite bookstore in 2018. From then on, several developers in New York City and beyond—cities such as

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

—would ask Straub and her husband to consider opening more Books Are Magic locations. However, the couple wanted to focus on their own store. Later, when the Brooklyn Heights Association told Straub and her husband that there was local interest in a bookstore on Montague Street to help revitalize the area amid vacancies and other problems, the two found themselves open to the idea, as it was a much familiar neighborhood to them and already featured venues they used for book events. In 2022, Books Are Magic announced that they would open a second location on Montague Street in

. Located at 112 Montague Street, the independent bookstore would assume the storefronts where

Housing Works Housing Works is a New York City-based non-profit fighting AIDS and homelessness. The charity is well known for its entrepreneurial businesses including a chain of thrift shops, which supports efforts to end AIDS and homelessness where they are ...

and Fishs Eddy were. In a press release, Straub and her husband stated that they would only ever have two locations for Books Are Magic: "And yes—before you even ask—this is it. The family is complete. No more! Just these two."

References

{{reflist Bookstores established in the 21st century Bookstores in Brooklyn Independent bookstores of the United States