The Stacks, located in the vibrant heart of midtown Savannah, GA, is an author-owned and disability-owned bookstore that opened in November 2023. The owner is Cindy L. Otis, author of the YA thriller At the Speed of Lies (Scholastic, 2023) and the nonfiction title True or False (Macmillan, 2020). The Stacks focuses on books by authors from underrepresented communities, and their mission is to provide access to compelling reads, author events, and community for the store’s diverse local population, along with a space for writers to create.

The Stacks holds an important place in the community as the only wheelchair accessible indie bookstore in town. Accessibility is important to them, and they prioritize local readers and writers. Instead of displaying Staff picks, they have a “Community Picks” section, which is a rotating display of book reviews submitted by neighbors and regular customers.

Manager Juliet Rosner said the best thing about being a bookseller is the friends you make along the way. Rosner met most of her closest friends by chatting with people at the shop and at their events. She even met her girlfriend at The Stacks’s Dyke Book Club!

Rosner said her favorite part of SIBA programming is The Southern Bookseller Review. “It’s so cool to see what my colleagues are reading across the South and to have my thoughts out there as well.”

You can follow The Stacks at @thestacks_bookstore to keep up with their journey and visit their website at www.thestacksbookstore.com.