Following a soft opening in December, Nomadic Bookshop in Oakland, Calif., will have its grand opening this weekend, the Oaklandside reported.
Located at 326 23rd St. in Uptown Oakland, Nomadic Bookshop debuted on December 1 and will host its grand opening on Saturday, January 17. It is a nonprofit bookstore founded by J.K. Fowler and his husband, Uriel Landa; previously Fowler ran Nomadic Press, which closed in spring 2023 after more than a decade in business.
The store's inventory is about 75% new books and 25% used, with an emphasis on books from small and independent publishers. Fowler, who curates the books selection, has eschewed traditional book categories and sections based on genre and age group. Instead, there are categories like "Radical Life Stories and Testimonies" and "Transformative and Imaginative Worlds."
"All the books are pushing at the edges, asking, 'What's next, given the current climate that we're in?' which is a total mess on so many fronts," Fowler told Oaklandside. "What's the world that we want to support?"
Landa, meanwhile, organizes the store's events, which so far have included open mic nights and book launches. He is from Mexico, and he and Fowler plan to bring in Spanish-language titles from Mexican publishers eventually. This year, Fowler also intends to relaunch Nomadic Press and publish two or three titles.
"The vibe that we're going for is all about lifting up voices of power, recognizing the inherent resilience, the ability for us to imagine new worlds, to deconstruct the old world, to learn the history to inform the way in which we want to build the new world," Fowler said.
The grand opening festivities Saturday will include food, poetry readings, and live music.