‘These are my stomping grounds’: the first Black-owned bookstore opens in Octavia Butler’s home town

Octavia’s Bookshelf promotes Black writers, culture and business in Pasadena, where the famed novelist lived and worked Books are strewn everywhere and are awaiting their turn to be shuffled into their assigned nooks in tall black shelves. It’s just seven days until the grand opening of Nikki High’s southern California bookstore and despite the frenzy, the independent bookseller is outwardly calm and collected in the chaos, managing self-care and getting a full nine hours of sleep a night. She’s been plotting this day for months. Continue reading...