This fall, Bookworks celebrates 39 years as a locally-owned and operated independent bookstore.
As one of Albuquerque’s legacy independent bookstores, we are dedicated to supporting our community and connecting books and readers. And we are thankful that our community is devoted to supporting us.
As of 2023, Bookworks is owned by an LLC (Bookworks on Rio Grande) funded by group of 15 people. The group invested in the store to ensure it stayed open and remained robust. Shannon Guinn-Collins and Nancy Guinn are the majority members and oversee the store’s operations.
Bookworks has been a literary meeting place in Albuquerque since 1984, from its original home in Albuquerque's Rio Grande Valley in what was then the Dietz Farm Plaza, and now in the next stage of life, next to the Flying Star Cafe in the Shops on Rio Grande. The store is well-known for high-quality events and readings, including local, regional, and nationally-known authors. We partner with organizations such as the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation and the Leopold Writing Program to offer event series, including A Word with Writers and Writing the Wild, and we hold events both in the store and in venues throughout the community. In 2023, approximately 80% of our events features local and regional authors.
As a locally-owned small business, Bookworks pays taxes that support our community, pays wages and provides benefits to its Albuquerque employees, donates gift certificates and books to local nonprofit organizations, supports local libraries, and gives back to our community however we can, whenever we can. We are also pleased to partner with schools in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas to provide books for classrooms and libraries, hold book fairs, support Battle of the Books, and coordinate author visits.
We are proud of these community partnerships and also our friendly, accommodative customer service. We offer a brick-and-mortar store filled with books, but if we don’t have a title you’re looking for on our shelves, we’re happy to special order it for you, usually in just a few business days -- a turn-around time competitive with national online retailers. We can also research titles and authors you have heard on the radio or new books on topics of interest to you. We also offer audiobook subscriptions through a non-profit company, Libro.FM, so whether you still read in print or listen, you can shop locally for all your book buying needs.
COVID was a time when many people rediscovered “local” and how meaningful it was to be able to walk into a store and see neighbors and friends. Many people also tapped back into a love of reading. We welcome everyone back into the world of the local bookstore.
Shop online 24/7 or in-person 10am – 6pm daily. Bookworks is located at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, just north of Griegos. From I-40 west, take the Rio Grande exit, and turn right (north) on Rio Grande. Proceed through several lights, pass the North Valley La Montanita Co-Op, and travel just north of Griegos where you will see us on the east side of Rio Grande next to Flying Star. View map below.