There are many exciting bookshops around Greater Manchester, and each one has a unique offering so if you’re after something specific or just a browse and a brew, you’ll find what you’re looking for right here amongst these pages.

While we’ve started creating highlight pages for the book shops, there are more beyond those with pages below, so as we build here is a list of the others:

Manchester Bookshops
  • Abacus Books – Altrincham – Trading for over 40 years and members of the Bookseller Association. Specialise in hard to find titles (out of or in print) especially in arts or local history.
  • Alexandria Library – Rusholme – Independent Charity bookshop, celebrating the diversity of the Curry Mile. They sell books in languages of the Levant, Arabia, central and south Asia and that tell the history and culture of these regions. They host free English classes and English conversation cafe.
  • Anywhere Out of the World – Northern Quarter – They only stock second hand books that specialise in Hermetic, Platonic, Kabbalistic, Vedic, Buddist & c, Poetical and philosophical.
  • Catalog Bookshop – Oxford Road – A bookshop on wheels, based near All Saints Park, selling zines, books and stationery.
  • Chapter One Books – NQ – An independent bookkshop and cafe. They host readings and author events.
  • Cornerhouse Art Books – First Street – a wide range of art and film magazines. Books available from our online bookstore can also be ordered and collected from the Bookshop within a few days.
  • Didsbury Village Bookshop – Didsbury – Quirky vintage bookshop based behind The Art of Tea
  • Forbidden Planet – Northern Quarter – Graphic Novels and comic book specialist also selling various fandom merchandise and collectibles.
  • Madeleine Lindley – Oldham – Children’s and teachers book suppliers, working with Schools nationally and internationally to help provide engaging and exciting reading content for the classroom.
  • Oxfam Books – Chorlton – Oxfam books are the largest second hand book supplier in the UK, supplying a variety of different genres and interests. As they’re a charity, they also accept book donations.
  • Paramount Books – Shudehill – Paramount Books sell both new and secondhand books in both fiction and non-fiction. Alongside this they sell both UK and US comics and comicbooks.
  • Simply Books – Bramhall – This award winning bookshop in the centre of Bramhall is not only a lovely bookshop, but also a cafe and event space.
  • Travelling Man – Northern Quarter – This manga and graphic novel shop can meet all fandom requirements along with selling RPG, card and board games, clothing and other memorabilia.
  • UNITOM – Northern Quarter – This bookshop also has a gallery space, fitting with the visual arts basis of the cultural inspiration books they sell.
  • Urmston Bookshop – Umrston – Selling both new and secondhand books for both adults and children. They have an excellent order in service as well as a meeting room for book groups and author events.
  • Waterstones Arndale – City Centre – This bookshop houses a wealth of fiction, but a lot of non-fiction and reference, as well as games and literary gifts, right in the centre of the Arndale and they still made room for a cafe.
  • Waterstones Deansgate – City Centre – A large, well presented bookshop over three floors. The fiction section is almost an entire floor in itself and the children and young people’s section is almost a shop in itself. The variety of reference books is also worth noting and there is a coffee shop inside.
Manchester Booksellers
  • Mirror Me Write – an independent bookseller with a focus on driving social change through stories, by getting diverse and inclusive children and young people’s literature into both UK schools and homes.