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Nova Scotia Independent Bookshops

Information in this index was initially gathered in 2021 and is updated as bookshops contact us. Please consult individual websites for addresses and hours of service.

To submit or update a listing, please contact communications@writers.ns.ca with all required information and the subject line “Nova Scotia Independent Bookshops.” 

Bookshop (click shop name for website)LocationSpecialtiesBookable event space?
Amy's Used BooksAmherstUsed booksno
Mad Hatter BooksAnnapolis Royalunconfirmed
MareGold BookstoreAnnapolis RoyalNew nonfictionyes (max seating: 12)
The Curious Cat Tea and BooksAntigonishyes (max seating: 4)
Endless Shores Books & Other TreasuresBridgetownNew and used booksyes (book signings only)
Good Dog BooksBridgewaterNew and used booksunconfirmed
Dartmouth Book ExchangeDartmouthNew and used booksyes (max seating: 20)
Friction BooksDartmouthFictionyes (max attendees: 45)
JW Doull BooksDartmouthUsed and rare booksno
TattletalesDartmouthChildren's books; YA; teacher resourcesno
The Trainyard General StoreDartmouthNova Scotian booksno
The Inside StoryGreenwoodunconfirmed
Agricola Street BooksHalifaxUsed booksyes (max seating: 10)
BookmarkHalifaxno
Carrefour Atlantic EmporiumHalifaxAtlantic Canadian booksno
King's Co-op BookstoreHalifaxContemporary fiction and nonfictionno
Maps & MoreHalifaxTravel writing and Atlantic Canadian nonfictionunconfirmed
Open Book CoffeeHalifaxNimbus Publishing and Vagrant Press titlesunconfirmed
Schooner BooksHalifaxUsed and rare booksunconfirmed
Trident Booksellers & CafeHalifaxUsed booksno
Venus EnvyHalifax2SLGBTQ+ booksyes (max seating: 20)
Woozles Children's BookshopHalifaxChildren's books; YAyes (max seating: unconfirmed)
Open Secrets Independent BooksellersKentvilleNew fiction and fictionyes (max seating: 50)
LaHave River BooksLaHaveNew and used booksyes (max seating: 50)
Snug Harbour Books & CafeLiverpooolNew and used booksno
Cape & Cowl Comics & CollectiblesLower SackvilleComics and 2SLGBTQ+ booksunconfirmed
Block Shop BooksLunenburgCanadian fiction and nonfiction; children's books; YA yes (max seating: 35)
Elizabeth's BooksLunenburgNew local-interest books; used booksno
Lunenburg BoundLunenburgNew and used booksyes (max seating: 40)
Blue Griffin BooksMiddletonUsed and rare booksunconfirmed
Read It AgainNew GlasgowNew and used booksyes (max seating: 15)
Vickery House BooksParrsboroLocal and Maritime; new, used, and rare booksyes
Shorebound BooksShelburneNew and used booksunconfirmed
Ed's Books and MoreSydneyunconfirmed
On Paper BooksSydneyCanadian fiction and nonfictionunconfirmed
ABC: Antiques, Books & CollectiblesTantallonNova Scotia and Atlantic Canada; Used Booksno
NovelTea Bookstore and GiftsTruroUsed and new local booksyes (max seating: 10)
Otis & Clementine’s BooksUpper TantallonUsed booksyes (max seating: 15)
Readers' HavenWindsorUsed booksunconfirmed
The Odd BookWolfvilleUsed and rare booksno
Rainbow's End Books and DiscsWolfvilleComics and used booksunconfirmed
Lam's Used Book StoreYarmouthUsed booksno

1113 Marginal Road

Halifax, NS B3H 4P7

902 423 8116

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The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is based in Kjipuktuk, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship,” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties do not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognize Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and establish the rules for an ongoing relationship between nations.

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Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that participants in any given workshop have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions used by WFNS.

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and writing for children and young adults) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

For “intensive” and “masterclass” creative writing workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca