The late '60s and early '70s saw the rise of the women's liberation movement, and women's bookstores, presses, print shops, and magazines sprung up all over the country. Some of the books to come out of that early time were poetry by Judy Grahn, political writings of Rita Mae Brown, and automechanic and carpentry manuals for women—all published by small, women-owned presses. These were the books that the women of Amazon (named for the mythological tribe of women warriors) wanted to make available.

A larger collective of women took over Amazon Bookstore and moved it to the Lesbian Resource Center, then located in the upstairs of the Podany building on Lake and Minnehaha. From there Amazon went through many evolutions and different store fronts—including Hennepin Avenue, Loring Park, and our present location in the new Chrysalis building on Chicago Avenue—and several organizational structures, with paid staff taking over much of the operation of the store by the 1980s.

The Women in Print movement also went through many changes in the last thirty years with a burgeoning of women's presses—Naiad Press, Firebrand, Seal Press, Cleis Press, Spinsters Ink, to just name a few—and the number of women's titles grew to the thousands, with the mainstream presses beginning to publish even lesbian titles in the 1990s.

So here we are, more than 30 years later. Unfortunately, the changes in the book industry of the last five to ten years (proliferation of big chain stores; internet retail; merger of the major publishers into a few big conglomerates owned by overseas interests) has meant that the number of independent bookstores—and with them women's bookstores—has dwindled , along with the feminist presses.

Today there are only a handful of viable women's bookstores across the country and several of the women's presses have gone out of business. But Amazon Bookstore has survived, thanks to a supportive community, the opportunity to relocate with a thriving women's service organization, and a close connection with women's studies at the University of Minnesota. Amazon now supports a staff of 12 (full and part time), stocks over 10,000 titles by, for, and about women, and offers many other products and services to benefit the women's community of the Twin Cities.

With all of your continued support, we know Amazon will thrive into the 21st century.

We are a proud member of several professional organizations: Feminist Bookstores Network, American Booksellers Association, and Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA).

The store is owned and run by a worker cooperative.