Square Books, Jr., Oxford

Square Books is a general independent bookstore in three separate historic buildings (about 100 feet apart) on the town square of Oxford, Mississippi, widely known among readers as the hub of William Faulkner's "postage stamp of native soil," Yoknapatawpha. The main store, Square Books, is in a two-story building with a cafe and balcony on the second floor; Off Square Books is a few doors down from the main store and has lifestyle sections such as gardening and cookbooks; and Square Books Jr, the children's bookstore, is in a building adjacent to the historic Neilson's Department Store, which has continuously operated since 1839. Square Books is known for its strong selection of literary fiction, books on the American South and by Southern writers, a large inventory of bargain books, and its emphasis on books for children. The store hosts the popular Thacker Mountain radio show and over 150 author events a year, and is a founding co-sponsor of the Oxford Conference for the Book.