Thames Street Bookshop

Thames Street Bookshop opened its doors in 2011 with a mission to center underrepresented voices in literature, and it has since become one of southeastern Connecticut's most vital cultural institutions. The store occupies a renovated brick warehouse on the New London waterfront, with exposed beams and wide-plank floors that give it an industrial warmth. Its carefully curated shelves prioritize works by authors of color, LGBTQ+ writers, and independent publishers who might otherwise go unnoticed. The in-house cafe, run in partnership with a local roaster, provides fair-trade coffee and vegan pastries that fuel many a long afternoon of reading. The bookshop also operates a popular community lending library and hosts a monthly open-submission zine night that has launched several small-press careers.