AURELIA: A QTBIPOC Specialty Bookstore

A Message from Olivia Raymond, pen name Zelda Knight, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of AURELIA LEO:

Hey, y'all! I'm a public historian, romance author, and burn survivor. In 2016, I established AURELIA LEO, an independent publishing house, and an online bookstore. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, we specialize in diverse speculative fiction, namely: horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Our flagship titles are Helios Quarterly Magazine, Selene Quarterly Magazine, and Invictus: Quarterly Comics and Illustrations. Since then, I've published over 100 authors, poets, and artists from around the world!

After surviving a grease fire, and witnessing the ongoing rebellion happening here in Kentucky, I decided this is the time to act. AURELIA will be a Black woman-owned specialty bookstore that will center independent and mainstream Queer, Trans, Southern, Black, Indigenous, and/or other Creators of Color writing speculative fiction (horror, science fiction, and fantasy). Now more than ever, people need to see themselves represented and to envision futures more equitable than our current realities. Our shelves will be lined with Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurisms, Southern Gothics, Sapphic Space Operas, Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi) by and about the Global South, Magical Realism, and so much more!



Black-owned and operated bookstores are thriving once more. In 1999, there were approximately 324 black-owned bookstores in the United States, according to the African American Literature Book Club. The AALBC reported only 54 in 2014, marking an all-time low. Since then, the number has soared to 112 as of 2019.

The revival of Black-owned independent bookstores mirrors that of independent bookstores as a whole. During the height of the Great Recession, independent bookstores plummeted 43%, according to the American Booksellers Association (ABA). However, between 2009-2015, the ABA reported a growth rate of 35% for independent booksellers.

But, this revival cannot and will not be sustained if publishers and booksellers like myself don't have significant buy-in by people like you. My initial goal is $3,350 to invest in a mobile bookstore & cafe designed by Icicle Tricycles in Portland, Oregon! If we raise at least $500, I will apply for GoFundMe's #SmallBusinessRelief fund to match it as my publishing house has struggled since the onset of COVID-19. If we surpass the initial goal, the money raised will go towards building up our inventory of books and comics.



Let's #KeepLouisvilleWeird by bringing a Black woman-owned bookstore to Louisville, Kentucky! Let's establish the second Black-owned bookstore currently in operation in the whole state of Kentucky! While we make this dream into a reality, you can also support us—as well as other indie businesses—by buying physical books at Bookshop, audiobooks at Libro.fm, and ebooks at MyMustReads. And of course, you can support AURELIA LEO directly at our shop!