—Read about us in the New York Times!   “In the Valley of the Literate”   (November 16, 2007)

Amherst Books is a locally owned, independent bookshop.   We sell new & used books.   Our particular strengths include poetry, literature, & philosophy.   We carry a large selection of small press titles & literary journals.

Our event mailing list will never be shared.   If you want to be taken off at any time, send a message to: events@amherstbooks.com.

Besides our fine trade inventory, we sell textbooks for Amherst College, Hampshire College, & the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.   If you have questions about textbooks, go to our textbook page.

Hours of Operation

We are now open during these hours:

Monday - Saturday, 10:00am — 6:00pm

(Closed Sunday)


We recommend masks.

Events

N.B. Due to Covid, we will only be holding book launch parties & not readings, until further notice.   Book launch parties do not include chairs & usually start at 4:00 or 4:30 so we can close at 6:00.   Please ignore the following — it is left here as a reminder of life pre-pandemic & hopefully going forward.

We feel that book-related events are an integral part of our identity.   We are particularly delighted to host local authors of all stripes, & appropriate readings or signings featuring literature, poetry or political publications or causes.   Sadly, in spite of its formidible academic presence, Amherst really is a small town, & doesn't bring out the audiences that more urban areas might.   Therefore we may try to discourage you from a reading if we feel that it wouldn't meet our standards of success.   That said, it's always worth contacting us.   Please check our event schedule (Events) first to make sure your proposal fits, & be ready to suggest a couple of days & times.

Events fall into two basic categories: signings & readings.   Signings—otherwise known as book launch parties—are generally held late afternoons or early evenings.   We do not put chairs out for such events & discourage more than a minute or two of introduction or thanks.   Parties are usually weekdays, though can sometimes can be arranged on a Saturday or Sunday.   Readings, on the other hand, are held at 7:00 P.M., 7:30 P.M. or 8:00 P.M.   (We’d like to close the shop by 9:00 even when we have events.)   We never have readings on Saturdays but will occasionally have them late Sunday afternoons or early evenings.   We provide appropriate refreshment at all events, though you are encouraged to supplement our fare.

Discounts

We give a 10% discount to all local K-12, college & university faculty, support staff, as well as graduate students, & senior citizens.   Professors who order textbooks from us get a 20% discount. (See here.)   Please identify yourself as such at time of purchase.

How to find us

Amherst Books is at the center of downtown Amherst at 8 Main Street.  There is a Subway sandwich place next to us at the corner of Pleasant Street.   For those of you familiar with Amherst, we're just around the corner from Antonio's Pizza.

The town parking lot is just behind our block.

Peter Pan buses stop just three-quarters of a block away on South Pleasant Street at the PVTA bus kiosk.   (In front of the Fiber Arts Center.)

The Amtrak train station is a ten minute walk.   Click here for more information.

We're also a stone's throw from the Emily Dickinson Homestead & Emily Dickinson's grave.

Click here to see a bigger map.