“What I say is, a town is not a town without a bookstore.”

– Neil Gaiman, American Gods

The Burg is a city populated by, and most certainly for, book lovers. Literary events abound on a near weekly basis. (thank you very much, Keep St. Pete Lit.) A love of reading begins at an early age, and bookstores are where that lifelong curiosity for worlds outside our own are fostered, nourished, and sustained.

One of the oldest bookstores in the Southeast

Since 1971, Wilson’s Book World has stood as a bastion for imagination and the starting point on the pursuit of knowledge. After decades of supporting the St. Pete literary community, current owner Jeff Morris will officially retire. With his retirement comes the sale of the building located at 2394 MLK Street North. The store’s final day on MLK Street will be December 26.

The family-owned, antiquarian bookstore is one of the oldest in the southeast and is regarded as one of the 50 best used and boutique bookstores in the country. Among the stacks, visitors are bound to bump into the life-sized cardboard cutout of Freddy Krueger. For those brave enough to continue forth, the treasure of unbridled literature awaits.

Wilson’s will reopen at a new location in 2018

Loyal customers need not despair; Morris’s daughter, Michelle, will reopen Wilson’s at 535 16th Street North the second week of January.

“This has been a wonderful journey and I have made many friends and fond memories along the way,” said Jeff Morris in a farewell Facebook post.

While we’ll miss the sky blue facade, and hand painted bookworm on their front window, the future looks bright for the Sunshine City and one of its most treasured cultural gems.