The Booksellers


The Booksellers is a 2019 American documentary film that was directed, edited, and produced by D.W. Young. It was also executive produced by Parker Posey, who provides narration in the film. The film explores the world of rare book dealers and the bookstores. It focuses primarily on booksellers in New York City, including Adina Cohen, Naomi Hample and Judith Lowry, the three sisters of the Argosy Book Store, Stephen Massey, founder of Christie’s NY Book Department, and Nancy Bass Wyden, owner of the Strand Bookstore. Other prominent people featured in the film include Fran Lebowitz, Gay Talese, Justin Croft, Zack Hample, Susan Orlean, William S. Reese, A. S. W. Rosenbach, Jay S. Walker, and Kevin Young.

Release

The documentary premiered at the 2019 New York Film Festival and had a limited release in March 2020 that coincided with the annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released as video on demand as part of Greenwich Entertainment's virtual cinema initiative on April 17, 2020.

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.16/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". A review in Variety said of the film "Lovely and wistful. 'The Booksellers' is a documentary for anyone who can still look at a book and see a dream, a magic teleportation device, an object that contains the world."