ABOUT US
Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops has been Milwaukee’s largest independent bookseller since 1927 when Harry Schwartz opened his first bookshop on Downer Avenue. Today, with five bookshops and a staff of knowledgeable, passionate booksellers, we carry on a rich tradition of promoting fine writing and bringing talented authors to Milwaukee. Named Publishers Weekly’s Bookseller of the Year in 2004, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops now hosts close to 300 events each year.
View the History of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops Timeline (PDF)
Bookselling was and is for me a cultural and political expression of progressive change, of challenge to oppressive authority, of a search for a community of values which can act as an underpinning of a better world. The true profit in bookselling is the social profit; the bottom line, the measure of the impact of the bookshop on the community.
—A. David Schwartz
Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops is proud to be one of the founding members of Our Milwaukee, a business alliance formed in 2007 to increase awareness of the benefits of shopping locally.
Did you know that for every $1.00 you spend at a locally owned business, more than 68¢ remains in Milwaukee?
Find out more about how your purchasing power can contribute to keeping Milwaukee a unique and vibrant place to live, work, and visit ourmilwaukee.com
