Morgenstern Books

Morgenstern Books & Café is a bookstore and café at 849 S. Auto Mall Road on Bloomington’s east side. The original Morgenstern Books, started by Rick Morgenstern, closed in 1996, and the store reopened here in July 2021 after a 25-year break, in the space that was once a Pier 1.

Visit Bloomington calls it the largest independent bookstore in Indiana. It stocks books for every genre and age group, a collection of artisan goods and gifts, and a café with locally made treats, and it is known for author events and community gatherings. The store also has a community space that can be reserved.

Morgenstern Books is the home base of the Bloomington Book Festival, whose 2026 evening with Wright Thompson and Michael Koryta takes place at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on October 25. It is one of the nine independent bookstores in the 2026 Bloomington Book Festival Bookstore Crawl, and the crawl’s grand prize is a $500 gift card to Morgenstern Books. Check the store’s website for current hours and events.