SubText: A Bookstore

SubText: A Bookstore SubText is a general interest bookstore with special focus on fiction, poetry, history, and literary non-fiction. "Looking forward to more events at SubText.
(243)

The feeling I got tonight, looking around at the shelves, was that you seem to carry just about ALL the books I want to read. Thought for just a brief minute that I was in heaven!" - A Subtext regular

In June of 2015, SubText became the only bookstore, independent or otherwise, in Downtown St. Paul. Our new location is located at 6 West Fifth Street. We're still the same ol' sTb. We offer a wide

range of new and gently used books, a quiet space to read and meet, a plethora of events with writers and book experts, and musicians. We pride ourselves on our excellent service provided by some of the friendliest, most knowledgeable, most experienced booksellers around. We're also known for our amazing literary-themed mural by local artist Jeff Nelson.

Next week we are running a sale on our Health & Wellness section! 25% off titles that are in that section, from August 2...
08/20/2026

Next week we are running a sale on our Health & Wellness section! 25% off titles that are in that section, from August 23rd to 30th. We hope you stop by :) This is part of our master plan to make more space for YA Fiction!šŸ«¶šŸ¼šŸ˜†

Customers are limited to one discount at a time, so if you are buying self-help books during this sale, you cannot apply your IBD Passport discount. We appreciate your understanding!

Back to school season is here! šŸ“–āœļøWe šŸ’– educators and want to remind you all that at Subtext Books you get a 20% discount...
08/13/2026

Back to school season is here! šŸ“–āœļø

We šŸ’– educators and want to remind you all that at Subtext Books you get a 20% discount on your purchase when you show your school/college ID!

Finish off your summer with some new books that prepare you for (or distract you from 🄲) another year of teaching! Thank you for all that you do!!!

We are talking about these books and more on our Substack! Substack.com/
08/06/2026

We are talking about these books and more on our Substack!

Substack.com/

Join us at the University Club of Saint Paul (420 Summit Ave) on Wednesday, July 29th at 6 - 8 PM for an author event wi...
07/28/2026

Join us at the University Club of Saint Paul (420 Summit Ave) on Wednesday, July 29th at 6 - 8 PM for an author event with Na Eng presenting The Art of Saving Democracy: An Action Kit for Making Change.

The Art of Saving Democracy features the work of 20 renowned American artists—such as Roy Lichtenstein, Shepard Fairey, Carrie Mae Weems, Vincent Valdez, and Deborah Kass. Whether you’re taking to the streets or taking up a pen, The Art of Saving Democracy can help you be more effective when you express yourself, champion our shared rights and freedoms, and resist hate and authoritarianism.

Na Eng is a social impact executive and award-winning storyteller who champions powerful narratives to move ideas and change norms to accelerate progress for greater social impact. She is the chief creative officer at People For the American Way, where she leads special editorial and innovation projects. When she was five years old, Eng and her family fled the killing fields of Cambodia and resettled as refugees in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she was raised by a single mother

The kit will be for sale at the event. This event is free. The University Club bar is open 4 - 8 PM. Free street parking on Summit Ave and surrounding streets.

We have some great local and out of state authors joining us for events this summer! Drop in and support your local book...
07/22/2026

We have some great local and out of state authors joining us for events this summer! Drop in and support your local bookstore and writersšŸ–¤

Join us at the University Club of Saint Paul (420 Summit Ave) on Wednesday, July 29th at 7 PM for an author event with N...
07/17/2026

Join us at the University Club of Saint Paul (420 Summit Ave) on Wednesday, July 29th at 7 PM for an author event with Na Eng presenting The Art of Saving Democracy: An Action Kit for Making Change

The Art of Saving Democracy features the work of 20 renowned American artists—such as Roy Lichtenstein, Shepard Fairey, Carrie Mae Weems, Vincent Valdez, and Deborah Kass. Whether you’re taking to the streets or taking up a pen, The Art of Saving Democracy can help you be more effective when you express yourself, champion our shared rights and freedoms, and resist hate and authoritarianism.

Na Eng is a social impact executive and award-winning storyteller who champions powerful narratives to move ideas and change norms to accelerate progress for greater social impact. She is the chief creative officer at People For the American Way, where she leads special editorial and innovation projects. When she was five years old, Eng and her family fled the killing fields of Cambodia and resettled as refugees in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she was raised by a single mother

The kit will be for sale at the event. This event is free. The University Club bar is open 4 - 8 PM. Free street parking on Summit Ave and surrounding streets.

Upcoming Poetry Reading at Subtext BooksSaturday July 25th, 2026 @ 7:00PM - 8:00 PMMitchell Jacobs is a poet and transla...
07/16/2026

Upcoming Poetry Reading at Subtext Books

Saturday July 25th, 2026 @ 7:00PM - 8:00 PM

Mitchell Jacobs is a poet and translator from Minnesota. His poems have appeared in The Iowa Review, Ploughshares, and The Southern Review, among other journals. He is a PhD candidate in literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California, where he serves as managing editor of Ricochet Editions.

At the core of Rogue Astronaut, Mitchell Jacobs’s debut poetry collection, is a mystery: Was the poet’s father abducted by aliens as a teenager? From this uncanny family lore spins a gravitational field of theory, grief, and imagination, spurring speculations about the extraterrestrial as well as the terrestrial question of familial bonds: What are the limits of understanding between two alien anatomies, between two unlike minds? Are we, after all, finally alone?

Charlie Peck grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and received his MFA from Purdue University. His poetry has appeared previously in Cincinnati Review, Ninth Letter, Massachusetts Review, and Best New Poets 2019, among others. His first collection, World’s Largest Ball of Paint, is the winner of the 2022 St. Lawrence Book Award from Black Lawrence Press.

Charlie Peck’s debut collection World’s Largest Ball of Paint began with a world record. Through a series of fragmented narrative poems, World’s Largest Ball of Paint navigates place and self, memory and remembering. Peck uses a cast of characters and poetic form to reckon with the past and the present, layer by layer.

This event is free. Street parking is $1.25/hour after 6 PM. Union Depot Parking Lot A and B have the best rates, at $4-8/hour. You can learn more here: https://www.uniondepot.org/parking/daily/ . The closest ramp, Victory Parkings Lawson Ramp is $8/hour. You can learn more here: https://www.victoryparking.com/lawson-ramp

05/20/2026

Tonight was our first time hosting the great folks at šŸ’šŸ«œ and what a success! Supporting Open Markets efforts to nourish our Downtown-Lowertown & Twin Cities community brings us so much joy. If you missed this market, have no fear, they will be back next Tuesday, May 26th from 3-6PM. Stop in, pick up some groceries at NO COST, and maybe sit and read awhile :)

05/08/2026

Take a scrolling break for some beautiful book ASMR!

Karen Parkman at the University Club of St. Paul MAY 20TH, in conversation with Claire Lombardo.

Virginia is a Jill—a cheerleader for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills—living the life of her dreams: she spends her weekdays practicing, her weekends cheering, and her nights hopping between bars and clubs with her teammates, including the fearless, charismatic Jeanine, whose friendship has given Virginia confidence in spades and helped her forget her troubled past with her estranged sister, Laura.
One Sunday, Jeanine fails to show up for a game, and calls and texts to her go unanswered. Virginia embarks on an investigation into Jeanine’s disappearance, aided by a network of Jills, ex-boyfriends, seedy fixtures of Buffalo’s criminal underground, and unexpected figures from her past. But as her search grows increasingly dangerous and spirals into obsession, disturbing questions about who Jeanine really was begin to emerge.

Oh, the things I do for engagement on this appšŸ˜…

Address

6 West 5th Street
Saint Paul, MN
55102

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 7pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16514932791

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when SubText: A Bookstore posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to SubText: A Bookstore:

Shortcuts

Share