Atlantis Books is a truly amazing bookstore. It is located in the basement of a white house in Oia, Santorini.
Atlantis Books was started by Craig Walzer and Oliver Wise, two 25-year-old Americans, who were vacationing on Santorini in 2002. These two young bibliophiles decided they wanted to create a haven for readers and writers in one of the most beautiful (and remotest) places in the Mediterranean; a place in which book-lovers could spend long afternoons in the bookstore’s cool quarters, with jazz guitar music playing gently on the sound system as they perused the eclectically comprehensive book collection.
The idea of Atlantis Books began when Craig and Oliver became intoxicated by Santorini’s savage beauty, and decided to open a shop modelled on Shakespeare & Company, the English-language bookstore in Paris.
Although it was not initially a moneymaking enterprise – the staff is on rotation throughout the year, and lives in the bookstore – after eight years as a going concern, Atlantis Books is starting to achieve international praise. Jeremy Mercer, a writer for The Guardian, listed Atlantis Books as one of his ten favourite bookshops in the world: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/dec/06/top10s.bookshops
Atlantis Books’ bookshelves, which the staff built themselves, are filled with novels, poetry, short-story collections, biographies and philosophical works.
Staff-members are always happy to advise on their favourites – one staff member is a serious fan of Robertson Davies, the Canadian writer, while another young staff member loves Panos Karnezis, the Greek-born Londoner, who gave a reading in the store a couple of years ago.
“Sometimes people buy books, and sometimes they just want to take a picture of the place,” a staff-member said. “I guess it’s becoming a landmark.”
Atlantis Books is in Oia, Santorini, opposite the town hall on the main square. It’s easy to find and worth visiting. It is truly unique. There is no other bookstore like it on Earth.
ATLANTIS BOOKS
OIA, SANTORINI
T.K. 84702
Cyclades
Greece
ΒΙΒΛΙΟΠΩΛΕΙΟ ΑΤΛΑΝΤΙΔΑ
ΟΙΑ, ΣΑΝΤΟΡΙΝΗ
Τ.Κ. 84702
ΚΥΚΛΑΔΕΣ
ΕΛΛΑΔΑ
Tags: Atlantis Books, bookshop, bookstore, Greek literature, Oia, R J Dent, Santorini
January 24, 2010 at 4:39 am |
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!
January 27, 2010 at 4:30 am |
It’s always worth it seeking out places such as this. It reminds me of the basement in City Lights in San Francisco, which when I visited about ten years ago, was still a treasure trove of works in translation.
TOG
May 15, 2010 at 9:12 pm |
Hi I’m Barbara and will be in Santorini on May 19th. I can’t wait to visit this bookstore. I’m a retired English teacher and now a poet living in Cambridge MA… I have a chapbook and some poems about my Greek heritage. My mother was born in northern Greece. Do you know if they have readings and /or open mike? I would like to participate. I am staying at the Hotel Keti. Thanks… Sincerely… Barbara Thomas
May 18, 2010 at 12:28 pm |
I talked with a young man at this book store in May. He was a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Please give him this message-
Those whose rights are being oppressed require your services.
Don R. Cherek
Retired Professor of Psychiatry
April 2, 2011 at 10:58 am |
[…] είναι ενημερωμένο όσο και το προσωπικό του (διαβάζω σε αυτό το blog ότι σε κάποιον αρέσει ιδιαίτερα ο Καναδός συγγραφέας […]
May 18, 2012 at 2:17 am |
I am taking a group of college students to Santorini in August, primarily because I want to go to Atlantis Books.
June 12, 2013 at 9:12 am |
A very nice location and a plethora of books.
Zaxarias
April 2, 2014 at 7:14 pm |
Atlantis Books is a truly amazing bookstore. It is located in the basement of a white house in Oia, Santorini. Atlantis Books was started by Craig Walzer and Oliver Wise, two 25-year-old Americans, who were vacationing on Santorini in 2002.