Community
BY KATLYNN FOX
The Cedar Park and Leander areas are transitioning into hubs for independent bookstores to plant their brick-and-mortar locations. Between Leander and Cedar Park, six new bookstores opened in the last two years–four alone opening in 2025, including Adventures in Ink, The Kids Bookshop, Secret Lantern Books and Games and Phat Tracks Books & Records. The shops sell a range of comic books, children’s books, fantasy, romance, horror and a mixture of other physical media and entertainment. The cohort of bookstores that opened in 2025 joined Paper Bark Birch, a family-owned children’s book shop that began operations in December 2023. The store specializes in children’s products, Local bookstores expand options for readers
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Cedar Park and Leander bookstores 1 Paper Bark Birch: opened Dec. 2023 2 Adventures in Ink: opened Feb. 2025 3 The Kids Bookshop: opened Aug. 2025
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In 2026, Lioness Books is headed for Old Town Leander, eyeing a spring opening date, said owner Sarah Ambrus. The Williamson County-based mobile bookstore o ers a range of titles, as well as a selection of physical books, audiobooks and rare and collectible books. Lioness Books will mark the third Leander bookstore to open in the last two years.
When planning her goals for the year, Robertson hoped to encourage collaboration across the di erent booksellers in Cedar Park. Between Paper Bark Birch, Secret Lantern Books and Games and Phat Tracks Books and Records, the local stores have formed a community, each o ering a unique niche. On Feb. 28 the shops will host a Boozy Book Fair at The All Good in The Railyard shopping center. The fair will have a live DJ, food and drinks for purchase from JABS and The All Good and a variety of books, games and gifts. “As we continue to grow this,” Robertson said. “I’m really hoping that some of the bigger authors that tend to go to Austin will also come out to Cedar Park.” In addition to the emergence of locally-owned bookstores opening in recent years, the new Cedar Park Public Library also commemorated it’s rst year of operations. Since opening, the library has welcomed 655,785 visitors, a 143%
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4 Secret Lantern Books and Games: opened Oct. 2025 5 Phat Tracks Books & Records: opened Dec. 2025 6 Lioness Books: opening in the spring 2026
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events and storytimes, with a small selection of adult books, owner Stephanie Robertson said. As a member of several online bookseller organizations, Robertson was inspired by the range of events that other stores can host. It can be challenging to adapt what general-interest stores or adult-focused niche shops do and apply it to the children’s bookstore space, Robertson said. “But, as Cedar Park has grown, the literary community and we’ve added more bookstores here, we’ve really expanded who we reach,” Robertson added.
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Paper Bark Birch hosts a range of events for readers, including a book club and storytimes with characters like Waldo and Princess Tiana.
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COURTESY PAPER BARK BIRCH
Cedar Park
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increase from 2024, according to previous Community Impact reporting. The growth signals to a developing interest and network centered around literacy and community-focused events.
Secret Lantern Books and Games hosts recurring hobby nights and game nights.
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SOURCE: COMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESY SECRET LANTERN BOOKS AND GAMES
HYMEADOW 12611 Hymeadow (512) 506-8401
NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316
CEDAR PARK 13530 Ronald Reagan Blvd (512) 986-7681
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