FAQs

What is the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl?

The Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl is a nine-day event that celebrates Indie Bookstores in and around the Pittsburgh region. The goal of this event is to encourage local book lovers to support and explore the independent bookstores that exist in their neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.

To participate in the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl is easy - simply pick a day (or more than one day) and make a list of stores you’d like to visit. (Click HERE for a list of participating stores.) Pick up a passport book - they’re free at all participating locations while supplies last - and receive a stamp for every store you stop at between July 18-26th. If you hit enough stores during our Crawl event you will be entered to win some amazing prizes through our raffle drawing.

This Crawl is designed for you to go-at-your-own-pace. Whether you have one day to spend with us or plan to visit locations on every day of the event, the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl is here for you. Make plans for a solo trip, a trip with your book club, a family exploration through the city, and more! It doesn’t matter how you plan to get to stores, what matters is that you get out and discover some of the amazing indie bookstores in and around the greater Pittsburgh region.

Where will the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl take place?

The Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl takes place in and around the Pittsburgh area. The crawl will happen at 30 locations in SW Pennsylvania, spanning six counties and representing a wide array of indie bookstores in the area. For a full list of this year’s participating stores, click HERE.

When will the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl take place?

The 2026 Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl will take place in and around the Pittsburgh area from July 18 through July 26, 2026

How can I participate in the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl?

During the dates of the crawl stop at any participating stores and pick up a Passport Book. You can get your passport book stamped at any location you visit during the event. Collect enough stamps in your book and you can be entered to win some fun prizes.

How much does it cost to participate in the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl?

The Passport Book is free (while supplies last). We encourage you to support the indie bookstores you visit with a purchase as well as a Passport stamp - stock up on some great new books for the summer or vacation while you shop the Book Crawl.

Why do I need a passport book?

Passport books contain information on each participating location in them, so they’re a great resource if you want to plan a big trip to a lot of indie bookstores in the area (highly recommended). Passport Books must also be stamped at each location to show that you visited that store. Once you have enough stamps in your passport book, you can be entered to win a prize from the Book Crawl. A stamped passport book is the only way to be entered to win a prize from the Book Crawl.

Is this a family-friendly event?

The Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl is a family friendly event. We encourage families to participate in the crawl together throughout the duration of the event.

How many stamps will I need to collect to be entered into a prize raffle?

As 2025 was our first time hosting the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl, we set the minimum for the raffle at 6 stamps for 24 stores. We quickly learned this was too low, as some pockets of Pittsburgh had six stamp locations within just a handful of blocks. People were speed-running their stamping, which led to some chaos.

This year we’ve set the goal higher in hopes that it will encourage you to take some time to get out and explore new corners of our region. For 2026 you will need 15 stamps to be entered into our raffle prize drawing. If you plan to participate every day of the crawl, that’s 1.5 stores per day. If you’re a weekend-only kind of person, that’s 3-4 stops a day.

We have made the raffle drawing even bigger than last year, to make all the bookshop hopping worth it. More prizes, more winners, more fun!

Do I need to make a purchase at each location to earn a stamp?

You do not. However, you will need to find the Hidden Object in stores where a purchase isn’t being made to receive your Passport Stamp. More information on this scavenger hunt will be available in this section closer to the Book Crawl’s start.

How do I enter myself into the raffle?

Once you have 15 stamps (or once you decide that your Crawl is complete) you can complete the raffle page in your passport book and leave it with any participating store location. After the Crawl is complete we will gather all entries to have a giant raffle.

What kind of stores are participating in the Book Crawl?

This year we have independent bookstores that represent everything you would hope to find in the book community. The thirty locations participating in this year’s Book Crawl include new bookstores, used bookstores, combination new/used bookstores, children’s bookstores, comic bookstores, genre-specific bookstores, and more! For a full list of participating locations, please click HERE.

Will stores be holding sales during the Crawl?

There is no requirement for a store to hold a sale during the GPBC to participate in the event. Some stores may host extra sales or savings during the event if they feel it is in the best interest of their store. Please keep in mind that the GPBC is an event that helps to financially solidify the bottom line of many local bookstores in the Pittsburgh region - if a store does not offer a sale or discount, they may not be able to.

Will stores be offering extra/extended hours for the event?

There is no requirement for a store to extend their hours during the GPBC to participate in the event. Some stores may decide to offer additional hours specifically for the Book Crawl. We will do our best to include the most accurate hours/information in the Passport books for each store’s location. We strongly suggest that you check with a store for their specific hours.

Will stores be holding special events during the Crawl?

There is no requirement for a store to hold special events during the GPBC to participate in the event. Some stores may offer additional events during the Crawl. The best way to see what events will be hosted during the Book Crawl is to follow our Instagram page (@pghbookcrawl) or follow any bookstores you want to stop by.

I’m an author/vendor/artist/etc. who would like to participate in The Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl. How can I make this happen?

While we would love to have a centralized area for you to contact the GPBC and be paired up with a store or stores to work with during the Crawl, schedules, staffing, and a store’s square footage often make it hard for us to coordinate all of this for so many stores. This website is also only monitored by a handful of people and this would add a lot of work to our schedule.

The best way to become involved in the GPBC if you are an author/vendor/artist/etc is to reach out directly to stores that you believe would be a good fit for your brand. A list of all participating stores can be found HERE. Each store will be able to address their own availability and how it might work with your schedule.

I’d like to volunteer to help with the Book Crawl, how can I?

Watch this space - and our social media - for opportunities to volunteer with us

I have a question that wasn’t answered here, where can I find an answer?

Contact us HERE and we’ll be in touch ASAP. Please keep in mind the contact form is monitored by only two people, so be patient if it takes us a few days to get back to you.