Backstory started in the Foster-Powell neighborhood in Portland. I am the controlling owner, but the shop is really an amalgam of its readers, supporters, crafters, and friends. I use the term “we” as the point of view of the shop, because it is made of so many of us.

Taking a few tentative steps in late 2014, Backstory opened in a weird little building at the Carts on Foster food cart pod. In October of 2015, we moved to 6010 SE Foster. Here, we had art shows, poetry readings, a few classes, and craft nights.

In the summer of 2018, we were able to make a synergistic move to the previous home of Hawthorne Boulevard Books. The owner of that shop remained in her home, becoming our new landlady, in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Now in April 2020, we are creating an online space to accommodate for the challenges of living in a world with the novel coronavirus. The bookstore misses you all - bookstores require readers and talkers and books flowing to and from. We are still here to provide you with books and hear what you have to say. It’s just different right now.

Amanda Doimas