Steal My Crawl: Kerri Sullivan
Need ideas for your crawl? We asked some folks to share how they participated last year, or what they’re planning to do this year. Take inspiration or copy them outright–we won’t tell!
Kerri Sullivan, New Jersey Bookstore Crawl organizer
Kerri Sullivan is a librarian, editor of New Jersey Fan Club, the founder of Jersey Collective, and the organizer of the crawl. She lives in Essex County, but is originally from Monmouth County.
Kerri’s 2025 Crawl
Last year, I drove about an hour from home to visit Frenchtown Bookshop. I always love visiting their impeccably curated shop. They stock a lot of the kinds of things I like to read, so of course I found a few things to buy (I remember picking up an anthology called My Favorite Plant). I finally got to meet my Instagram friend Katie, who works there, and I was so thrilled to see that the store was photographing customers and had a welcome chalkboard out front. I met up with Kristen, who designed our branding, and we loved watching everyone who was participating walking around with their crawl guides.
I stopped into a really cool gift shop, Sublime, on my way back to my car and was in for a really nice surprise: they were selling copies of my book! The store has since closed, but if I was going to Frenchtown again this year, I’d make time to pop into Modern Love across the street–they have really great and design-y housewares, stationery, and accessories. I’d also stop at Sandy’s Scoops for an ice cream break.
From there, Kristen and I hit up Labyrinth Books in Princeton. I bought a bunch of cute children’s books to give as a gift for my friend’s child’s book-themed first birthday party, and a mini-tote to put them all in. Another friend joined us, and we went to Jammin’ Crepes for lunch. I’d wanted to hit up Cloak and Dagger, too, but we lingered too long and ran out of time.
That Sunday, I stayed close to home and hit up The Collective Bookstore, Iris, Watchung Booksellers, and Montclair Book Center. I spend a lot of time at all of those stores throughout the year, usually at quieter off-times that work for my schedule, and it was so fun to see them so crowded with crawlers! Iris was one of my favorite local places, and by the time the crawl rolled around, the owner, Jamie, had announced the storefront would close in July, so I was glad I sent a few more people their way to experience her shop before it was gone.
Kerri’s 2026 Crawl
This year, we are having a few events along with the crawl, so I am structuring my weekend around those. On Friday, after Coffee, Coloring, and Crawl Guides, I’ll pop into Soldato since our event is located several feet from the bookstore. I’d also like to get to a few stores I haven’t been to before that aren’t too far: The Book House Millburn and Here’s the Story Bookstore. While I’m in the area, I’d stop into [words], too, and maybe grab a quick bite at Corner Slice.
On Sunday, we’re having an Afterparty at 3BR Distillery in Keyport, so I have a few options of how to spend the day. I’ll probably head to the shore area and hit up as many of the Monmouth County stores as I can before I get to the distillery.
Kerri’s shopping list:
Some favorite bookstores encountered on travels:
Octopus Books, Ottawa, ON, Canada
The Book Barn, Niantic, CT
Baldwin’s Book Barn, West Chester, PA
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, Montreal, QC, Canada
Fav bookstore merch: My tote from Book Larder in Seattle
A bookstore I’d like to visit: Upstairs Books in Warren, ME