Yellow Peril Books is, at its core, a bookstore. But we want to redefine—or, really, remind people—what bookstores can and should be. Bookstores are places of learning, places of discussion, places to connect with others through books or to savor time alone with a good story, places of comfort, places to discover not just works by different writers but also different artists of all disciplines, because literature doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

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For us, giving our Asian American community space to define and cultivate what it means to be Asian American for ourselves is critical. We picked the name “Yellow Peril Books” to directly reclaim space for Asian stories written by actual Asian people. While 20th century “Yellow Peril” media purportedly showed Asian characters, it only ever really depicted American and European fears of Asians. The propaganda inspired stereotypes and sentiments that still harm our communities to this day. More than ever, it feels critical to share the nuance and truth in who and all that we are

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At Yellow Peril Books, we want to show you how rich the Asian American experience and identity is, our history that helped shape us, and give us space to define what's next as a community. 

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