The Center for Fiction - Brooklyn, New York

J. Andrea

An excellent space for locals. They host cool events, the book selection is excellent, and the little cafe in the back can be a life-saver, especially since they also sell beer/wine!

I will say that the true beauty and magic of the space is reserved for members. That second floor is great. One of my favorite things to do is get a glass of wine and find a comfy chair on the second floor and read. I’ve also worked from there/studied from there, borrowed books from their library. If you’re local and have been on the fence about the membership—it’s very worth it. Just keep an eye out for emails with special closures!

Vanessa Dyce-Smith

Really enjoyed my visit here! I was visiting Brooklyn for the week and was dying to stop by. I loved each of the personalized staff picks selections and found they had a really good depth of variety in their literature. I was overall impressed by their vast collection of social science, fiction, and even nonfiction reads. It seems like a wonderful community as well where they have an attached cafe that hosts event through the week (though I wasn't able to attend any). The staff were really nice and helpful and I ended up picking out one of their books where you "judge it by the first line" and was delighted to find the surprise when I got back home. All in all, excited to go back!

Vanessa Cervini

I wanted to love this place so bad. It does great at organizing events with cool guests BUT it’s not an appealing space. The “public” sitting area is tiny and extremely uncomfortable. The caffe is beyond disappointing, limited pastry/food offers - zero vegan options - and still charging extra for non-dairy milk. If you’re looking for a third space, this is sadly not it currently. I would love to come back, and even consider a membership, when the organization gets with the times. I know it can be so much better!

Daniel Maryanovsky

The bookstore is quality, the cafe is spacious and warm, and the events are excellent. The upstairs, members-only space is huge and beautiful. I work remotely from this space several
Times a week - it’s an excellent space to be productive, to relax and read, to meet similarly nerdy and bookish people, and to just be in.

The pastries deserve special recognition - as does the shower in the bathroom

Lindy Giusta

Recently went to Center for Fiction for the first time a few months ago after wanting to go for a while. I loved it! Well curated books even thought some are way too high to reach/see but have a lovely Beauty and the Beast library feel because of that. What is most note-worthy is that this place is a non-profit that does seemingly great things for the literary community and the events are top-notch quality.
Recently became a member and the member space is a dream and a decent deal for the atmosphere (reading room with no tech, tech working space, large outdoor patio, unique library services), super excited about it!
The coffee is very good and like that members get a 10% discount (hey anything helps!) and love that adult bevy's are served as well.
Their events seem very well-curated and very professional and intriguing and there is a TON of events which I love happening all the time and love that they have a literary Pride event coming up.
My only complaint is that they pay their staff based on their salary scale on their job postings terribly low. One could not live in NYC on that way unless sharing a room with 30943049 people. Still, I liked it so much and as a former librarian was considering working there but alas, never heard back despite feeling like I was quite qualified. Oh well, it's a tough market and can't be too disappointed for making a wage that is not livable.
Will definitely become a favorite hangout of mine, love it!

Brandon E

Stopped by earlier today. Overall not very impressive - the space on the second floor is reserved for members only leaving the first floor for the public. Book selection was fairly small, pretty much the size of a bodega with a small tiny cafe attached

Definitely not worth visiting from Manhattan or making a trip out too.

Margaux

There’s probably a lot that’s nice about this bookstore that i’m not willing to appreciate because you have to ask permission to see books. The books are stacked high and out of reach. An employee has to climb on a ladder to grab any book you’d like to see that’s out of reach, which is most of them. What quiet person in the mood for a good book wants to pass a gatekeeper before they can hold a book of interest?

Sasha Bent

Conveniently located at the intersection of Lafayette and Hanson, the space has wall to wall books, but somehow it feels like a rather limited selection because the space isn’t large despite its incredibly high ceilings. They make a concerted effort to keep things well organized, highlight themes and special populations but it doesn’t feel warm nor authentic so there doesn’t appear to be a true sense of community.

The cafe is cute but overly pricy, even by neighborhood standards.

Overall, I’d rather not patronize this business.