Founded in 1992, Mysterious Galaxy is an independent genre bookstore specializing in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, young adult, romance, and horror. We are dedicated to providing readers and book collectors with a great selection of books as well as the opportunity to meet many of those authors through our author events. It is through these events, conventions, and directly from publishers that we’re able to provide many signed first editions.
We’ve also expanded beyond our Galaxy’s walls by participating in community events, partnering with local non-profit organizations, and helping teachers bring authors into their schools. Our staff takes pride in providing great customer service and are not only knowledgeable but passionate about reading. We love getting to share our enthusiasm through hand-selling as well as writing reviews we post on our website and publish in our monthly newsletter.
The founders of Mysterious Galaxy are Terry Gilman, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, and Jeff Mariotte. They met and began talking about Mysterious Galaxy in late 1992 when they recognized a need for a genre store in San Diego and saw it as a way to share their passion for books, bookselling, and a love of reading with their community. Mysterious Galaxy opened on May 8, 1993 and among the authors who celebrated the opening of the store with hundreds of fans were Ray Bradbury, David Brin, and Robert Crais.
In 2020, San Diego locals Matt Berger and Jenni Marchisotto became the new owners of Mysterious Galaxy bookstore: "We want to keep all that makes Mysterious Galaxy special while continuing to expand its presence in the community.We have always seen Mysterious Galaxy as a safe place for anyone interested in exploring new worlds and never want that to change."
Our mission is to continue to be a part of our community of readers and writers for as long as there are books to be sold, authors to host, and a variety of ways to share our passion for reading and books.