The fragmentation of the public into separated echo chambers, accelerated by social media, algorithms, and AI swarms, has furthered the polarization of democracies, with a wave of right-wing populist parties worldwide. In the midst of rising hate speech, a new trend towards the rediscovery of analogue places of social exchange has emerged: small bookshops, self-published zines, and festivals of independent literature have been on the rise in Japan, significantly soaring since the corona pandemic. The project explores dokuritsu-shoten, a wave of newly founded independent bookstores since the late 2010s, deeply intertwined with self-published books and zines, under the concept of third places. The presentation introduces preliminary findings from fieldwork in independent bookstores and literature festivals in Japan, drawing on interviews with bookstore owners and self-publishers, as well as independent books and zines found in these spaces. Details and registration here