About Us

Hi, welcome to Onyx Oasis Bookstore!

Our Story

Onyx Oasis Bookstore is an online and pop-up bookstore located in Phoenix, Arizona, rooted in the the experiences and voices of Black people and our diverse perspectives. Created by Tranise "Tre" Robinson, an educator, avid reader and lover of Black literature, this bookstore strives to be an oasis for Black literature that share stories written for and by Black people and our countless cultures, experiences, and identities. We also are the home of various books by Indigenous and authors of color. Onyx Oasis thrives to be  a safe pace for readers to discuss, shop for, and find books related to their individual identities and experiences in any and all genres from horror to romance and everything in between. Through this bookstore, we hope to highlight the many published and Independent Black, Indigenous and authors of color and their literary works.

We, at Onyx Oasis Bookstore, are passionate about ending book bans, this bookstore is a place where banned books are found and celebrated for the impact they have on readers of color, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, people living with disabilities and so many other historically and currently marginalized groups around the world. 

Our Mission and Vision

The mission of Onyx Oasis Bookstore is to provide a safe and welcoming environment for Black, brown, and QTBIPOC (queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color) readers to explore stories created for and by us. We offer a platform for both published and independent authors alike to share their stories allowing readers to easily connect with fiction novels that they can identify with and/or learn from. Onyx Oasis Bookstore celebrates our many cultures and welcomes diversity in literature. While literary communities, book bans, and the publishing industry marginalize Black and brown voices, Onyx Oasis Bookstore amplifies our stories, creating an environment both in person and virtually where these communities feel seen, heard, and celebrated. Moreover, Onyx Oasis Bookstore offers unique book boxes, called Oasis Kits, that emphasize the need for rest as a form of revolution, especially for Black women. The boxes are curated to include items that encourage rest and relaxation from Black-owned businesses across the nation. These boxes ensure that as a Black-owned business, we are supporting our community and highlighting other Black-owned businesses.

Our Goals

Onyx Oasis Bookstore has three main goals,

1. Amplifying the voices of Black, brown and QTBIPOC people through fiction literature

2. Create a community of Black, brown and QTBIPOC readers both online and in person

3. Highlight Black, brown, and QTBIPOC independent authors to give them the opportunity to showcase their stories.

Through intentionally curating our inventory to include Black, brown and QTBIPOC  stories with a variety of experiences and identities, we’ve seen the impact from the smile on our customers faces at our in-person pop-up events when they find a book with a character with similar identities or experiences. These novels matter to me because they matter to my customers, and they matter to the authors who worked tirelessly to write them.