thepublishingtimes.comEditorial

The Publishing Times

All the News That’s Fit to Publish

publishing-news · Guides

Vroman's and Book Soup Pass From the Sheldon Family to Robert Hoffman

Pasadena's Vroman's Bookstore and West Hollywood's Book Soup have a new owner. Both stores say their staff, author events and book buying continue unchanged.

The Publishing Times Editorial Desk · September 26, 2026 · 3 min read

Vroman's and Book Soup Pass From the Sheldon Family to Robert Hoffman

Who owns Vroman's now? Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena has passed from the Sheldon family to Robert Hoffman and his family, the store announced in a letter to customers. Book Soup, on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, announced that it has changed hands "as part of the same transition." Both letters are signed by CEO Julia Cowlishaw.

A century of Sheldon ownership

According to Vroman's, the store spent more than 100 years in the Sheldon family, including more than 50 years under Joel Sheldon. Book Soup was founded by Glenn Goldman in 1975 as the "Bookseller to the Great and Infamous." Sheldon took it over from Goldman's estate in 2009 and ran it for the past 17 years.

"After talking with Robert and his family, I knew we had found the right stewards," Sheldon said in both announcements. Neither letter gives a price or other terms of the sale.

Who Robert Hoffman is

Both stores describe Hoffman as a longtime customer. Vroman's says his mother first brought him to the store when he was five, and she had been introduced to it by her grandmother, Judge Georgia Bullock, whom the store describes as the first woman to serve as a municipal and superior court judge in California. The store counts five generations of the family as customers.

Book Soup says Hoffman first visited with his mother during one of his childhood acting auditions in the 1970s and kept coming back through his years at UCLA. For the past 38 years he has worked in Washington, D.C., which Vroman's describes as a career in public policy and public affairs.

What changes, and what doesn't

Both stores list the same four commitments:

  • The store: same address and same shelves.
  • The team: same staff.
  • The programming: author events, book clubs (at Vroman's), signings (at Book Soup) and community partnerships "continue as planned."
  • The curation: how the stores buy, sell and recommend books and gifts is not changing.

The stores say customers will have chances to meet Hoffman in the coming months. For now, questions can go to the address listed in each store's letter.

Why it matters to authors

Both stores host regular author events in the Los Angeles area. For authors with events already booked, both stores say author programming continues as planned.

Sources