The founding partners were science fiction fans Dave Nee,[2] Debbie Notkin,[1] and Tom Whitmore.

As they sold books at Westercon in 1976, Sherry Gottlieb, founder of A Change of Hobbit (then in Westwood, later in Santa Monica, California), suggested that they open a store in Berkeley.

[6] In early 2010, The Other Change of Hobbit received an eviction notice, as the building at 2020 Shattuck had been sold, and the new owners hoped to put a restaurant in the space.

[7] The store reported receiving an eviction notice in 2013,[8] and relocated again, this time to a site on Kearney Street in El Cerrito, CA.

Authors who have read, signed books, and spoken at TOCOH include Neil Gaiman, Tanya Huff, Clive Barker, Terry Pratchett, Roger Zelazny, Anne McCaffrey, Harlan Ellison, C. J. Cherryh, Jane Fancher, Katherine Kurtz, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Joe Haldeman, Poul and Karen Anderson, Gordon Dickson, Octavia Butler, Thomas M. Disch, Michael Bishop, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Joanna Russ, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Madeleine L'Engle, artists Leo and Diane Dillon, Vonda N. McIntyre, Jane Yolen, musician/author Greg Kihn, Cecelia Holland, Kim Stanley Robinson, Pat Murphy, Sean Stewart, Cory Doctorow, David Weber, Terri Windling, Laurell K. Hamilton, and John Varley.

[9] Author appearances in 2010-2011 included Seanan McGuire, Clare Bell, Anne Harris, Richard Kadrey, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Claude Lalumière, Cecelia Holland, and Brian and Wendy Froud.