An Indie Bookseller's Dream Comes True

"I dream of the day I can run events, handsell to curious customers and organize Avid Bookshop's shelves--but for now I have to bide my time and wait for the stars (and dollars) to align," Janet Geddis told me almost two years ago after I met her at SIBA's fall trade show.

Next month, Avid Bookshop will achieve genuine bricks and mortar status at 493 Prince Avenue in Athens, Ga. Geddis anticipates a soft opening in about four weeks, aiming for a grand opening by mid-October. Shelving (previously used by Chapters Literary Bookstore, Washington, D.C.) arrived yesterday, and most of her new book inventory should be there soon. "Once the shelves are positioned and we're ready to click 'submit' on our opening inventory, we'll keep everyone updated with a firm grand opening date. We haven't formally hired anyone yet, but we do have a list of at least 20 people who are applying (and we haven't even advertised the bookselling positions yet!)," she noted.

In many ways, Geddis has been living the irresistible and perilous life of an indie bookseller since she went public with her intentions in a blog post at I'm an Avid Reader on July 12, 2009. She has built strong community ties in Athens and done her homework--studying the industry, establishing an online version of Avid Bookshop, attending trade shows and conferences, connecting with a large network of other booksellers and scouting for the perfect location.

There is a narrative arc to this process (I was reading the opening lines of the tale a couple of years ago), so it is perhaps not surprising that an early and strong supporter of Avid Bookshop has been a storyteller from New England, the novelist Katharine Weber.

When Geddis created her Avid Bookshop fundraising page on IndieGoGo.com in 2010, "lots of generous people donated to the Avid startup funds, but Katharine's donation was bigger than most. She applauded my efforts and said that when the shop opened its doors, she'd love to fly down and do an event."

That offer became a reality earlier this week, when Weber conducted the first in-store events (see a video excerpt here) in the "raw space" that will soon be Avid Bookshop. She requested that her writing workshop be billed as an Avid fundraiser and, aware the space wasn't set up for a crowd yet, "had the idea that anyone who brought his/her own chair could get a discount to the workshop," said Geddis. "When the night was over, we'd keep the chairs we can use and donate the rest to the Habitat for Humanity Re-use Store up the street. Katharine also raffled off a private crit session. After the workshop, we hosted a 'meet the author' event where Katharine read from her latest book, The Memory of All That, and signed copies."

Geddis called the weekend events emblematic of her overall reception into the land of bookselling: "I guess this is all to say that, once again, the generosity of the people I've met in this industry has overwhelmed me. Were it not for fellow booksellers who offered up all their help from the beginning, I wouldn't have found this a viable plan. Were it not for the enthusiasm of journalists, I never would have had anyone outside of Athens hear about the bookshop. And were it not for virtual strangers reading your newspaper, I never would have gotten as much startup money and goodwill sent my way. And I certainly wouldn't have been able to welcome a New England author, one I'd never met, to my soon-to-open bookshop. I just love this world I've come into and love knowing that this really is the job for me."

Weber was also impressed by the experience, noting: "It is incredible to me how this town has embraced Janet's vision every step of the way. What she has done, creating a strong online presence first, and now the bricks and mortar, seems unusual but fruitful, as her relationships exist, her accounts are there, and her vision for every aspect of the store, from the shelving to the children's area to the coffee is so developed. Everything she can implement now has been thoroughly explored and refined, which seems like a huge advantage for a new bookshop."

When she first contacted Geddis about the proposed bookshop, Weber said she "wanted to help make it real, to offer her a future vision of authors coming from out of town to do events in her lively, successful store, because I thought this sense of the future would be helpful and encouraging at this stage of the plan.

"I was probably also being encouraging to myself as a novelist who has had the sad discovery that each time I have a new book in the works and am asked to list places where I have had good events for my previous books, more wonderful indies have closed. Bookstores like these, with thoughtful, literate booksellers who have a passion for books and know how to handsell books like mine, have made all the difference for me as an author."

Weber concluded with a bookstore blessing of sorts: "Surely someone who wants to do this, someone willing to invest her life, as Janet has, in opening a new independent bookstore in these perilous times, someone so inspiring to me, is deserving of being inspired herself. And now here we are! Welcome to the Avid Bookshop!" We heartily agree

.--Published in Shelf Awareness, issue #1554.