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| Houston's Blue Willow Bookshop | |
In 1996, Valerie Koehler bought an independent bookstore in Houston, Tex., that had been around since December of 1973. She named the store Blue Willow Bookshop, and it's still going strong 18 years later.
The shop is 1,400 square feet and divided roughly in half between kid's books and adult books. At any given time, Koehler stocks 7,000-8,000 titles and turns the inventory over four times per year. "Book club fiction," as Koehler put it, does best; although only two book clubs actually meet in the store, Blue Willow provides books for 50 registered clubs. Commercial women's fiction, as well as teen and young adult books, also are among the store's strong sellers.
"We move things around a lot, keep things fresh," Koehler said. "We'll try tons of new things. But we've always been here, and we still have all the original bookshelves."
Events are a big draw; beyond the usual author visits, Blue Willow partners with many Houston organizations, including the Progressive Forum, the World Affairs Council, several sorority alumni associations, charities, antique shows, writing teacher conferences, libraries and local schools. In cooperation with local libraries and schools, the store has created three book festivals for kids and teens: Bookworm Festival, Tweens Read and TeenBookCon. On February 8, Blue Willow worked with Houston-area librarians to hold the first-ever Bookworm Festival, a free, one-day festival for emerging readers and the authors who write for them. On April 26 was TeenBookCon, a yearly book festival for teens and YA authors, and in September will come the middle-grade centric Tweens Read.
"We started with TeenBookCon," explained Koehler. TeenBookCon, as well as Tweens Read and Bookworm, are held in local schools. "A librarian initially approached me about starting a festival, and I matched her up with another librarian. Gradually they put together an executive committee. They plan the event; we sponsor it and get the authors in from New York."
This year TeenBookCon drew nearly 30 authors, and more than 1,500 kids attended, with "great sales and happy teens engaging in book conversation," Koehler said. The authors included John Corey Whaley (Noggin), Len Vlahos (The Scar Boys), Jillian Tamaki (This One Summer), Jason Reynolds (When I Was the Greatest) and headliner Laurie Halse Anderson (The Impossible Knife of Memory). After a couple of successful, very well-received TeenBookCons, a member of the executive committee approached Koehler about doing the same sort of event for middle grade readers.
"It really works for teens, and the authors say that this is as close as they get to their readers," said Koehler. She was unsure about expanding the suite of book festivals beyond the three already in operation. "At this point we've kind of completed the cycle of these three age groups. I wouldn't want to pull away from any of the core groups. Although we might have to move them into bigger schools."
The frequency of major author events depends primarily on "what comes from New York," but Koehler is still able to bring in authors like Sue Monk Kidd, Susan Cooper, Chelsea Handler and Rick Riordan. "We're lucky in that we're easy to get to," said Koehler. "Houston is a huge hub city, and we have the opportunity to match authors with participating local organizations. But we can still sometimes go a month without getting a fiction author."
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The Blue Willow Bookshop team: (l. to r.): Kathleen Klingshirn; owner Valerie Koehler; "resident Internet-guy" (and comics enthusiast) Kirk Reedstrom; events coordinator Cathy Berner; bookkeeper Cynthia Kuhn; middle-grade-and-YA enthusiast Jennifer Gwydir. |
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Koehler employs 14 staff members at Blue Willow, all of whom are part timers. She makes a point of hiring at least a few high school seniors each year, since she grew up working in a family business. "My father owned a grocery store," she explained. "And he always hired teenagers. I feel strongly about giving kids an opportunity to have a first job in a safe atmosphere."
Shortly after Koehler bought Blue Willow, her parents moved back to Houston, and her father, elated that Koehler had started a small business, frequently helped out in the store. It was then that she got her somewhat unusual nickname: "Girl Boss." The store's first ever event was for the author of a long since out-of-print book called Girl Boss. Koehler was so fixated on making sure the event went well, and said the phrase "Girl Boss" so many times, that her father began teasing her. "I kept saying it: 'Girl Boss', 'Girl Boss'," Koehler recounted, laughing, "and Dad started calling me it. Then it kind of stuck. I've tried to drop it, but people say I can't."
Koehler does not have plans for any major changes to Blue Willow although recently the store installed new carpet. "We love it," Koehler said. "We splurged on padding this time, and it's very comfortable to walk on and the color works to complement all the wood." Otherwise, Koehler will continue to sell books and experiment with a variety of events.
"Every year we say we're going to have some kind of anniversary, but it falls in October," said Koehler. "It's a very busy time of the year for us, with Tweens Read and the Texas Book Festival. But one of these days we'll have some kind of celebration. Maybe for our 20th." --Alex Mutter