Viva Books, a used and new bookstore with an arts focus, has opened for business in Baltimore, Md. For now the shop is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., but owner Viva Stowell hopes to add hours and staff as the city continues to reopen.
Stowell, who described the bookstore as her "life's dream," opened the store to the public on March 28. She noted that Viva Books is located on North Charles Street in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood, an area that "was once littered with bookstores." Hers is now the only bookstore in the area, and area businesses and residents have been "extremely receptive" and "so supportive." Eventually Stowell hopes to start hosting events with local authors and artists.
Stowell's career in books began in 1991, when she was hired at Tower Books in Seattle, Wash. She went on to work at Tower Books in Portland, Ore., and she managed the Tower Books in New York City. She was hired as the Mid-Atlantic sales rep by Phaidon Press and later became sales manager of Mitchell Beazley/Millers distributed lines.
After moving to Moscow, Idaho, Stowell and her late husband, Edward Bell (previously a remainders buyer at Powell's Books in Portland), opened a bookstore of their own. After Bell died, Stowell continued to operate Palouse Books while saving money to open her dream store. Once the pandemic began last year, Stowell decided to head back east. She closed Palouse Books on June 30 and moved to Baltimore.
"I was that kid reading while walking home," Stowell said. "Books have always been my love, my escape and, for much of my life, my vocation."