Congratulations to Highland Books, Brevard, N.C., which celebrated its 50th anniversary with an all-day party on Tuesday, April 1, that featured a sale, new branded merchandise, refreshments, and an offer to emboss purchased books with the store's 50th anniversary commemorative seal.
Leslie Logemann, who owns the store with her husband, Mark Connelley, said, "While Highland Books wouldn't be what it is without the hard work and dedication of the owners and employees who got us to this point, it really wouldn't have made it to 2025 and become a destination bookstore in western North Carolina without the love and support of its customers and this community as a whole. Brevard, and Transylvania County, is such a special and unique place, and Highland Books is such an integral part of it. This isn't my bookstore. It is most definitely the community's bookstore."
Highland Books was founded in 1975 by Jeanette Rowan, who sold the store a year later to Tim and Peggy Hansen, who owned the store for 40 years and built it into the form it has today. In 2015, the Hansens sold the store to Amanda and Chris Mosser, who in 2019 moved the store to its current location. In 2021, they sold the store to Logemann and Connelley.
Logemann has helped the store steadily grow and added events and attractions. "We expanded our hours and we're now open seven days a week, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. each day but Sunday when we're open 10-6. We moved the children's section downstairs so that it is larger and more accessible and turned the upstairs loft into an expanded young adult section, also with graphic novels and manga. We painted, upgraded railings, added bookshelves and displays, and we have quadrupled our inventory with not only more books, but other literary gift items. We now have weekly book clubs and regular offsite author events. We added a fabulous website that shows you what is in inventory at any moment and allows for easy shopping--pick up or shipping--and we offer free in-town delivery (often same day!). We have expanded our staff, now with nine full-time and part-time employees. I'm proud to say we are also a living wage employer."