In Spite of Economy, An Indie Bookstore Gets...

Print is dead...long live print! Defying struggling book sales and a sluggish economy, two award-winning book nerds set out to open a brick-and-mortar book store.

Jessica Stockton Bagnulo (of the Written Nerd) and Rebecca Fitting announced via email (and blog) this week the official plans to begin development of their long-awaited indie shop called Greelight Bookstore, located in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn, NY. The announcement is well-timed, as it follows Book Expo America, the largest annual publishing industry event, which attracted thousands of fellow nerds and industry types to NYC over the weekend.

No stranger to the indie scene, Jessica has worked as a bookseller and events coordinator at one of the last great shops in Manhattan, McNally-Jackson Bookstore (formerly McNally-Robinson). For booklovers in the New York area, Greenlight is sure to become a local favorite and a worthwhile trip to Fort Greene.

Please join me in congratulating Jessica and Rebecca, and wishing them all the best in this exciting new endeavor. Check out Jessica's long-running, much-beloved book blog here, and keep up with the ongoing growth of the new store on the Greenlight blog.

Here's the official release email from Rebecca and Jessica:

Dear friends of Greenlight Bookstore,

It's the moment we've all been waiting for: the lease is signed, the contractors are on their way, and we've got an opening date target for Fort Greene's own independent bookstore! At last we can reveal the mystery location:

On June 1, Greenlight Bookstore became the official tenant of 686 Fulton Street, at the corner of South Portland -- right in the heart of Fort Greene.

If you're not already familiar with this corner, we recommend checking it out in Street View on Google Maps to get a sense of the bookstore space in context (it's the former Nationwide Insurance space.) Across the intersection is Habana Outpost, one of the most exciting restaurants in Fort Greene and a neighborhood staple. Around the corner on South Portland is the C train, Lafayette Avenue stop, making us accessible from anywhere in the 5 boroughs. The G train is two blocks northwest on Fulton, and if you continue strolling in that direction for a few blocks more, you'll find yourself at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, one of Brooklyn's finest cultural institutions.

And just look at those beautiful windows!!

The space is about 2000 square feet -- just right for stocking a wide variety of books in many categories, and for hosting great author readings and other events, while still feeling cozy. The funky layout has both wide open spaces and nooks and crannies, perfect for a quiet browse, for reading a picture book with a child, or for chatting with friends and neighbors over a cup of coffee from Marquet, right next door.

We have great landlords who have been invested in the neighborhood for a long time: Samy and Hesky Brahimy of IBEC Building Corporation. We're also working with a local Brooklyn architect team, Jarrett Pelletier and Frederick Tang of deFT Projects, on a plan to make this a beautiful, welcoming space that incorporates the best traditions of bookstores and Brooklyn style, as well as the new energy and ideas that define our borough, and that we hope to bring to bookselling.

If all goes smoothly (and with construction projects being what they are, that's a fairly big if), we hope to be open in September. When we get a little bit closer, we'll start planing a grand opening party that will top even our amazing launch party last September at BAM. In the meantime, we'll be posting regular updates on the store's progress on our blog and Facebook page, and you can feel free to email us with your thoughts and comments.

Thank you for walking with us as we move toward our bookstore dream. We're looking forward to continuing to share this journey with you, and welcoming you into Greenlight Bookstore this fall.

Best,
Jessica and Rebecca

The Financials

Among our good news is the fact that we've just been approved for a business loan from the World Trade Center Small Business Recovery Fund, which means that we will definitely have the funding to make Greenlight Bookstore a reality. However, we're still accepting community lenders, since as we've been told by our mentors in bookselling, everything always costs more than you think it will. The additional funds we're able to collect, in increments of $1000 or more, will help to ensure that Greenlight Bookstore is able to stock a wide range of books, sustain a fully functional e-commerce website, and pay a living wage to its bookstore staff. And as a community lender, you'll be entitled to special discounts until your loan is paid off, and lender privileges throughout the life of the store. Details about becoming a community lender can be found here on our website, or you can feel free to email us with any questions. Thanks so much to the many lenders who have gotten on board already -- you are helping to make this happen!