On November 11, 1970, two couples opened a small bookstore on the ground floor of a duplex on West 17th Street, near the University of Texas campus. They started with $5,000 and named it Grok Books, after Robert Heinlein’s novel Stranger in a Strange Land. They stocked small presses, alternative politics, metaphysics and Eastern religions.
A new name and a new home
The shop later moved to Brodie Oaks and was renamed BookPeople, a nod to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Phillip Sansone bought the store in the summer of 1978, and sales grew tenfold in the 1980s as the store began hosting author events.
Sixth and Lamar
In 1995, BookPeople moved to its current location at Sixth and Lamar, in a store of roughly 40,000 square feet. It now employs more than 100 people and includes a cafe, a children’s section called BookKids and a mystery section called MysteryPeople.
Community first
BookPeople is a founding member of the Austin Independent Business Alliance. It hosts hundreds of events a year, runs programs for teens such as the TeenPress Corps and a literary camp, and donates to school libraries and literacy programs.
Know before you go
- Location: Sixth and Lamar, Austin.
- Check the BookPeople events calendar for author signings and readings.
It is a good example of how an independent shop can grow without losing its identity.
Featured photo: BookPeople by LoneStarMike, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
