Short Summary
Hi, my name is Chris Crawley. I am the owner of That Bookstore in Blytheville. After graduation from Marvell High School in Marvell, Arkansas, I went off to college and graduate school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I launched my career through the traditional fast food management pipeline. Later, I became a community organizer, then owned and managed an IT staffing and training company. The opportunity to follow my passion for stories and books gave me the opportunity to become a talent manager and literary manager in Los Angeles. After making a miraculous recovery from a near fatal illness, the opportunity to come home to Blytheville and purchase That Bookstore was a dream come true!
What We Need & What You Get
- The reason this campaign is important? That Bookstore in Blytheville has been my favorite bookstore since it opened in the 1970’s. It has become my task to restore this historic bookstore to a new standard of grandeur. That Bookstore in Blytheville is engaged in a complete restoration campaign to vastly expand the store’s inventory, upgrade the signage, and refurbish the interior and infrastructure of the store, all in an undertaking to grow the customer and visitor base while strengthening the store’s financial structure. This effort to raise funds will help ensure that my support team and I can keep our independent bookstore alive and flourishing!
- What will contributors help me to achieve? That Bookstore in Blytheville has been the literary and literacy pulse of Blytheville, Mississippi County and the State of Arkansas for nearly 40 years. I am committed to making certain it has a long and prosperous future ahead, so as to continue to inspire literary works by Southern authors and the ongoing development of literacy skills for young and old throughout Arkansas. Our community needs this; our state needs this and our nation needs this! Won’t you do what you can to help keep That Bookstore in Blytheville going strong?
- How much am I attempting to raise and where will the money go after reaching my goal? That Bookstore needs to raise $50K to expand its book and educational toy inventory, restore its historic front sign and make significant repairs to this 100 year-old building’s interior and physical infrastructure. Among the list of vital repairs are upgrading the electrical wiring, refurbishing the walls and ceilings and repairing the floors. Also required for improving the store’s physical infrastructure are upgrades to the interior lighting and replacing the air conditioning and heating units. In addition, we would like to make improvements in order to add usable space for events by restoring the sagging upper storage area, installing a back porch and putting in an outdoor public address system.
- What do you get for your contribution to 'The Restore the Store' campaign? Top donors will be granted the privilege to ‘Name a Section of That Bookstore’ (i.e. 'Mystery', 'Horror', 'Romance', etc.) in their honor or to memorialize someone special to them or who loved the Bookstore. Other perks include receiving or being able to give a lifetime discount membership to the Bookstore, gift certificates, t-shirts, hats, bookmarks, pens and refrigerator magnets. All perks are available by making contributions that allow everyone to know how much you care about That Bookstore.
- What happens if the campaign doesn't reach the funding goal? In the event the campaign does not reach the intended goal, all monies raised will still go toward restoring That Bookstore in Blytheville with repairs prioritized according to the funds available. We will make all funds received stretch far as possible. Should we surpass our goal, excess funds will be used to retire the Bookstore’s mortgage, ensuring its presence for decades to come.
The Impact
Nearly 40 years ago, then-schoolteacher Mary Gay Shipley rented a storefront in downtown Blytheville, Arkansas, and opened a pre-owned paperback exchange as an affiliate of The Book Rack, a loosely structured used bookstore chain out of Memphis. A passionate reader and literacy advocate, Shipley soon moved the The Book Rack to Blytheville's Main Street, filling 2,400 square feet with new and classic hardcover and softcover fiction, non-fiction and a deep bench of children's literature and educational toys.
As the only bookstore in town (and the only one anywhere in the surrounding area, for that matter), the bookstore was locally referred to as "that bookstore". The moniker stuck and in 1994, its brand was officially changed to "That Bookstore in Blytheville". Now an Arkansas State Treasure and cultural institution, That Bookstore in Blytheville is so well-known in the world of books and to book lovers across the country that it requires no further naming embellishment. "'THAT Bookstore'; you know, the one in that little town in Arkansas that _____________________ " -- fill in the blank: "made John Grisham / David Guterson / Rebecca Wells / Mary Kay Andrews / Terry Kay famous / bestsellers / rich;" "always recommends the perfect book;" "is such a wonderful place;" "has all the booksignings." President Bill Clinton referred it to as “one of his favorite bookstores on earth!”
Shipley put her heart and soul into the business, nurturing readers and authors equally. A lifelong resident of Blytheville, she knew her customers and they knew her, and they trusted her recommendations.
That Bookstore in Blytheville simultaneously catered to Southern chick lit lovers, regional history fans, blockbuster crime and suspense appetites and the tastes for finely-crafted literary works. As a bookseller, Mary Gay Shipley was so attuned to her customers that Malcolm Gladwell featured her in a 1999 New Yorker article explaining collaborative filtering -- which is the basis for what we now experience with Amazon's recommendations every time we sign into its site.
Thanks in great part to That Bookstore in Blytheville and the gifted eye of Mary Gay Shipley, a raft of writers are now household names -- such as John Grisham, Rebecca Wells, David Guterson and Terry Kay. In the book entitled "My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read and Shop", Grisham tells the story of how Shipley touted his first novel, "A Time to Kill", when he was struggling to sell its first run of 5,000 from his car, and how That Bookstore in Blytheville threw him a book signing party on the eve of "The Firm"'s debut on the New York Times Bestseller List. His unwavering allegiance to That Bookstore in Blytheville, borne of its early but also unwavering support of him, has made the store one of only five bookstores worldwide to receive autographed first editions of every one of John Grisham's works on release.
In 1993, That Bookstore in Blytheville bought and sold Rebecca Wells's first novel, "Little Altars Everywhere", by the dozen -- though the store rarely stocked more than a couple of copies of anything at a time -- featuring it in prominent display and in its printed, pre-internet newsletter. Wells, a Southern-bred author like Grisham, and her publisher had no money for a publicity campaign, and sales were, in indigenous jargon, 'slower than molasses'. But Shipley spotted a gem -- "Little Altars Everywhere" went on to become a national best seller and spawned Wells's multi-million dollar Ya-Ya Sisterhood franchise, effectively founding the Southern chick lit genre.
That Bookstore in Blytheville hosted a book signing for Melinda Haynes and her first novel, "Mother of Pearl", before Oprah Winfrey named it an Oprah's Pick, sending it to the top of the charts. After Mary Gay Shipley read David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars" as an advance reader's copy, she called the publisher to praise it and told them to "write it down: M.G.S. says this is an important book." Guterson's debut took the 1994 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Shipley's marked influence on the book publishing industry -- and its well-earned respect -- is further evidenced by the years she served on the board of directors of the American Booksellers Association as well as the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, representing many tiny bookstores nationwide.
The sidewalk's skirt at the store's threshhold is inlaid with ceramic tiles that still read "THE BOOK RACK" from its original incarnation, and hundreds of writers have crossed those tiles to sit by the woodburning stove, read to enthusiastic audiences from throughout the Southeast and autograph their works. That Bookstore in Blytheville, albeit a small, independent bookstore in a town of fewer than 20,000 people, has entertained President Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Robert Olen Butler, Willie Morris, Kathryn Stockett, Pat Conroy, Charles Frazier, Norris Church Mailer, Marie Bostwick, Mitch Albom, Meadowlark Lemon and Ferrol Sams, to name but a very few.
From the beginning, That Bookstore in Blytheville's purpose has been much more than a purveyor of books. Reading circles and book clubs have found the perfect ambiance for their meetings. The Bookstore also serves as a beacon for literacy, encouraging young readers and the love of books, and includes in its merchandise a broad selection of educational toys and games.
A happy discovery occurred when the Bookstore was found to be a welcoming venue for musical events. For many years, That Bookstore in Blytheville has been the home of the O’ Susanna House Concert Series, showcasing songwriter-musicians from all over the United States.
For the once-vibrant cotton town and its very rural surrounds, That Bookstore in Blytheville has drawn an approving eye from afar and piqued the interest of urbane cosmopolitans (note Gladwell, the New York Times, NPR's Quiddity). The Bookstore is something of a tourist attraction, and there are frequent out-of-town visitors: many have never been there before but have had it recommended to them, others make it a "must return” destination, while still more simply find their way to it because they love and seek out independent bookstores.
People have heard of Blytheville because of That Bookstore. The presence of That Bookstore in Blytheville has helped keep alive a languishing downtown despite the closing of Eaker Air Force Base 20 years ago, a lagging economy, an ever-present Walmart Superstore at the edge of town and the meteoric growth of nearby Jonesboro and its wide-ranging shopping choices.
Risks & Challenges
As That Bookstore's owner, I am working extremely hard to grow its presence and keep it relevant in the 21st Century. I am totally committed to this task and will do what is required to make certain it succeeds. I have a plan -- that plan includes doing everything I can to squeeze in as many books and supporting products as possible into every bit of shelf space while providing a welcoming environment for book lovers to find them.
- I am a student of what thriving independent bookstores can do to grow their communities, and I am doing what is necessary to make our store a must-visit venue for people coming past and through Blytheville.
- I am pursuing philanthropic support through IndieGogo, grants and other vehicles.
- I am not just concentrating on selling books; I am also concentrating on selling the space. We do 4-9 events each month, ranging from book clubs to author signings to concerts to parties to public meetings.
- We will hang on to the exclusiveness of our space. We are one of very few places to find books within a 1-hour drive. Barnes and Noble may go away, but That Bookstore In Blytheville will persevere.
- We are planning our 40th anniversary party in 2016-2017. We will push to have John Grisham and other notables here to celebrate the efforts that Mary Gay Shipley and I have made to keep this independent bookstore alive.
- In a few years we should be able to retire the debt and maybe even buy an adjoining building or two.
Other Ways You Can Help
Even if you can't contribute, that doesn't mean you still can't help:
- Ask folks to get the word out and make some noise about "The Restore the Store" campaign. I need everybody you can reach and everybody they can reach to help me get the word out about my campaign.
- Please use Indiegogo to share our links on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and others. That's all there is to it! Thanks for your help.