Newtonville Books Celebrates Five Years and a PEN New England Award

Newtonville Books in Newton, Massachusetts, part of the Boston metro area, was conceived five years ago by an M.B.A. student at Boston University's Graduate School of Management. Writing a business plan for a new enterprise was the sole course requirement for one of Tim Huggins' classes, and he took the opportunity to create a viable design for his longtime passion, bookselling.

Huggins, a native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, had gained real bookselling experience at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson, Mississippi, working for John Evans, who became his good friend and mentor. He then worked for the University Press of Mississippi before moving to the Boston area to attend graduate school. Just six weeks before his graduation, Huggins found a location on the main commercial street in the affluent village of Newtonville. He opened the 1,500-square-foot store in the fall of 1998, after he received his M.B.A. "I considered [doing] all kinds of things," Huggins said, "but bookselling kept pulling me back in."

Newtonville Books has become an integral part of the large Boston-area community of writers, readers, and intellectuals, and Huggins has been singled out by many, including PEN New England, for his close connection to the literary world. On September 21, at the organization's annual book party, Huggins was presented with PEN New England's Friend to Writers Award "not only for his dedication as an independent bookseller who focuses great care and attention on literary titles, but also for his cutting-edge reading series, 'Earful' and 'Cover 2 Cover,' which are designed to bring in young people who might not otherwise try out a reading," as reported on the PEN New England Web site, www.pen-ne.org/.

As part of the store's fifth anniversary celebration, some of the staff's favorite authors submitted their "Top Five Reasons to Shop at Newtonville Books." Anita Diamant wrote, "5. Tim's passion for books and for readers, which makes the experience of shopping at Newtonville Books feel like a transaction that benefits the balance of good over evil in the universe." Dennis Lehane fictitiously called it "the only bookstore on the Eastern Seaboard that cans its own hams."

Newtonville Books has a deservedly stellar reputation for engaging author events. Huggins told BTW that he started the store's "Books & Brews" series about three years ago. "We co-host it with a local restaurant/bar. In trying to elevate the experience of a reading and signing, after the author appears at the store, everyone in the audience is invited to the restaurant along with author, Huggins said. "There are free appetizers and the first drink is on the bookstore. It's a chance to talk to an author in a different way, beyond the podium."

The store hosts one or two events a week. "I love creating a community of people who love literature," said Huggins. "Over the years, I noticed that not a lot of young people were going to author readings. With Books & Brews, we were trying to make readings a little more fun, more of a community event. Earfull is a series with a musician and a writer that we host at a bar in Boston. We get people who formerly went to either author events or to hear live music to enjoy the other art form."

Newtonville Books also hosts the Cover2Cover series, which features two authors, and the Newtonville Books in The Attic series, which are larger events held at a restaurant. Huggins said that the response to the events has been "phenomenal," with 100 to 200 people at each.

The store also features the Lizard First Editions Club, which guarantees home delivery of one or two signed modern first editions each month.

Planning the events, marketing the store, buying books, and considering the "bigger picture -- the sustainability and impact of the store," according to Huggins, constitute his role as storeowner. Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of his dedicated staff. "I try to hire people who will serve the customers and stay connected with the store. Several staff people have been here since we opened. I try to pay a living wage -- the full-time staff [two] get fully paid health care," he continued.

"I do the buying, and I order book by book. When publisher's catalogs come in, the staff reviews them and checks the sales history for each title and author. I talk to a lot to reps. I'll order a hardcover by a first-time author if I really trust the publisher. I carry small press books and independent publishers -- anything I find that's good."

Huggins has been connected to Book Sense since its inception. He said, "We work with the Book Sense 76 list to make it match and enhance what we already have. We often see books we might have missed."

Author Steve Almond notes in one of his top reasons for shopping at the store that "it is organized almost completely at random." The cozy store may appear chaotic, but Huggins said, "It's a kind of orchestrated chaos. Our organization is like other stores', but we don't have marked categories with big signs. My goal was to create an environment that is more like a home library and less like a business transaction. We want people to discover books that they might not otherwise. People are creatures of habit and [if books are assigned to specific sections] they might only go to the sections that they think will interest them. They might not talk to the staff for recommendations." --Nomi Schwartz