Apple Valley Books Reaps Well-Deserved Appreciation

In rural areas where the local mega-mall isn't an option, independent bookstores sometimes do double or triple duty in their community. Owners Rita Moran and Eric Robbins, along with their 13-year-old daughter Branwen, have certainly taken on that role at Apple Valley Books in Maine. Aside from new and used books, they sell jewelry, music, art, incense, tarot cards, imported and local pottery, stuffed animals, sculpture, cards, handmade soaps, Maine buoy bells, puzzles, candles, Pokemon cards…. The list goes on.

Photo credit: Eric Robbins

In August '94, partners Moran and Robbins founded the 1,100-square-foot store in the village of Winthrop, which Moran describes as "one of those Maine villages with more lakes than dry land." Moran's interest in owning a bookstore stems, in part, from her two decades as a librarian in schools and a prison. "Owning a bookstore is the logical conclusion of a lifetime of book addiction," she said. Robbins worked for a large independent bookstore in New York's Catskill Mountains to learn the trade in preparation for opening his own business.

Diversifying has paid off for Apple Valley, which reported 20 - 25 percent annual increases for each of the last five or six years. "I'd say our growth has been organic," said Morgan, describing their active mail-order business, which includes a large educator customer base. "We're now shipping books to schools from Connecticut to the Canadian border. That's because teachers move from place to place, and when they get to a new school, that new school orders books from us, because our service is better than what they had been getting."

Apple Valley has been an active member of Book Sense for the past two years and reports its bestsellers weekly. Moran finds the trade paperback list most helpful: "The books listed on the hardcover list are great, but frugal Mainers will usually wait until the book comes out in paperback." In what is perhaps an original application for Book Sense lists, Moran said she also "uses them as bag stuffers and even wraps mail-order books in them."

In addition to all the other niches that Apple Valley fills, Moran and Robbins publish a monthly (or so) Alternative Newsletter that includes synopses of new books about alternative beliefs. They began reviewing books from Llewellyn, Weiser, SUNY Press, and some other publishers several years ago, and that has evolved into the current e-newsletter.

Apple Valley also serves as a community center. Local author Margy Burns Knight was at the store when she and Moran came up with the idea to do an annual Winthrop community mural. Moran says that in addition to local writers stopping by to shop or chat at the store, "writers are also looking for story ideas and often run into interesting people while they're here."

Maine author Richard Grant found his latest story idea in Apple Valley Books -- the bookstore itself. He considered Apple Valley to be so unlike any other bookstore that he convinced Senior Editor Jeff Clark of Down East Magazine, a publication devoted to all things Maine, to run a feature on Apple Valley Books in the upcoming June issue. It wasn't a hard sell. When Jeff Clark spoke to BTW about why he is featuring Apple Valley, he said Down East often covers independent bookstores, but he was especially interested in Apple Valley Books because owners Moran and Robbins "have made their small bookstore an integral part of their community, the kind of place where customers stop by for a book the way they might stop at the grocery for milk and bread."

Moran's thrilled by the windfall of appreciation from within her village, BTW, and Down East Magazine. She said that she's worked hard to create a nexus for the neighborhood, like so many small bookstores that connect a lot of people. Moran said Apple Valley's role in Winthrop was summed up by the local minister, Kim Murphy, who called it "the physical embodiment of the spirit of the community." Moran added, "We're really part of people's live here." -- Karen Schechner