A Room of One's Own is an independent bookstore located at 2717 Atwood Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. The store was founded in 1975[1] as a feminist bookstore and was named after Virginia Woolf's 1929 essay of the same name. A Room of One's Own carries a broad selection of books, with a focus on works by women and non-binary people and the LGBT community.
 | |
| Company type | Book store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Owners | Gretchen Treu, Wes Lukes, Patrick Rothfuss |
| Website | www |
Description
edit
A Room of One's Own specializes in areas such as feminism and gender studies, providing literature for, by and about women, non-binary people, and queer people.[2][3] With a move to a larger space in 2011, the bookstore broadened its offerings, providing more selection in fiction, children's books, and local history.[4] The store carries around 200,000 titles, with annual sales over one million dollars.[5]
Featuring a robust schedule of author talks and book readings, the store also offers free space for community meetings and events.[3][6] A Room of One's Own partners with organizations such as the Wisconsin Book Festival.[7]
History
editA Room of One's Own was started in 1975 by a group of five women who had recently finished their degrees at the University of Wisconsin: Sandi Torkildson, Moe Doe, Susan Ketchum, Gail Straw, and Sally Stevens.[2] They raised $5,000 to build the store and gathered support from other feminist bookstores in the U.S.[2] The original location was an old printing office at 317 West Johnson Street.[4] In 1997 the store moved two doors down to 307 West Johnson Street;[5] in 2011 the store relocated to 315 West Gorham Street, moving into the 6,000 square foot space formerly housing Avol's Books (and, prior to that, Canterbury Books).[4][5]
Owners Sandi Torkildson and Nancy Geary put A Room of One's Own up for sale in June 2016, and in June 2018 they announced the store would be purchased by three partners: two employees, Gretchen Treu and Wes Lukes, as well as fantasy novelist Patrick Rothfuss.[5][8]
The #BookstoresAgainstBorders campaign was organized by the owners and staff of A Room of One's Own, donating part of their July 2019 sales to nonprofit organization Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, supporting legal services for immigrants.[9] More than 90 bookstores and publishers across the United States participated in the fundraising campaign.[10] A Room of One's Own was one of the downtown Madison businesses that released statements supporting the protests following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.[11]
A Room of One's Own was closed for fifteen months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but continued hosting online events and increased its online orders.[8] In October 2021, the bookstore reopened in a new location, 2717 Atwood Avenue.[12]
References
edit- ^ O'Brien, Rowan (1 August 2023). "Magical Queer Bookstores From Around The World". IN Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ a b c Schechner, Karen (27 April 2005). "Celebrating 30 Years in A Room of One's Own". BookWeb. American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ a b Lorenzsonn, E. (26 August 2018). "Q&A: New owners of A Room of One's Own look to sustain bookstore's legacy". The Cap Times. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Adams, Barry (6 June 2016). "A Room of One's Own bookstore up for sale in Downtown Madison". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d Adams, Barry (14 June 2018). "New ownership group for A Room of One's Own knows its way around bookstores and includes author Patrick Rothfuss". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ "About Us". A Room of One's Own. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ Mills, Emily (July 2018). "Turning the Page". Our Lives Madison. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ a b Yahr, Natalie. "Plot twist: How Madison's bookstores survived the pandemic and emerged stronger than ever". The Capital Times. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (5 July 2019). "Bookseller campaign #BookstoresAgainstBorders organizes donations for migrant legal aid". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Gordon, Scott (3 July 2019). "A Room of One's Own galvanizes bookstores in the face of atrocity". Tone Madison. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "A Room of One's Own Bookstore". Facebook. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ Schlosser, Keagan. "A Room of One's Own begins its new chapter". NBC15. Retrieved 5 October 2021.