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| Molly Parent and Stephen Sparks | |
The new owners of Point Reyes Books, Point Reyes Station, Calif., are Molly Parent and Stephen Sparks, experienced booksellers who met seven years ago while working at Green Apple Books in San Francisco. On January 1, they take the reins from Steve Costa and Kate Levinson, owners of the store for the last 14 years, who wrote to friends and customers, "We couldn't be happier and feel certain you will be, too, as you get to know them and see their thoughtful and knowledgeable selection of books and events unfold in the coming months... We received 27 letters of interest from around the country! Stephen and Molly were our top choice based on their deep experience in the bookselling and literacy worlds and because they are beloved in the Bay Area book community. They're both in their 30s, and they represent the next generation of creative, energetic entrepreneurial booksellers. We're really pleased to have such capable and likeable stewards for Point Reyes Books."
Sparks grew up in New Jersey and managed a bookstore on the Jersey Shore for several years. When he moved to San Francisco in 2007, he immediately began working at Green Apple Books, becoming the primary new book buyer for both of its locations and manager of the new Green Apple Books on the Park in 2014. He also serves on the steering committee of the Bay Area Book Festival and has been a juror for various literary prizes, including the Best Translated Book Award, the American Booksellers Association Indies Choice Award and National Endowment for the Arts awards.
Parent grew up in Massachusetts and Santa Monica and left Green Apple in 2012 to work at 826 Valencia, the nonprofit writing and tutoring center co-founded by author Dave Eggers. She will continue to work as communications manager of 826 Valencia in addition to handling communications for Point Reyes Books.
The new owners are also getting married November 12. Sparks told the San Francisco Chronicle that compared to buying a bookstore, "The wedding planning seems like a piece of cake." The couple currently live in San Francisco but will move to Marin County next year.
"Point Reyes is one of our favorite places in the world," Parent told Shelf Awareness. "When we found out through a mutual friend that they [Costa and Levinson] were selling the store, our first thought was this is a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream."
According to Sparks, the plan is to keep with the store's existing strengths, which include its natural history, cooking and fiction sections and a commitment to serving the Point Reyes community, while growing the store's new book inventory and being perhaps "a little more adventurous" with some small press titles.
"This store has had a long tradition of service," he said. "We're really excited to continue it and grow and see how it manifests itself. By the way that [Costa and Levinson] handled the sale, you can clearly get the sense that it's not just a business to them, it's so much more than that."
Sparks and Parent have already begun meeting members of the Point Reyes community, and Costa and Levinson have introduced them to some of the store's most loyal and longtime customers.
"There is such a strong community that supports Point Reyes Books," said Parent. "It's a wonderful thing to be welcomed into."
Sparks and Parent are financing the purchase of the store through a group of local and other investors and have created an Indiegogo campaign to raise $30,000.