Congratulations! Mary Gay Shipley has sold That Bookstore in Blytheville, to Grant Hill, effective January 2. Hill, 22, will move to Blytheville, Ark., from Mountain Home and will reside about as close to the store floor as possible: in the bookstore attic.
Hill said that he wants to continue the store's legacy and hopes to build on the tradition of independent bookselling established by Shipley. He's scheduled a party on February 16 celebrating Shipley and the change of ownership.
Saying it was "time for a change," Shipley put up the store for sale in February. That Bookstore in Blytheville was founded in 1976 as a paperback exchange and grew into a full-service bookstore known for hosting many national authors.
Shipley has long been active in local and national organizations and is a former board member of the American Booksellers Association and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.
Shipley may be reached at 870-763-3333; Hill may be reached at 870-763-3333.
