Michael Erickson, co-owner of Toronto's Glad Day Bookshop, fielded five questions from BookNet Canada, which noted: "Bookstores are an important part of any community: they can make your town richer and they're a great community hub. Perhaps this is even more true for bookstores that serve marginalized communities." Among our favorite exchanges:
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| Michael Erickson | |
What attracted you to bookselling?
The chance to build community, creativity, and possibility while also making sure that our stories are not lost, distorted or silenced.
What's your favorite bookselling war story?
In 2012, a group of us bought Glad Day Bookshop to save the world's oldest LGBTQ bookstore, which has now become Toronto's longest surviving bookstore of any kind... and we've been losing money ever since! Even though we increased book sales by 30% during the rise of the e-book, it still wasn't enough for us to break even. Instead of downsizing or closing we decided to expand--we moved to a larger space, with coffee, cocktails, and food, surrounded by books. We now host over 75 events a month and are a hub of conversation and community. Wars are long, with many battles and many losses, with changes in tactics, technology, and battlefields. That's why I feel like this long story arc is more like a real war story than anything that happens in the moment."