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| Steve and Sharon Budnarchuk (photo: Shawna Lemay) |
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Canadian bookseller Sharon Budnarchuk, co-owner of Audreys Books in Edmonton, Alberta, retired earlier this month after 50 years in the book business. The CBC reported that Budnarchuk "got her start in 1969, when she was a university student in Winnipeg and worked as a textbook buyer for Classic Books, a bookstore chain that was later swallowed up in a merger with Chapters Inc. [now all part of Indigo]. She was a full-time book buyer for Classic Books when she was transferred to Edmonton in the early 1970s. For a decade, she worked as a book agent until 1988 when she and her husband Steve purchased Audreys."
"We have learned to dance on our feet," she said about Audreys, now Edmonton's oldest independent bookstore, which faced many challenges over the years, including the dominance of Chapters. "We moved away from bestsellers because that's what chains had. We started to create very good history sections, very good psychology sections--to the point where we do big conferences in that area and we're known for it."
Budnarchuk added that they have been fortunate to do something they both love: "My husband and I will be married for 50 years in August and only five [of those years] we didn't work together. That deserves a medal I think."
With her family taking control of the store while she enjoys retirement, Budnarchuk said, "I'm going to read without feeling guilty about all the paperwork on my desk."