Young Bookworms, a bookshop that exclusively sells children's books by self-published authors, has opened at 3604 Hartsel Drive, Suite B, in the Woodmen Plaza shopping center, Colorado Springs, Colo. The Gazette reported that owner Joni McCoy's journey to bookselling began in October 2019, when her mother died after a six-year battle with Alzheimer's. Inspired by the kind of books McCoy read aloud near the end of her mother's life, she started writing children's books and has since self-published more than 30 titles.
"I started out just to fill the void with Mom," she said. "As soon as I wrote one, I was addicted." In 2020, she set up a booth with her books at area farmers markets and events. "Nobody is going to sell your book like you do."
Her booth was a hit and expanded to include works by other self-published authors, which inspired the idea for a bookshop. "We sold so many books that I realized we needed a storefront," she said. "I knew I needed to create a space that families could come to and enjoy all the books.... I think the world is missing out on so many incredible self-published books. I want to change that."
She also continues to write, with her original target reader still in mind. "Every book I come up with, I try to do something that's going to make my mom giggle," said McCoy, who thinks the bookstore would make her mother smile, too. "She feels so present in this store. I think she would've been here every day."
She told KOAA News: "When I come into the store in the morning, it puts a smile on my face. I have a hard time leaving at night, this is my happy place, and when I walk in, it's art on the wall, it's imagination, and it's thoughts in an author's head come to life."