|
|
| Little District Books in progress. | |
Little District Books, an all-ages bookstore with a focus on LGBTQ+ authors and stories, is coming to Washington, D.C., this summer. Owner Patrick Kern said he's eyeing an opening date of late June or early July for the bookstore, which will reside at 737 8th St. SE in D.C.'s Barracks Row.
At opening, the roughly 300-square-foot store will carry new books ranging from middle grade to adult, with Kern noting that he'll try to have "as many categories as I can fit within the store." There will be plenty of fiction, and he is working on sourcing nonbook items such as greeting cards, notebooks, journals and candles. Kern added that he plans to increase his retail space by eventually expanding the sales floor into a storage room, which would give him closer to 700 square feet to work with. Once he does that, he'll likely increase his children's inventory in particular.
Given the store's limited size, all of Kern's initial event plans are for off-site events. He is friends with the owners of a bar and cafe called As You Are, which is located on the same block, and they are already planning to co-host some events this summer. There are other events in the pipeline, and once he expands he intends to start hosting some smaller events in-store.
 |
|
| Patrick Kern | |
"The big impetus for this is that I like to read LGBT stories," said Kern, explaining that while many indie bookstores carry titles by LGBTQ authors, they might only carry one or two titles from a particular author. As an example he pointed to writer TJ Klune. Many stores will probably have one or two of his books, but he's written "a ton of books." By focusing specifically on LGBT authors, Kern can carry as much of their work as fits in his store. "I want to have them all."
Kern said he's always loved indie bookstores and liked the thought of opening one of his own, but it was about a year ago that he started asking himself, "why don't I do that?" There was no specific impetus that he could point to, though he had decided that he wanted to open a business. He didn't know what sort of business that would be at first, and as he began to explore his options and learn more about the book business, "the more I thought I could do this."
When it came to learning the ropes, Kern did a lot of internet research, bought the bookselling guide from Paz & Associates and became a provisional member of the American Booksellers Association. It got to the point where he felt he had enough information about the industry and a solid plan in place, but lacked a location.
"The threshold of when I will or won't jump is when the right space comes along," Kern recalled. He was "kind of ready to say yes" to opening a store, but he also knew that "if you don't have the right retail space, you will get killed." He kept his eye on available spaces and looked at around a dozen that weren't good fits for one reason or another. Once he found his current space, things "came about very quickly."
Kern said renovations have gone smoothly, and the only thing that may delay the store's opening is staffing: "The number one thing is getting the people in place."
Asked how the community has responded to his bookstore plans so far, Kern pointed out that he didn't make any kind of public announcement about his store until last week, but as soon as he did, people started following his store's Instagram page and signing up for its e-mail list in droves. He's also been "bombarded" by local media. "I'm very pleased with all that." --Alex Mutter