Booked Up, the iconic bookstore founded in Archer City, Tex. by the late, award-winning author Larry McMurtry, has been sold by Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of cable home improvement show Fixer Upper who helm the Magnolia brand, to the Archer City Writers Workshop, which plans to transform the bookstore into the Larry McMurtry Literary Center.
The Gaineses purchased the two buildings and stock of Booked Up in 2023 from Khristal Collins, Booked Up's longtime manager, who inherited the store after McMurtry's death in 2021. Collins had kept the name Booked Up, using it for an online store she founded.
"We are great admirers of the life and work of Larry McMurtry and look forward to seeing his remarkable bookstore open its doors again in a way that honors his legacy and our shared love for the story and spirit of Archer City," Chip and Joanna Gaines said.
The ACWW is focused on creating a thriving literary center showcasing "Larry McMurtry's epic life as a cowboy, novelist, screenwriter, rare book collector and artist for the ages." In addition, the nonprofit plans to make the author's collection of 175,000 rare books publicly accessible.
"Booked Up was the center of Larry's literary universe and for the hundreds of writers who participated in the Archer City Writers Workshop over the last two decades," said ACWW director George Getschow. "This is why we’re so grateful to Chip and Joanna for offering us the opportunity to establish the Larry McMurtry Literary Center inside the former Booked Up--a renowned cultural landmark and one of Texas' and the nation’s literary treasures."