Following the success of a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $20,000, Impossible Moon Bookshop will open in Hapeville, Ga., this winter.
Located at 585 N. Central Ave. in Hapeville, not far from the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport, Impossible Moon is a Black-owned bookstore that will sell general-interest titles for all ages. Owner Breanna J. McDaniel--an Atlanta native and award-winning author of the children's picture books Hands Up!, Impossible Moon, and Go Forth and Tell, a biography of librarian Augusta Baker--plans to host community-focused activities ranging from book clubs to tutoring programs, and she hopes to work with other local businesses for events like local art crawls.
"Impossible Moon is a monument to the people who have encouraged my curiosity, pushed me as a learner, and eventually led me to books through that curiosity," McDaniel said. "It's because of that curiosity, and those pushes, that so many things that seemed impossible for me before now feel very, very possible, like this shop."
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| Breanna J. McDaniel (photo: Tina Chang) |
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Recalling her childhood in Hapeville, McDaniel said she often went on trips to libraries and general bookstores, but in recent years those establishments have become scarce on Atlanta's southside. She intends to give back to the community by creating a third space and providing those literary resources.
To help get the bookstore up and running, McDaniel launched a GoFundMe campaign in August with a goal of $20,000; the campaign reached that goal earlier this month. The funds will go toward books, sidelines, and shelves and other furnishings.
"Every last donation was affirmation and it does not matter what anyone was able to give, the fact that you chose this bookshop to receive from you is incredible," McDaniel wrote on the campaign page. "Your goodwill is layered into the bricks of the store now. It's going to wrap people up when they enter the shop and they can already feel it."
McDaniel is aiming for a soft opening in the next few weeks, followed by a grand opening celebration on New Year's Eve.