Since the ‘70s, Austin has become a flourishing community and home to thousands of local businesses. BookPeople, one such local Austin business, remains a pillar in the Austin community and has grown into the thriving bookstore the city knows and loves today. 

The store frequently has local authors come to speak, allowing BookPeople to provide a tight-knit and supportive community between authors and their readers. Besides their guest talk program, there are many other programs that BookPeople has for their authors including the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, where local children’s book authors can meet and learn from one another, allowing them to connect with their peers. This creates an even tighter community to form around the bookstore.

BookPeople goes out of their way to stock books written by local authors, providing them with a valuable opportunity to advertise and sell books directly to their audience. Poet and Children’s Book Writer Todd Boss explained his experience with BookPeople promoting his new book, “The Boy Who Said Wow”. 

“I mean anything beyond stocking it is gravy, right? That’s a rare opportunity for a children’s book, especially for a first-time children’s book author,” Boss said. “And then for them to shout it out in their holiday catalog is a real treat. And I didn’t expect much attention at all from the book.”

There are hundreds of bookstores in Austin, but BookPeople is Texas’s largest independent bookstore. The BookKids Marketing and Events Logistics Manager at BookPeople Anthony Gaetjen explained how BookPeople became a staple in the community of Austin.

“BookPeople has been the destination bookstore in Texas for decades,” Gaetjen said. “We’re central to the Austin literary community, and this wonderful city is already a hub for all things weird and artistic. Beyond all else, though, what will always make BookPeople special is our staff and the level of time, care, and attention that staff is willing to dedicate to author events and our customers.”

Boss explained that BookPeople strives to host events for all ages and appeal to all audiences. He described his experience attending BookPeople guest speaker events where the main goal is to provide a sense of community and engage their customers. 

“When you have a really active bookstore, it’s almost like having an open think tank in your community that everyone can participate in,” Boss said. “That happens every time I come to a reading here, there’s a sense that our hearts and minds have been expanded, and our community has been engaged.”

As BookPeople grows in popularity, more authors are reaching out to speak at guest speaker events. LASA freshman Marlo Stahl expressed the importance of attending these events after going to one herself. She explained that they are very eye-opening and educational.

“I think it is really important to make an effort to keep yourself educated, especially in a radically changing world,” Stahl said. “Events like these are able to benefit and change the perspectives of many people. I am very glad that I was able to gain this opportunity, as it opened up new perspectives for me.” 

According to Gaetjen, BookPeople constantly works to acquire guest speakers tailored to their audience’s interests. These events are not just for children as a result of BookPeople striving to appeal to all ages, and as the events coordinator at BookPeople, Gaetjen procures a list of authors for these events. 

“Sometimes, we’ll reach out to authors or their publicists, or they’ll reach out to us,” Gaetjen said. “Authors can request events with us over email or through a form on our website, and we meticulously review each of these requests to see how we can best serve them.”

Guest speaker events draw the community together by providing opportunities for local Austin authors to promote their books and allow readers to discover new writers. Although being the largest independently run bookstore in Texas, BookPeople works hard to provide a personable community experience with things like providing books to local schools and events that, according to the Visit Austin website, allowed for the bookstore to succeed for the long amount of time that it has.

“We are so very fortunate to have been a pillar of the Austin community for so long,” Gaetjen said. “And so, we have plenty of long-standing relationships with authors who we know and love.”