Happy Anniversary, Flyleaf Books!

Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, is celebrating its 5 year anniversary this all day on Saturday, with coffee and treats in the morning and a cake-cutting in the evening. They plan to give away posters, tote bags, and other “literary swag” throughout the day.

I caught up with Flyleaf’s owner, Jamie Fiocco, and asked her about the first five years.

“The first five years have really flown by. I’ve been really appreciative of the help I’ve gotten from other booksellers and am trying my best to ‘pay it back’. Starting up during the Great Recession I figured if we could make it at that time we could only go upwards sales-wise, and that does seem to be the pattern. I’m very pleasantly surprised at the strong literary sales as well as kids and YA sales. I didn’t anticipate but love the rewards of working with our staff–such intelligent, talented folks—even if they do make me feel old sometimes!

I love the challenge of trying to figure out where to put resources in the store, I see expansion in kids and YA and non-book. It seems like the good work we’ve done with author events is paying off, it’s been really gratifying to be trusted with nationally touring authors by publishers.

I really appreciate the friendships I’ve made, and the collaborative nature of our business.”

Congratulations to Jamie and all of the staff at Flyleaf Books.

Beth Golay

Beth is a reader, writer, marketer and Books & Whatnot founder. Even though she knows better, she's a sucker for a good book cover and will positively swoon if a book is set in appropriate type. @BethGolay