DC Indie’s Bid for Survival

Chapters, an independent bookstore in Washington, D.C., recently celebrated its 20th anniversary last September, but is having trouble staying in business long enough to make the 21st. The solution they’ve hit upon is to become a nonprofit—or, technically, to sell the bookstore to Wordfest, the 501(c)(3) they founded four years ago to sponsor a D.C. poetry festival. The plan is to get 1,600 people to contribute $50 each; so far, they’ve convinced just over 150 donors and have until the end of the year to raise the rest. One of the store’s co-owners, Steve Moyer, spoke with a local writers’ association about their attempt at a fourth-quarter rally:

In the short run it would enable Chapters to get an infusion of capital and we would be back on firm financial footing. Once that happens it completes the circle. Wordfest can continue doing the events it does and Chapters can continue selling books at these events. When, and if, Chapters has a profit it would go back to Wordfest and support its work.”

15 November 2005 | uncategorized |

Despite, Huh? (a non-literary digression)

From the AP’s election night coverage of the Virginia governor’s race:

“[Republican candidate Jerry] Kilgore lost despite a last-minute rally with President Bush and a harsh campaign ad that alleged that Kaine, a Roman Catholic opposed to the death penalty, would not have executed Adolf Hitler.”

Yep, I’m sure voters said to themselves, “You know, I like the Hitler ad, but there’s just something about Kilgore that bugs me.”

9 November 2005 | uncategorized |