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Local authors become booksellers for a day

Maria’s to host Indies First event
Roger Cottingham, with Maria’s Bookshop, talks about local authors Chuck Greaves, Scott Graham, Tekla Miller and Will Hobbs.

When Durango writer Scott Graham’s debut novel, Canyon Sacrifice, was released last summer, he held his very first book event at Maria’s Bookshop.

“We had a huge turnout, we sold like 100 books there,” Graham said. “Maria’s was my start, and it was just great.”

Graham said it was a firsthand lesson in the importance of independent bookstores.

“It’s this critical role that independent bookstores play today in helping new, unknown authors find an audience,” he said. “With everything going more and more toward online purchases and big publishers, the one lifeline that authors still have is that presented by independent bookstores.”

Because of that, Graham was happy to sign up as a volunteer bookseller at Maria’s for the bookshop’s inaugural Indies First event, which will take place Saturday.

Graham will be joined by fellow local authors Chuck Greaves, Tekla Miller and Will Hobbs for the event, which aims to bring writers and readers together for a celebration of books and independent bookstores. The authors will be taking shifts as booksellers in the aisles of Maria’s to chat with customers, help them find books and recommend their favorite reads.

“It’s like staff picks, only it’s author picks and they are right there to tell you about it,” said Roger Cottingham, community relations manager at Maria’s. “Anybody who loves to read or loves to write will get a lot out of it.”

Maria’s is joining hundreds of independent bookstores across the country for Indies First, which will coincide with Small Business Saturday. Indies First is the brainchild of author Sherman Alexie and Seattle bookstore owner Janis Segress. After Alexie missed a book reading at Segress’ store, she urged him to work there for a day to make up for it. That experience led Alexie to launch an effort for authors to give back to the independent bookstores that support them. Indies First was born.

Cortez author Chuck Greaves, who released his latest legal thriller The Last Heir this summer, heard about Indies First through the American Booksellers Association. He though it made perfect sense, and reached out to Maria’s about organizing the event in Durango.

“The idea of spending a day, or part of a day, being surrounded by books and recommending books to readers seemed like an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” Greaves said. “I think most writers and readers would love to walk into an independent book store and be surrounded by books and people who love to read books.”

Greaves said it’ll be a way to highlight the role independent bookstores play in communities around the country.

“Independent bookstores to me are more than just shops on main street,” Greaves said. “They are points of access to a world of literature and culture and scholarship.”

Greaves added that his book recommendations won’t be limited to the kind of genre he works in.

“I’m a pretty omnivorous reader,” he said. “I’m happy to recommend all kinds of books that I love.”

kklingsporn@durangoherald.com

If you go

Indies First will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.



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