Author-run events to show thanks for beloved bookstore that may be in its last chapter

Photo courtesy CCBMC website

If you've never visited to the Chester County Book and Music Company, time may be running out. 

But don't panic just yet — there's still time to visit and several great excuses to do so. 

There are amazing, free author events to be considered. Also, I encourage any book lover to visit the cavernous, well-stocked bookstore, and to stop by the in-house Magnolia Grill, which I just learned makes beignets (and other wonderful things, but I am forever in search of a good beignet in southeast PA). I am so there for my next brunch outing.

Back in July, bookstore owner Kathy Simoneaux, in a July 18 article by Daily Local News reporter Gretchen Metz, said her lease expired for the space in the West Goshen Center on Paoli Pike in January and the store has been renting month-to-month lease since. 

The landlord will give the bookstore 60-days notice to vacate when it comes time to move, and national fitness chain LA Fitness may be eyeing the site. However, the decision to end the lease was “mutual,” Simoneaux said. “It was a 15-year-old lease that steadily increased every year.” Eventually, she said, the rent got “unbearable.”

Photo courtesy of CCBMC website

As for a closing date for the store that dates to 1982, “I have no idea when that will happen,” Simoneaux said in the article. “We’re going along business as usual.” 

(Read the follow-up July 29 article by The Daily Local's Michael Rellahan here). 

In the meantime, authors who have launched books at the beloved store have announced two events for customers and fans to show their appreciation. The first event is tomorrow night (Friday, Oct. 26). 

Below is a press release I received from event organizer/author Kathye Fetsko Petrie about the events:

  Authors to Celebrate Chester County Books

...and everyone is invited

WEST CHESTER — While the fate of the Chester County Book & Music Company (CCBMC) is being decided — will it close or move? — area authors, regardless of the outcome, are planning to celebrate and show support for the beloved independent via two events to which the public is invited.

Two "Authors Say Thank You to CCBMC" nights will take place on Friday, Oct. 26, and Friday, Nov. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the store's current location, 975 Paoli Pike, West Chester. On these nights, area authors will gather at the bookstore to shop, perhaps share a meal at the Magnolia Grill, and mingle with each other and customers. Participating authors include Jerry and Eileen Spinelli, Beth Kephart, Jen Bryant and LisaScottoline.

"We hope everyone who loves buying books at this wonderful bricks-and-mortar bookstores will join us," said Kathye Fetsko Petrie, one of the events’ author-organizers. "It's a chance for authors to thank CCBMC for three decades of providing space for readings, and for showcasing and publicizing our work. It’s a chance for readers to meet and talk with a number of authors all at once, maybe get books signed. And it’s a chance for everyone via their presence and purchases, to give back to a place that has given so much to the local book-loving community."

Petrie called CCBMC "the shining epitome of all that an independent bookstore is known and loved for, including warm and knowledgeable booksellers, and well-stocked shelves where you can find the titles you came for plus make exciting discoveries. Though we are sad it might all go away, these two Friday nights are intended as happy gatherings where we toast the past together, and are optimistic about the future."

Authors scheduled to for each event are listed below. More authors are signing up daily. "You never know who may show up at the last minute," said Petrie.

10/26/12: Cordelia France Biddle, Jen Bryant, Nero Blanc, Jim Breslin, Jessica Dimuzio, Merry Jones, Susan Beth Lehman, Lisa Loeb, Bruce Mowday, Kathye Fetsko Petrie, Jan Mulligan, Marc Schuster, Kelly Simmons, Gloria Slater, Chris Shaughness, Jerry Spinelli, Eileen Spinelli, Joelle Sterling, Laura Tamakosh, Walt Trizna and Steve Zettler.

11/23/12: Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban, Stephen Fried. Beth Kephart, Elizabeth Letts, Jonathan McGoran, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Jan Mulligan, Kathye Fetsko Petrie, Chris Shaughness, Lisa Scottoline, Francesca Serritella, Kelly Simmons and K.M. Walton.

Photo courtesy CCBMC website

Directions to Chester County Book and Music Company:

The Chester County Book & Music Company is located at the intersection of Route 202 and Paoli Pike in the West Goshen Center, West Chester, PA. Exit at the Paoli Pike ramp from Route 202 and trun right on Paoli Pike. The West Goshen Center will be directly on your right. For point-to-point directions, refer to that specific feature at Mapquest.com.

Store Hours

Monday - Friday  10:00 am - 9:00 pm

Saturday  9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Sunday  9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Visit the store website here.