Madison Community Comes Together for New Downtown Bookstore

More than 40 residents of Madison have come out in the past few weeks to put together book shelves for Short Stories, the new Main Street bookstore and culture hub in Madison. The volunteers are excited, hard working and committed to helping Barb Short, owner of the new space, launch her dream. Short hopes to open Short Stories, which is located at 32 Main Street, between Alfred’s Sport Shop and Drip Coffee, by Saturday, September 27, which is the 23rd Bottle Hill Day street festival in Madison.

“I think Short Stories is a beautiful gift for the town of Madison,” says Judy Honohan of Glendale Avenue, who helped build shelves with husband Tom, daughter Melissa and granddaughter Mia. Barbara Hughes, Director of the Madison Farmer’s Market, worked with daughter Grace, age 12, to help build shelves. “I’m so thrilled that my kids will have a place to browse books again. How often do we get to pick up a new book and flip through its pages?”

Short reached out to Lillian Trujillo, former owner of Sages Pages bookstore, after that local favorite was closed due to flooding last January. “Lillian and Sages Pages gave our town a place to come together and enjoy books, readings .. our love for words.” said Short. “That store helped my own girls fall in love with books.” Sages Pages served the Madison community for over a decade.

Short is a mother of a Madison Junior School Sixth Grader and a Madison High School Freshman and serves as an at-large member of the Madison Downtown Development Commission (DDC), and is on the board of the Madison YMCA. She has lived in Madison for over 12 years.

Her new store will not only sell books – a carefully selected inventory of fiction and nonfiction for everyone from children to adults – but handmade accessories, crafts and cards. Most importantly, it will serve as a cultural center for music events, poetry readings, book signings, small-group classes and tutoring.

“The front space has a gallery wall for the work of local artists and an open floor for events. The middle of the store, the heart of it,” says Short, “are for the books. And the back third of the store will be a space for children and young teens, a kid-friendly learning environment.”

The response from Madison to Short’s new venture has been overwhelming. Besides building shelves, artists and residents have come together to help the Short Stories Kickstarter campaign.

Work-Life Fit Expert and author Cali Yost, Learning Specialist Katie Harter, and Laura Cole of The Learning Den– all of Madison – have contributed one-on-one learning sessions for adult and children. New York Times Bestselling Children’s Author and Illustrator Tad Hills has contributed a reading engagement for a local school and artist Jane Moore Houghton, whose work will be the first showcased on the store’s gallery wall, is contributing an original watercolor.

Short Stories has received national attention as well. Shelf Awareness, a national publication for readers and the book trade, recently ran a feature on Short Stories in its September 5 edition.

The Short Stories Kickstarter campaign has met over $7,000 of its $15,000 goal as of this writing. The campaign closes on September 30 and needs to meet its goal in order for Short Stories to collect its campaign money. Join the rest of Madison in helping to open this important community center. Access the Short Stories Kickstarter campaign can be found here.

Photo and information courtesy of Mary Lea Crawley