The Next Chapter, Book Revue's 'Sequel' Store Hits Funding Goal

HUNTINGTON VILLAGE, NY—It's looking like Huntington Village may have a new independent bookstore to carry on the tradition of the now-closed but long-beloved Book Revue. After Book Revue, Long Island's largest and longest-running independent bookstore closed this fall, a former manager at the New York Ave. store had an idea: a Kickstarter campaign to let the Huntington community chip in to get a new bookstore started.

This week Mallory Braun announced that the crowdsourced fundraising campaign for The Next Chapter had met is goal: $250,000 in 41 days.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported this project in one way or another. Thank you Richard Klein for being with me through every part of this process. Next step: establishing a bookstore in Huntington. Stay tuned and when we're open, shop with The Next Chapter," Braun posted on Facebook.

She told Patch that the fundraising idea was a natural extension of the community-oriented nature of the Book Revue.

"People were setting up a GoFundMe [account] the day it closed," she said.

"People just want there to be a bookstore in town."

Braun was confident that the Kickstarter idea would work, and already has a space she's eyeing, in walking distance from the former Book Revue space, but she wouldn't name it yet.

"Opening a business is a major undertaking, you need to have conviction that it’s the right thing to do."

The 28-year-old Huntington native is working with Book Revue owner Richard Klein and says his 44 years of experience is invaluable.

Braun plans to sell a mixture of curated books and paper goods, with rotating titles and maybe, down the line, a cafe. She was always confident that Huntington valued having a physical, independent bookstore for many reasons, she explained.

"I have complete faith in this community."