big news, pals.

We've been waiting a while to tell you, but the spring reset we took during the last week of March was actually a behind-the-scenes full ownership change! Jacob's been part of this place since the store was barely a year old. No words suffice to describe how integral they became to the operation and the lived mission of this shop; it would not have survived the last few tumultuous years in particular without them, and I'm extraordinarily lucky that the store I loved making is the place they have poured so much energy and care into. There is no one on this weird little planet better suited to steward this small but powerful bookstore into the future. 

As many of you know, these last few years have upended my own life in difficult ways that have made being present in the store really challenging, and managing it from a distance has been a kind of heartache. I dreamed of opening my own bookshop for so many years that it was a surprise to feel, eventually, that I was ready to let it go, and to let myself figure out how I'm going to show up in the world next. (You can keep in touch/support/keep an eye on what's next for me here, if you're so inclined; it's still taking shape, but I'm pretty comfortable with an emergent form.) Homespun as it may seem to some who prefer a…less lived-in retail environment, let's say, I'm so proud of the store I made—and proud that it's felt like home to so many of you.

It won’t surprise you to hear that as a nontraditional store our approach to this ownership change has been nontraditional: full transparency, I’m backing about half of the sale price through a seller-financed loan, which means that I’m literally invested in the bookstore’s future under Jacob’s ownership. In truth, it's an easy risk to take, an easy decision to make. As a queer person, as a woman, as a full-time single parent, as a citizen of this country and this state, the existence of this store is vital to me, and I’m going to do whatever is in my power to ensure that it thrives.

It's been one of my battle cries since the get-go: we couldn't do this without you. You've shown up for us time and again: supporting our social justice advocacy, enjoying our bookish company, introducing us to your friends and partners and families and coworkers and kids and dogs, and voting with your dollars—even when it was most challenging to do so—because you believed in supporting a store that fights for the same things you're fighting for. Now I'm asking you to double down and keep showing up—for Jacob, for the now-and-future-staff-hooligans, and for the mission of hello hello books. That mission will stay the same under Jacob's ownership, along with the store's name and sensibility. (Your gift certificates and used book trade credit will still be good, too!)  Keep your eyes proverbially peeled for a letter from Jacob next week with more on their ownership, hints about new and upcoming events, new store programs, and the relaunch of some beloved bits from hello hello's past.

Thank you. Thank you for your unabashed enthusiasm, your patience, your community care, your jokes, your kindness, your fantastic book recommendations and your trust in ours, your shared snacks, and your emotional investment in every inch of our 850 square feet. Thank you for loving this store, and for taking pride in it alongside me, no matter if you walked in for the first time in 2011 or two weeks ago. You changed my life, and I'm so lucky to have been part of yours.