Suzanne Selfors (left) enjoys a rare moment of quiet with friends and store-renovation-helpers Keith Uyekawa and Lynn Brunelle on reopening day.
On Saturday, February 15, 2020, Liberty Bay Books reopened in its historic space in downtown Poulsbo, WA with a new owner and a new look.
The store history, “A Tale of Two Suzannes,” is proudly displayed at the entrance, in a bookcase of children’s novels by Suzanne Selfors.
On February 1, Suzanne Droppert (who is still the owner of Ballast Book Co. in Bremerton) passed the Liberty Bay Books keys to children’s author and now bookstore owner Suzanne Selfors. Over the next two weeks, Selfors and a crew of family, friends, authors (including Lynn Brunelle, Maureen McQuerry, and Jennifer Longo), and booklovers transformed the space for a grand reopening.
New carpet, new paint, and a more open floor plan are among the changes. Selfors is still working to finish built-in window shelf displays and some other touches, but customers already loved discovering new sides of their beloved community institution. Much-noted and -enjoyed were the papier-mache tree (crafted using old dictionary pages), the welcoming book club table, and some funny, creative section names.
The sheet in the typewriter reads, “‘Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.’ –Rainer Maria Rilke.”
A Pacific Northwest Writers display welcomes customers at the front desk.
Liberty Bay Books’ new owner Suzanne Selfors and Tegan Tigani (Queen Anne Book Company children’s book buyer and a longtime Suzanne Selfors fan)
The gold at the end of the rainbow: Liberty Bay Books!
