Bookshop Family Recovering From Covid
Donation protected
Hi, this is Nicholas and Colleen Theisen and we are raising money for Iowa City’s bookshop family - Nialle, Josh and “Jumper” from the Haunted Bookshop, a beloved local independent bookstore located in the heart of the UNESCO City of Literature, as they face unexpected expenses from treatment for Covid-19.
Nicholas’ statement (former bookshop employee):
The Haunted Bookshop is an Iowa City landmark, and since Nialle took over in 2004, she has sacrificed a great deal in their own life to keep it that way. For the longest time, Nialle and Josh have wanted a child, and after their cancer scare a few years back, they once again had to put it on hold. So when Rowan was born last year, their dream had finally been realized. But this was–and still is–the height of the pandemic, and despite Nialle and Josh going to great lengths to keep themselves and their community safe, Rowan was hospitalized for COVID, and Nialle was infected as well. Since the beginning of the pandemic, The Haunted has struggled mightily to stay in place, so these medical costs now are an incredible burden. If The Haunted–and Nialle and Josh and Jumper–matter to us, have been an important part of our lives, we need to do all we can to help them now in their time of need, so they can continue to be caretakers of our community and culture.
Nialle and The Haunted are more than just a business. When they moved from the corner of Linn and Market to their current location on Gilbert, Nialle’s intent was not merely to stop renting but to anchor her business in an historic landmark, signaling a desire to be a longstanding presence in the city. Prior to the pandemic, they would go to local schools to evangelize the virtues of tabletop games and have curated their offerings in that area to cater to the many families and individuals who have turned to The Haunted as a sanctuary. Every game the bookshop sells could be playtested, in store, for free, because for Nialle the purpose of the shop has been as much to cultivate a diverse cohort of Iowa Citians as a base of customers. They have regularly held sales to benefit the free clinic and have fostered an open, welcoming atmosphere that has made The Haunted a place people want in their community.
Please give what you can. We live in a state that has all but abdicated any responsibility for public health, and so it is now entirely on us to protect us. And giving back to Nialle, Josh, and Rowan isn’t just about helping them, it’s about supporting the very people who make this community more resilient.
Colleen’s statement:
Bookshops are an important part of the City of Literature, especially independent bookstores. Puppets, puzzles, and a carefully curated collection knowledgeably tailored to this community make our city better. But independent bookstores are made of people - individuals with expertise and love for the work like Nialle. If we want to have a specialized used bookstore with a knowledgeable person at the helm, keeping a historic building alive, in the heart of Iowa City, then now is the time to help when the individuals at the center of it need help.
Nialle and Josh had a long road to expanding their family and were ecstatic when “Jumper” joined them - right at the beginning of a global pandemic. With no vaccines available for babies, they moved to curated gift boxes, home drop offs, individual browsing appointments, and online photos to share new arrivals. This is merely a survival mode to get by though, while everyone waits and protects bookshop baby together. But now, after the financial hardship of running a bookshop on low-power mode, and just days before vaccine availability, after two years of being so careful, Nialle and bookshop baby both have contracted Covid-19 and even with insurance, their ER visit was $1000. Therefore, this fundraiser is asking for $1,100 to help with this bill (and enough wiggle room to cover fees). Let’s continue to come together as a community to help protect bookshop baby.
Help us meet the goal here, or else there are two other ways to support:
You can support the store:
*You can go here https://www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearch.php which also allows you to set up notifications by topic, so once a week, if there are newly listed books in your category (like, science) you get an email.
*Or you can buy a book using this link: https://bookshop.org/shop/BookshopGhost Nialle says this distributor sends you the book directly, so no waiting or worrying about exposure.
You can follow the Haunted Bookshop on Twitter, Instagram , and Facebook .
Secondly, you can support directly via Venmo:
@bookshopghost
Thank you for considering. Mask up and stay safe.
Nicholas’ statement (former bookshop employee):
The Haunted Bookshop is an Iowa City landmark, and since Nialle took over in 2004, she has sacrificed a great deal in their own life to keep it that way. For the longest time, Nialle and Josh have wanted a child, and after their cancer scare a few years back, they once again had to put it on hold. So when Rowan was born last year, their dream had finally been realized. But this was–and still is–the height of the pandemic, and despite Nialle and Josh going to great lengths to keep themselves and their community safe, Rowan was hospitalized for COVID, and Nialle was infected as well. Since the beginning of the pandemic, The Haunted has struggled mightily to stay in place, so these medical costs now are an incredible burden. If The Haunted–and Nialle and Josh and Jumper–matter to us, have been an important part of our lives, we need to do all we can to help them now in their time of need, so they can continue to be caretakers of our community and culture.
Nialle and The Haunted are more than just a business. When they moved from the corner of Linn and Market to their current location on Gilbert, Nialle’s intent was not merely to stop renting but to anchor her business in an historic landmark, signaling a desire to be a longstanding presence in the city. Prior to the pandemic, they would go to local schools to evangelize the virtues of tabletop games and have curated their offerings in that area to cater to the many families and individuals who have turned to The Haunted as a sanctuary. Every game the bookshop sells could be playtested, in store, for free, because for Nialle the purpose of the shop has been as much to cultivate a diverse cohort of Iowa Citians as a base of customers. They have regularly held sales to benefit the free clinic and have fostered an open, welcoming atmosphere that has made The Haunted a place people want in their community.
Please give what you can. We live in a state that has all but abdicated any responsibility for public health, and so it is now entirely on us to protect us. And giving back to Nialle, Josh, and Rowan isn’t just about helping them, it’s about supporting the very people who make this community more resilient.
Colleen’s statement:
Bookshops are an important part of the City of Literature, especially independent bookstores. Puppets, puzzles, and a carefully curated collection knowledgeably tailored to this community make our city better. But independent bookstores are made of people - individuals with expertise and love for the work like Nialle. If we want to have a specialized used bookstore with a knowledgeable person at the helm, keeping a historic building alive, in the heart of Iowa City, then now is the time to help when the individuals at the center of it need help.
Nialle and Josh had a long road to expanding their family and were ecstatic when “Jumper” joined them - right at the beginning of a global pandemic. With no vaccines available for babies, they moved to curated gift boxes, home drop offs, individual browsing appointments, and online photos to share new arrivals. This is merely a survival mode to get by though, while everyone waits and protects bookshop baby together. But now, after the financial hardship of running a bookshop on low-power mode, and just days before vaccine availability, after two years of being so careful, Nialle and bookshop baby both have contracted Covid-19 and even with insurance, their ER visit was $1000. Therefore, this fundraiser is asking for $1,100 to help with this bill (and enough wiggle room to cover fees). Let’s continue to come together as a community to help protect bookshop baby.
Help us meet the goal here, or else there are two other ways to support:
You can support the store:
*You can go here https://www.thehauntedbookshop.com/advSearch.php which also allows you to set up notifications by topic, so once a week, if there are newly listed books in your category (like, science) you get an email.
*Or you can buy a book using this link: https://bookshop.org/shop/BookshopGhost Nialle says this distributor sends you the book directly, so no waiting or worrying about exposure.
You can follow the Haunted Bookshop on Twitter, Instagram , and Facebook .
Secondly, you can support directly via Venmo:
@bookshopghost
Thank you for considering. Mask up and stay safe.
Organizer and beneficiary
Colleen Theisen
Organizer
Iowa City, IA
Nialle Sylvan
Beneficiary