Wilmington, DE Needs A Bookshop
Donation protected
My name is Saliym Cooper.
I am a writer, reader, and a life long Wilmington Resident.
My own truth, free of fiction, is that I am a glutton.
This gluttony falls outside the traditional sense of the word, regarding more of an insatiable desire for all things literary. I make alphabet soup of sentences and eat novels in greedy-meaty handfuls. I prefer the darker meat like the works of Chester Himes, Henry Dumas, Michael Ventura, and Amiri Baraka -- fiction and poetry that breaks back the ribs of its characters to reveal the true essence of the human condition.
Acquiring that next great read has gotten quiet a bit harder. After the closing of Ninth Street Bookshop, downtown Wilmington was left without a bookshop. Outside of the nearest Barnes and Noble, which is difficult to reach if you are a resident without a car, there is no bookshop within Wilmington selling diverse fiction, offering a creative "third spaces" for writers to share and create literary work, or "safe space" for inner city residents to garner literary interest.
Although there are many brilliant initiatives to bring books to inner city residents such as Market Street Books , Book Em' Cops and Kids Literacy Initiative and the Book Trees in Southbridge there still is no dedicated literary space offering diverse books, literary related services, and outreach from a store front.
To be frank, Wilmington is a city in desperate need of a “third space” to reform the mind through creative exposure. In December 2014, Wilmington was named “Murder Town USA” by Newsweek and the following year ABC announced it would launch a primetime drama of the same name starring Jada Pinkett Smith. Today, the show has been called off due to the outcry among city politicians and residents. The merits of this article have been called into question and still the title while extremely sensational, latently rings true. Unfortunately, all the negative attributes of the city (crime, murder, drug use) still run rampant. Missing, is a dedicated space for residents to release pent up vibrations through art and literature.
In January 2015, as an eternally curious student who believes that change can only occur through action, I applied to Kingston University’s Master’s in Publishing program in London. I wanted to get an experiential understanding of the publishing and bookselling industry to begin making practical changes to Wilmington’s literary landscape. Experiencing London’s bustling mobile business market and thriving creative culture helped me cultivate my idea for a mobile bookshop. What better way to create a bookshop than with mobile space offering a low over head costs and the ability to reach more readers and Wilmington residents on a ground level.
While abroad, I also discovered that our travels, like books, help us uncover ourselves and our purpose, we merely have to find our truth from such an experience, and follow this truth wherever it may take us. Such a revelation is the foundation for Brevity Bookspace.
What better way to educate and impart understanding to a city than a traveling bookspace, with culturally diverse books written by a set of authors from around the globe. Brevity's main aim is to bring together a community with books...books that can offer the opportunity to transform a life, a soul, and a city.
I feel I am more than capable to lead such an initiative. My ranging work experience, as a bookseller, outreach coordinator, publishing intern, marketing professional, writing tutor, and guest services attendant, provides me with the professional skills of bookselling, marketing, publishing, retail experience and creative writing.
Though I possess these skills what remains is the necessary capital to build Brevity’s mobile bookspace. The bookspace consists of the following two parts: A bike and A book trailer (like the one below).
This trailer opens up and has three sleek and well sized bookshelves. I plan to make it orange and add our logo for an eye catching design and will play music as I ride to announce our arrival like the ice cream man (I am not kidding!).
It is the perfect size for picking up book donations, displaying our free inventory on Free Book Fridays in Wilmington book deserts, and even presenting our services and new and gently used books for sale at Farmer's Markets, Book Festivals, and Literary Events.
Here is a video our book trailer designer posted for a previous client to give you a live example of the trailer.
After completing my free bike donation application, I received a bike from the Urban Bike Project. I have also already begun to collect our Free Book Friday stock.
While I still am in need of book donations, my largest concern is the funding for the book trailer, which including labor would cost about $1,500 ($700 of that is the Surly trailer that is used as the platform, and the remaining $500 is wood, screws, latches, paint, etc.). If my goal is reached, I will be perfectly aligned to get Brevity built and in no time hop onto my bike and bring books to my community.
To end, I realize that I am not a tidy and pre-wrapped investment opportunity. I may just seem like a twenty-six year old dreamer looking to change his hometown with books and a creative “third space.” But with any business; a risk must be taken.
Just know, that if I do reach my goal, I will be the future owner of a mobile bookshop named Brevity and you will have helped me be change that I so desperately want to be for my community.
I am a writer, reader, and a life long Wilmington Resident.
My own truth, free of fiction, is that I am a glutton.
This gluttony falls outside the traditional sense of the word, regarding more of an insatiable desire for all things literary. I make alphabet soup of sentences and eat novels in greedy-meaty handfuls. I prefer the darker meat like the works of Chester Himes, Henry Dumas, Michael Ventura, and Amiri Baraka -- fiction and poetry that breaks back the ribs of its characters to reveal the true essence of the human condition.
Acquiring that next great read has gotten quiet a bit harder. After the closing of Ninth Street Bookshop, downtown Wilmington was left without a bookshop. Outside of the nearest Barnes and Noble, which is difficult to reach if you are a resident without a car, there is no bookshop within Wilmington selling diverse fiction, offering a creative "third spaces" for writers to share and create literary work, or "safe space" for inner city residents to garner literary interest.
Although there are many brilliant initiatives to bring books to inner city residents such as Market Street Books , Book Em' Cops and Kids Literacy Initiative and the Book Trees in Southbridge there still is no dedicated literary space offering diverse books, literary related services, and outreach from a store front.
To be frank, Wilmington is a city in desperate need of a “third space” to reform the mind through creative exposure. In December 2014, Wilmington was named “Murder Town USA” by Newsweek and the following year ABC announced it would launch a primetime drama of the same name starring Jada Pinkett Smith. Today, the show has been called off due to the outcry among city politicians and residents. The merits of this article have been called into question and still the title while extremely sensational, latently rings true. Unfortunately, all the negative attributes of the city (crime, murder, drug use) still run rampant. Missing, is a dedicated space for residents to release pent up vibrations through art and literature.
In January 2015, as an eternally curious student who believes that change can only occur through action, I applied to Kingston University’s Master’s in Publishing program in London. I wanted to get an experiential understanding of the publishing and bookselling industry to begin making practical changes to Wilmington’s literary landscape. Experiencing London’s bustling mobile business market and thriving creative culture helped me cultivate my idea for a mobile bookshop. What better way to create a bookshop than with mobile space offering a low over head costs and the ability to reach more readers and Wilmington residents on a ground level.
While abroad, I also discovered that our travels, like books, help us uncover ourselves and our purpose, we merely have to find our truth from such an experience, and follow this truth wherever it may take us. Such a revelation is the foundation for Brevity Bookspace.
What better way to educate and impart understanding to a city than a traveling bookspace, with culturally diverse books written by a set of authors from around the globe. Brevity's main aim is to bring together a community with books...books that can offer the opportunity to transform a life, a soul, and a city.
I feel I am more than capable to lead such an initiative. My ranging work experience, as a bookseller, outreach coordinator, publishing intern, marketing professional, writing tutor, and guest services attendant, provides me with the professional skills of bookselling, marketing, publishing, retail experience and creative writing.
Though I possess these skills what remains is the necessary capital to build Brevity’s mobile bookspace. The bookspace consists of the following two parts: A bike and A book trailer (like the one below).
This trailer opens up and has three sleek and well sized bookshelves. I plan to make it orange and add our logo for an eye catching design and will play music as I ride to announce our arrival like the ice cream man (I am not kidding!).
It is the perfect size for picking up book donations, displaying our free inventory on Free Book Fridays in Wilmington book deserts, and even presenting our services and new and gently used books for sale at Farmer's Markets, Book Festivals, and Literary Events.
Here is a video our book trailer designer posted for a previous client to give you a live example of the trailer.
After completing my free bike donation application, I received a bike from the Urban Bike Project. I have also already begun to collect our Free Book Friday stock.
While I still am in need of book donations, my largest concern is the funding for the book trailer, which including labor would cost about $1,500 ($700 of that is the Surly trailer that is used as the platform, and the remaining $500 is wood, screws, latches, paint, etc.). If my goal is reached, I will be perfectly aligned to get Brevity built and in no time hop onto my bike and bring books to my community.
To end, I realize that I am not a tidy and pre-wrapped investment opportunity. I may just seem like a twenty-six year old dreamer looking to change his hometown with books and a creative “third space.” But with any business; a risk must be taken.
Just know, that if I do reach my goal, I will be the future owner of a mobile bookshop named Brevity and you will have helped me be change that I so desperately want to be for my community.
Organizer
Saliym Brevity
Organizer
Wilmington, DE
