In an exploration of Ann Arbor’s robust and diverse literary scene, The Michigan Daily’s Business beat spoke with seven downtown bookstores. Each article in ‘The literary culture of downtown Ann Arbor’ project aims to capture each store’s unique offerings and contribution to the community. Read the other articles here.
Located on East Washington Street and South Fourth Avenue, Literati Bookstore is home to a wide variety of written works, with genres ranging from poetry and architecture to fiction and history. Named Publishers Weekly’s Bookstore of the Year in 2019, Literati continues to be an Ann Arbor staple, hosting book clubs, poetry and prose readings and book releases. The bookstore is also home to a public typewriter, open to customers to write notes and share their thoughts.
Literati was founded in March 2013 by Michiganders Hilary and Michael Gustafson. Before moving to Ann Arbor, the couple worked in Brooklyn; both held literary jobs, with Hilary working as a sales representative at Simon & Schuster and Michael working as a freelance writer. After the liquidation of Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain Borders in 2011, Hilary and Michael returned to Michigan and founded Literati.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Hilary Gustafson, an Ann Arbor native, spoke about the initial business challenges she and her husband faced when opening the bookstore. She said the duo faced doubts but believed homegrown bookshops like Literati were capable of embedding themselves in the local community.
“At that time, it was really hard to get someone to rent to us, because they didn’t believe that a bookstore could survive,” Gustafson said. “If Borders couldn’t do it, then how could we? But from my experience learning at Simon & Schuster, independent bookstores can be more nimble than bigger chains and can change direction with what’s going on in the world or in their community and be tied into the people that live in those communities in ways that can make them sustainable long term.”
Gustafson also spoke about the significance of Literati’s location in downtown Ann Arbor and said the bookstore has become very connected to the different academic fields across the University of Michigan.
“Having such a university like the University of Michigan, that’s well renowned and has people in many different academic fields who are passionate about different subjects, obviously informs who’s coming into the store and who’s buying what,” Gustafson said. “We’ve made some really strong connections within different University departments.”
With strong ties to the University, Literati collaborates with U-M programs such as the Institute for the Humanities, Ross School of Business and the Helen Zell Writers’ Program, managing all book sales for the Zell Visiting Writers Series. Rackham student Matthew Buxton, Literati bookseller and a member of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program, said his experiences as a student influence his college experience.
“I get to meet with authors one-on-one and go to their craft talks, and in my classes, read tons of great contemporary or older authors, and then I sell those books at Literati,” Buxton said. “That’s been a super exciting thing where we can have authors come to visit on the Helen Zell side of things, and then every day, when people are coming in for recommendations, I can be that force on the ground selling these books that have been impactful to me in my time in the program.”
In an email to The Daily, Peter Ho Davies, director of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program, wrote about Literati’s significance to current and former students.
“Literati is a great asset to the local literary community,” Davies wrote. “We’re grateful to them for selling books at our visiting writer events, and in their own excellent reading series, they’ve hosted many of our alumni for book events.”
Buxton elaborated on the behind-the-scenes elements of the bookstore and said in addition to considering the profitability of their inventory, Literati also prioritizes the individuality of their book selections.
“We have this huge poetry section that isn’t necessarily the most profitable because not that many people buy niche poetry,” Buxton said. “That’s been rewarding to see that yes, we are a retail store, we do have to prioritize sales, but we also do that so we can house some of these other titles and authors that potentially wouldn’t be in a store like Barnes & Noble.”
Gustafson explained the different business strategies Literati has developed and said the bookstore’s subscription programs engage customers in the literary community.
“We have a signed first-edition subscription program, where you get a signed first-edition book each month as a way to collect and build a library,” Gustafson said. “It’s been really fun to see books that we pick early on then win the Pulitzer Prize or the National Book Award, and people have been able to have those signed first editions of these very important works. We’ve expanded that out — now we have a romance subscription program, a small press subscription program and we’re launching a science fiction subscription program this month.”
Gustafson and her husband are committed to their goal to remain open for thirty years. Although she mentioned that Literati’s success could be attributed to luck, Gustafson said the support of the Ann Arbor community has been key to the longevity and success of the bookstore.
“I think we’re kind of a lucky case,” Gustafson said. “My husband always says it’s kind of like we caught lightning in a bottle. We feel very lucky, but we also have a really supportive community.”
Daily Staff Reporter Noor Khanafer can be reached at noorkk@umich.edu.
