You can normally find Wayfaring Booksellers at the REO Town Marketplace, but at the upcoming Lansing and East Lansing Pride celebrations, the shop will take to the streets to sell its primarily queer-focused literature.
The relatively new bookstore, co-owned by Eleanor Richards and Casey Holland, started as a pop-up at the REO Town Marketplace’s 2021 Jolly Holiday Market and expanded into a small shop in the back of the marketplace in January 2022. It offers a tightly curated selection of books, according to Richards.
“We started by selling used books and built up gradually, and now we’ve moved up front, where there’s sunlight,” Richards said. “It’s a place where people can come sit down with friends and talk. We offer a diverse selection of new and used books but are very connected to the queer community.”
Richards was inspired to start selling books by shops like women-, queer- and veteran-owned Bettie’s Pages in Lowell that cater to underrepresented communities. She said there’s been an influx of niche bookstores like this across the country in the past four years.
In addition to traditional novels, Wayfaring carries a selection of graphic novels and children’s books.
The owners choose their inventory from a variety of sources, including what their friends are reading and books authors and publishers send them.
“We also keep our eyes on lists like the New York Times’ bestsellers, but we aren’t driven by bestsellers,” Richards said.
For Richards, who has a background in technical theater, the hardest part of getting the bookstore up and running was learning the business side of it. However, both she and Holland previously worked for East Lansing’s long-running Curious and Archives book shops.
“The other businesses in the marketplace have helped out with the business end,” Richards said.
Even though the bookstore’s focus for the next few weeks is the Pride events, Richards said, “We want you to read queer all year.”
Richards’ own reading skews toward nonfiction, fantasy and science fiction.
“Casey and I both love books, and I can’t read a book without recommending it to someone else,” she said.
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