The Big Move
Starting October 1st, Watershed Books will be moving to our new location at 269 Main Street in Brookville, a larger place that will allow us to better serve the writers and readers in our region. We are deeply grateful to our Members, supporters and stakeholders for their support and involvement with making this new opportunity a reality!
At our new location, we will be able to showcase hundreds more books to entice readers from all over to visit Brookville and indulge their reading habits. We will also be able to better highlight the local writers who have their books on consignment with us. Even more, we will have a better space for our meetings and free events and opportunities that will continue to be a large part of our mission.
Three years ago, we moved into our first location on the opposite end of Main Street. It was a two-room space that held a small amount of books and had a little room for our meetings. The smaller space was perfect for the time being – we opened during 2020 when it was not a great idea to have masses of people gathering together. We hosted online events and welcomed small streams of customers in to enjoy our eclectic book selection. However, we were immediately overrun with generous donations of books and furniture and needed a bigger spot to house our growing literary community.
Two years ago, we were offered an opportunity to relocate to our current spot above HR Block. The space was three times as big and was saturated in character and – although there was a long flight of stairs to get to us – we were able to start hosting dozens of participants through our many events. And the donations kept rolling in! More and more books were added to the shelves and then filled up our back room and then some. We needed a space that was more accessible and could showcase the full collection of books we had to offer.
Now we are moving forward to realizing our mission in a more inclusive and expansive way. The new location is on the ground floor and has room for dozens of bookshelves to line the walls. It is much larger than our current location and includes a beautiful space for our literary arts center. Visitors will be able to pop their head in and see the dozens of genres we have available, especially our massive local authors selection. Our storefront windows will attract attention and announce to the community what a wonderful space we will have to offer them to relax, read and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. The comfortable sitting areas will draw in locals and visitors alike to spend a little time in quiet and calm.
This new location allows for improved outreach and community engagement. Our regular events like Writer’s Block Party, Open Mic Nights, workshops, Poetry Matters, authors events and more will have even more space to encourage greater participation. Small group meetings and events like book clubs and writing collaborators will find they have a special place to work together and inspire one another. We’ll even have a dedicated kids room where children can participate in storytelling and play.
Our stakeholders are a vital part of this story. Between financial assistance and sweat equity, we have seen our region step up and demonstrate how much they want to have a bookstore and literary arts center in our area. Those who have found in Watershed a connection with other writers and readers have told us that they have discovered new life in our community and are grateful for the relationships and opportunities made available in our center. We are committed to maintaining strong relationships with our Members, submitters, supporters and stakeholders as we make the move to our new location. Thank you so much for believing in our mission to serve our region and elevate the storytelling and artistry that is rampant in our neck of the woods.