In Mississippi, books run in our blood.

Our state has produced award-winning authors like Jesmyn Ward and Kiese Laymon, bestsellers like John Grisham and Angie Thomas, and nationally recognized independent bookstores from the Delta to the Coast. But the college town of Columbus, which has nurtured the likes of Tennessee Williams and Eudora Welty, recently found itself without a bookstore.

We have a saying in my family: “Don’t complain unless you’re going to be part of the solution.” So, when I heard myself lamenting the city’s fate while teaching entrepreneurship at the Mississippi Governor’s School, I realized I needed to listen to that familiar advice. That’s why I’m launching a new independent bookstore in Columbus, a college town with a close-knit creative community, an Air Force base, and tourists attracted by its history.

Friendly City Books will focus on Mississippi writers through our book selection and events. We will also identify and promote new voices from the Hospitality State through our own publishing imprint.

By creating a gathering place for area residents, partnering with local institutions, and supporting regional tourism and development,

Friendly City Books can have an economic impact 3.5 times bigger than a chain bookstore.

"If the closing of Books-A-Million is indeed permanent, we hold an optimistic view that perhaps this is just an end that leads to a beginning."

— “Our View: In need of a bookstore,” The Commercial Dispatch, Columbus, Mississippi