When the phone rang at the Flying Pig Bookstore on the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 18, the shop was filled with holiday customers. The caller was a Wall Street Journal editor wanting to set up a time for a photographer to shoot pictures of the store. “We’re doing an article about great bookshops that speak to the greatness of the towns they are located in,” explained the editor. When Flying Pig co-owner Josie Leavitt hung up the phone and shared the news, the whole store erupted in a cheer. “Our customers are so excited that our store will be recognized nationally,” said the Flying Pig’s other co-owner, Elizabeth Bluemle. “We are honored to represent such a vibrant community.”
The Flying Pig has been in business since 1996, first opening its doors in Charlotte, and then moving to Shelburne in 2006. The owners admit it’s been a challenge to stay aloft in a climate with intense competition from chain stores and giant online corporations. Nevertheless, they say, it’s been worth it. “We love being an integral part of our region,” says Bluemle. “We watch children grow up, we recommend books to generations of family members. And in the bigger picture, local businesses really do keep towns thriving. They are anchors, gathering places, donation sponsors, local cause supporters, and taxpayers. We definitely feel we’re fighting the good fight.”
This isn’t the first time the bookstore has received national attention. In August of this year, Bluemle was interviewed on National Public Radio to talk about how to sell diverse books in a relatively racially homogenous environment. And both Leavitt and Bluemle have been blogging about bookselling for the publishing industry’s trade magazine, Publishers Weekly, since 2009.
“The Wall Street Journal article is such a wonderful surprise,” Bluemle says. “We’ve been in business for 18 years. And if 18 marks adulthood, well, the Flying Pig will raise a glass of champagne to celebrate this moment for Shelburne and Vermont.”
The Wall Street Journal article on great bookshops and the greatness of their towns is slated to run on Dec. 27, in its weekend feature section, Off Duty.
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