There’s a bookcase in an abandoned subterranean trolley station under Dupont Circle where you can buy books stores won’t put on their shelves. Written by 26 local authors, many of these books have been published by small presses, and the economics of bookselling don’t give reason for many brick-and-mortar bookstores to stock them even though they are of high quality. Now they are at Dupont Underground.
This project is the result of funding I received through the Awesome Foundation and the cooperation and assistance of Dupont Underground and The Inner Loop.
For about two years, I’ve been volunteering at Dupont Underground, an abandoned trolley station that is now an arts and cultural space underneath Dupont Circle. They host visual art exhibits, theatre, concerts, drag shows, poetry readings, and other events. Aside from being a unique space with lots of history, it’s dynamic and growing.
In conversation with DU staff, I brought up how, for authors published with small presses, it can be hard to get books on the shelves of local bookstores. Bookstores find it hard to order from small presses, and frankly, the books don’t move off the shelves as quickly as work by big-name authors. Bookstores that are willing to stock such books often ask authors for a 50/50 split, a money-losing proposition for an author earning the standard 15%.
Dupont Underground was willing to let me set up a spot for local authors if I could find a better model. I applied for a grant from the Awesome Foundation and received $1000 to set up a place to sell local books.
I purchased a bookcase off Facebook Marketplace, which my spouse beautified, and bought $920 of books to start things off. All money earned will be reinvested into the project to replace books sold and expand the collection. Several authors have donated their own books or books from friends as well, which is a great way to quickly grow offerings!
Come visit at 19 Dupont Circle, 11-5 on weekends or on any evening it’s open for events. We will host a free launch event for the project at 6:30 on October 2.
