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July 19

Andersonville's Women & Children First Bookstore has new, but familiar, owners

There is joy in Andersonville: Women & Children First Bookstore, the venerable and beloved independent shop at 5233 N. Clark St. has new owners who are very much like the old owners. The change was announced earlier this week: The store’s founders/owners, Linda Bubon and Ann Christophersen, have sold to two of their current employees, Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, and this news has been happily received.

Novelist Kelly O’Connor McNees lives in nearby Rogers Park and often shops at WCF and has appeared at readings/signings there for her own books, which include “The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott” and “In Need of a Good Wife.”

“This is wonderful news. The store will continue to remain independent and to offer books that encourage discussion about women's lives and experiences,” she says. “I hope the new owners will host even more readings, gatherings, and story time events for kids to nurture the rich community of readers we have on the North Side. Amazon certainly cannot do that.”

The independent bookstore is a beleaguered and endangered species, and it is not difficult to recall the many that have vanished from our area. That is why there was much anxiety when Bubon and Christophersen announced their decision to sell in October. They had a number of formal offers since then and finally chose Mooney and Hollenbeck earlier this month.

The transition is expected to be as smooth as smooth can be, or as the store’s website (womenandchildrenfirst.com) puts it: “By selecting (Mooney and Hollenbeck) to step into the roles of co-owners, friends of the store can rest assured that the store, though changing hands, will not be changing heart.”

That “heart” has made the store one of the largest feminist bookshops in the country, with more than 30,000 books by and about women, children's books for all ages, and a wide selection of lesbian and gay fiction and nonfiction.

Sheryl Johnston is a longtime fixture on the literary scene as publicist, event promoter and booster. She has known the store since its beginning, and worked with its owners and staff for over a decade.

“This is more than just a bookstore,” she says. “It's a storefront with a huge beating heart, and a voracious, curious mind. In the past 35 years, Ann and Linda have created an environment that embraces a love of reading, writing, and the open exchange of ideas.

“Their broad-minded spirit has attracted some of the biggest names in literature, social activism, and politics over the years, people such as former president Jimmy Carter, Gloria Steinem, Joan Baez, Margaret Atwood, Sandra Cisneros, Alice Walker, Studs Terkel, just to name a few.

“The store has been equally welcoming to emerging writers, many of whom have launched their very first books in that store. Whether people have been going to WCF for years, or whether it's a first time visit, they are always impressed by how well the staff knows its books.

“Linda and Ann have survived the challenges posed by big box stores and the Internet. I have no doubt that new owners will keep the store and its spirit alive for years to come.”

rkogan@tribune.com

Copyright © 2019, Chicago Tribune
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