Bookstores with McSweeney’s Displays.
We become very excited when a bookstore sends us a photo of its McSweeney’s display. Spontaneous and unique, each one of these creations warms our hearts and inspires us to make more books, which then fill up more displays, which in turn rewarm our hearts—it’s a vicious cycle. To encourage this happy virus to unfurl into an international epidemic, we present this Web page highlighting displays past and present. We hope to honor some of your terrific creations, inspire future projects, and assist in any way possible. If you work at a bookstore with a display, or at a bookstore hoping to create a display, please e-mail Sam.
Warby Parker’s New York Store
121 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012
Common Good Bookstore
38 S. Snelling Ave
St. Paul, MN
commongoodbooks.blogspot.com
“McSweeney’s not only draws readers’ attentions to the art and design of books, but in publishing long works by such authors as Adam Levin and John Sayles, it affirms the art of attention itself.”
— Colin McDonald
The Western New York Book Arts Center
468 Washington Street
Buffalo, NY 14203
wnybookarts.org
“McSweeney’s has become a fixture in the small press section of the WNY Book Arts Center. When someone asks, “What can be done with book design that hasn’t been done a million times before?”, we show them a few McSweeney’s Quarterly Concerns."
— Anne Muntges
Morrison Library
University of California
Berkeley CA 94720
“The UC Berkeley libraries have a deep appreciation for books as artifacts to be treasured and shared that is reflected in all the McSweeney’s titles. This is why developing the McSweeney’s collection and getting what we had hidden behind our circulation desk out into the room for all our patrons to enjoy was one of the first things I did when I took over the Morrison Library. The uniquely playful, intelligent, and exciting McSweeney’s aesthetic really livens up the room, and I am sure the students, like myself, look forward to what form the Quarterly will take with each new issue. It’s no wonder our McSweeney’s table is one of the most commented on features of the Morrison Library.”
— Scott Peterson
De Groene Waterman
Wolstraat 7
2000 Antwerp
Belgium
http://groenewaterman.mijnboekhandelaar.com
“We adore the combination of literary quality, originality, and social engagement. McSweeney’s is the perfect example of how art can make a difference.”
— Katrien
The Golden Notebook
29 Tinker St.
Woodstock, NY 12498
845-679-8000
www.goldennotebook.com
Our first McMullens display! The good folks in upstate New York decked out their window display with paper lanterns, donated musical instruments, and a custom-printed poster from Symphony City. And they put us right alongside Maurice Sendak and Shel Silverstein. Not bad!
The Book Lounge
71 Roeland St.
Cape Town, South Africa
www.booklounge.co.za
“There is always a HUGE amount of enthusiasm amongst staff and customers alike as soon as the new edition is announced… to the extent that we have a separate little mailing-list going for it.”
— Johan
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-449-5320
www.vromansbookstore.com
“I need the fun, the smiles, the joy, and the quickness of my heart beating a little extra fast—that is what McSweeney’s is to me. The writers are amazing, the art is incredible, and I am always excited to see what’s coming in the mail when the next Quarterly is released. I love me some McSweeney’s.”
— Pat Walker (and Dale Zapata)
(N.B.: Nice use of the Panorama comics Section, Vroman’s.)
Porter Square Books
Porter Square Shopping Center
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA 02140
www.portersquarebooks.com
“We absolutely love and respect the institution that is McSweeney’s, and couldn’t wait to exhibit our favorites. We wanted to create a display as unique as your books—hence the caged bust exclaiming "what"—while also paying homage to your NY store. Read hard!"
— Jennifer Johnston
Square Books
160 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655-4068
www.squarebooks.com
“We’re always excited to get the new McSweeney’s Quarterly in at our store. All of the booksellers ooh and aah over the new packaging and the table of contents. McSweeney’s consistently print beautiful books with excellent content and they deserve a display in all bookstores.”
— David Swider
Regulator Bookshop
720 9th Street
Durham, NC 27705-4877
(919) 286-2700
“We’ve been there since the first boxes arrived from Iceland. McSweeney’s keeps our periodicals and zine room fresh and honest.”
— John Valentine
Pudd’nhead Books
37 S. Old Orchard
Webster Groves, MO
puddnheadbooks.com
“We’ve had a Mcsweeney’s section since we opened in 2008. The books are beautiful and need to be seen to be appreciated, so we make sure everyone gets a chance to play with them.”
—Nikki Furrer
The Book Corner
100 N. Walnut
Bloomington, IN
“The Book Corner has featured McSweeney’s titles for about eight years. We try to keep all the quarterlies in stock until they’re no longer available. Your books are also among our most shoplifted titles, so we keep you close by.”
— Paris Pace
Whitman College Bookstore
Walla Walla, WA
bookstore.whitman.edu/bookstore/
Whitman College Bookstore selected Zeitoun as their all-class read, and jumped at the chance to display it with some of our other books—and pennants and a mannequin in a striped tie. We’re feeling collegiate nostalgia just looking at this picture.
EcoBooks
227 E. Baseline Rd.
Ste. J-5
Tempe, AZ 85283
Third Place Books
Lake Forest Park, WA
www.thirdplacebooks.com
Librairie D&Q Bookstore
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
“One of the reasons that we opened our store was that we wanted to have THE place in Montreal to buy McSweeney’s books. The intelligence and good taste of our customers far exceeded our wildest expectations, making the entire McSweeney’s line the cornerstone of our modest neighborhood bookstore.”
− Tom Devlin
Quimby’s
Chicago, IL
www.quimbys.com
Green Apple Books
San Francisco, CA
www.greenapplebooks.com
“There aren’t many truly successful ‘brands’ in the publishing industry, books of individual merit, working together over the years, building customer interest and loyalty. McSweeney’s publishes these types of books, and, once a reader gets their introduction to this world, we often find them waiting in line for the next release. Being able to keep McSweeney’s wide range of titles grouped together in a display draws attention to releases that may otherwise slip through the cracks and communicates to those not yet aware that these are books of merit, books that Green Apple believes in, and books that you should get to know.”
− Kevin Hunsanger
Pages on Kensington
Calgary, Canada
Skylight Books
Los Angeles, CA
www.skylightbooks.com
“Due to the size and prominence of our McSweeney’s display, whenever customers ask about it I tend to refer to it as our ’McSweeney’s altar.’ That way, in one fell swoop, I’m able to convey our store’s commitment to this project and make a funny at the same time.”
− Charles Hauther
Tower Books and Records
Tokyo, Japan
Even the Tower in Tokyo is getting in on the McSweeney’s display. They put this display together for our 25th issue, and might do something similar for our 30th issue. Rie Muto, the head buyer at the Tokyo Tower, says, “Everyone − such as artists, writers, publishers, or anyone related to the book − loves our display on the wall.”
McNally Jackson
New York, NY
www.mcnallyjackson.com
“McSweeney’s is a noble enterprise undertaken with plenteous imagination. I am proud to support them and hopeful that some of their brilliance reflects on my store.”
− Sarah Robinson