Books and beyond Books and beyond Books and beyond

Stesha Brandon, ’01, grew up attending the University Temple across the street from the University Book Store, where her grandparents worked as booksellers. “I would sneak out of church to go over to the store and read books,” says Brandon. “I loved the store. It’s been a keystone for community my entire life.”

Today, Brandon is the program manager for a nonprofit that helps manage Seattle’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature. She also runs the literature and humanities program for Seattle Public Library. But she got her start managing events for the University Book Store, where she worked from 2003 to 2013. Helping plan and produce hundreds of events across nine outlets, she brought academic and blockbuster speakers to UW’s main campus for classroom visits and large public events. Thanks to her efforts and those of the bookstore’s dedicated staff, the neighborhood and campus have had an enriched intellectual life.

Visitors from around the region have been drawn to browse the shelves, attend author events and take part in a vibrant literary community. While the most popular events during her tenure focused on academic speakers with specialties in science and philosophy, the store introduced students and community audiences to the idea that “you could see writers in real life and that writing wasn’t just produced by dead people,” she says. The bookstore partnered with lecture series across campus to bring in speakers. “And sometimes with students, that relationship [with new writers or genres] would be opened up because we brought someone to campus,” says Brandon.

Turning 125 in January and now celebrating 100 years in its current location, University Book Store has served the local community in myriad ways beyond textbooks and sweatshirts. Established by two students with $50 borrowed from the faculty, it began in a cloakroom next to the president’s office in Denny Hall and grew along with the University. The business incorporated in 1932 and later became a trust. In its present home on the Ave, the store grew into one of the largest college bookstores in the country.

The 1930s facade of the ASUW University Book Store peeks out behind a streetcar. Back in 1939, instead of hopping on the light rail or the 45 bus line, you could take the #15 streetcar from the University Book Store on the Ave down to the heart of Capitol Hill.

World-famous authors like Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Louise Penny and cartoonist Matthew Inman found their audiences at the bookstore. Sci-fi and fantasy writers like Neil Gaiman, Neil Stephenson and Terry Pratchett discovered just how avid Seattle-area fans are for their work. Book buyer Duane Wilkins gets much of that credit. “He’s been on staff over 40 years and nationally renowned in the sci-fi world, and knows many of the authors,” says Trevor Peterson, University Book Store CEO. “He’s one of many people who have spent decades on staff. Many of our products can be bought anywhere. It’s our people that make us special to the community.”

A century ago, University Book Store started carrying books for a general readership and tailored its offerings to the greater community, Peterson says. They continued evolving with memorable events like a seven-day WizRock festival featuring Harry Potter-inspired bands to celebrate a new release in the J.K. Rowling series. It was Brandon who conceived of the WizRock fest.

She also commissioned 110 local writers on the 110th anniversary of University Book Store to write 110-word pieces to be published in a book. The anthology was given away to patrons who bought titles by any of the 110 authors during the store’s anniversary year. The book included new work by alumni Tom Robbins and David Guterson, ’82, as well as Northwest writers Jamie Ford, Ellen Forney, Lesley Hazleton, Eric Liu, Colleen J. McElroy, Shawn Wong and Jess Walter.

As University Book Store looks ahead to its next 125 years, Peterson is optimistic and excited. “Our relationship with the University has never been closer or stronger,” he says. “We are in the forever business, just like the University, and to carry out our work in step with our great partners at the University is what the bookstore’s mission really boils down to.”

The University Book Store celebrates its 125th anniversary on Jan. 10, 2025. Plans are taking shape for an anniversary event as well as special programming all year long.

Lead photo: Octavia Butler, a Seattle resident and Hugo Award-winning science fiction writer, poses with her books at the University Book Store in 2004. Photo courtesy of Joshua Trujillo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer