Today we’d like to introduce you to Josie Smith-Webster.
Hi Josie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Arlington completely unaware that independent bookstores existed. I discovered and fell in love with these spaces in grad school, and found myself working in and managing indie bookstores across the country after that. There’s just something special about a neighborhood bookstore, run by locals and curated according to their own special mix of interests and knowledge of their neighbors.
Moving back to Texas a few years ago, I found myself missing the density and variety of these local bookstores; there weren’t any spaces nearby for me to see and discover the kinds of books I had come to love. So we figured, why not open our own? My husband and I have over 15 cumulative years working in books and publishing, and used that experience to curate a selection that matches our interests and tastes and allows us to discover new things with our friends and neighbors. Our hope is that others will do the same, and every neighborhood in the city will eventually have their own independent neighborhood bookstore.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It turns out, hand selecting 4,000 plus titles takes a LONG time! Significantly longer than my optimistic mind could have guessed. I went through the store section by section, researching titles, discovering new publishers and authors, and polling other bookseller friends for their recs. We avoided using any bestseller lists or other algorithmic tools to make sure we really knew what we had in the store and could talk about it with other people. As a result, we opened with maybe half of the inventory we had planned to, and have spent the months since slowly continuing to build and fine tune the selection (plus, new books keep being published every week!). We’re six months in and just starting to feel like the whole space is coming together in the way we first imagined.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Recluse Books is an independent, curated bookstore located in Fort Worth’s Near Southside district. We specialize in small press titles and lots of works in translation, from kids books through adult.
The thing that sets us apart is our curation. We want everything in the store to feel hand-selected, rather than chosen by algorithms or bestseller lists. While we would love to have the exact book you are looking for, what we really hope is for you to be able to find something new you had no idea you wanted yet!
We are especially proud of our knowledge of the literary landscape—past, present, and future—and of our focus on fostering community, and a healthy sense of curiosity. Our events are predominantly aimed towards creating a truer third space, with programming focusing on free events that don’t have a specific “thing” to buy and spaces for collaborative activities: zine nights, open mics, craft meetups, etc.
Also, we think about branding is very fun and rad.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
My husband, James, and I actually met while working in a bookstore together!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.reclusebooks.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/recluse_books
