Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Evans.
Will, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I founded Deep Vellum Publishing first when I moved to Dallas in 2013 as a way of bringing the world into conversation through literature. A bookstore is a natural extension of that same philosophy, but on a local, human level. In 2016 I opened the bookstore, Deep Vellum Books, as a space that would not only provide office space for the growing publishing company, but as a way to highlight my favorite & the world’s best small & independent publishers, works in translation, writers of color, LGTBQ+ authors, feminist literature, and in general the types of underrepresented books and writers that you can’t really find anywhere else and that are pushing the artistic medium of literature forward into the future. We’re in Deep Ellum because it’s my favorite neighborhood in Dallas, the only real melting pot neighborhood in our region where people of every background, belief, and socioeconomic status come together to revel in the universal languages of music, food, booze, and now, books.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Opening a retail bookstore in the 21st century is a challenging but compelling venture. Every city, town, neighborhood, deserves its own bookstore to reflect the community that it’s a part of, and the fact that decades of big box and then digital retailing killed off many independent bookstores means that in this day and age it’s more vital than ever to open a bookstore to fill in the gaps in the market and to focus on the community-building aspect to literature and storytelling that no other retailer can match.
Deep Vellum Books – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Deep Vellum Books grew out of the translation publishing house I founded, and so we specialize in the best small & independent publishers, works in translation, writers of color, poetry, LGTBQ+ authors, feminist literature, handmade books, zines, and chapbooks, local writers, and in general the types of underrepresented books and writers that you can’t really find anywhere else and that are pushing the artistic medium of literature forward into the future. You won’t find most of these books in any other bookstore, and we’re here to nurture the readers and writers who are hungry for new means, methods, and modes of advancing our storytelling culture.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Celebrating our second anniversary surrounded by the writers, poets, and readers who are the reason we do this.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3000 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX 75226 - Website: deepvellumbooks.com
- Phone: 972-638-7741
- Email: info@deepvellum.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/deepvellumbooks
- Facebook: facebook.com/deepvellumbooks
- Twitter: twitter.com/deepvellumbooks
- Yelp: yelp.com/biz/deep-vellum-books-dallas
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
