Ann Arbor's Literati Bookstore named Publishers Weekly's Bookstore of the Year

ANN ARBOR – As a city of bibliophiles, this is something for which Ann Arbor can be very proud.

Publishers Weekly announced Thursday that Literati Bookstore has been selected its Bookstore of the Year. In January, news broke that Literati was up against four other independently owned bookstores across the country for the award, which goes to the bookstore that has "outsized impact on their communities." 

Husband and wife team Michael and Hilary Gustafson opened Literati six years ago after book giant Borders went out of business.

Since it opened, Literati has expanded in square footage, from 9,000 to 30,000 books and from seven to 27 employees. It has also added a hip coffee shop with great views of downtown.

Kate McCune with HarperCollins and a former PW Rep of the Year nominated Literati for this year's award because of its impressive scaling and community involvement.

"The store has seen double-digit growth most years since it opened. Publishers regularly trust them to host major authors, most recently Louise Penny who sold out a ticketed 900-seat offsite event. Mike published a book about life at the store, (Notes from a Public Typewriter)," McKune said in a statement.

In-depth interviews with the Gustafsons will appear in the Publishers Weekly pre-BookExpo issue May 13.

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