Longtime East Hampton, N.Y. resident Carolyn Brody, chairman emeritus of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has purchased BookHampton’s 45-year-old East Hampton store. Working with her is Roxanne Coady, owner of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Ct., and her bookstore team, who will manage the store.
“I see extraordinary potential for BookHampton to become even more vibrant for readers and authors,” Coady said. “And it feels like kismet to have the opportunity to be part of a store so similar to R.J. Julia.
“I am thrilled to continue the wonderful legacy of this important bookstore and will be an active, hands-on owner,” Brody said. “Independent bookstores are enjoying a resurgence, and I want to contribute to that. As Ann Patchett said, ‘Bookstores are back.’ And I couldn’t ask for a more responsive audience and community.”
Brody plans to close the bookstore briefly for renovations and will host a grand reopening at the start of the summer season.
Last fall Charline Spektor announced that she was putting both BookHampton stores on the market so that she could focus her efforts on curbing gun violence. Two former BookHampton booksellers, Daniel Hirsch and Gregory Harris, purchased the Southampton store last fall, which they renamed Southampton Books.
