In Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, southeast of Salt Lake City, the Swiss-themed town of Midway is now home to Folklore Bookshop. Co-owned by children’s author Lindsey Leavitt, former high school librarian Audrey Lind, and retailer Alison Russell, Folklore welcomed its first customers on October 5 and held a grand opening celebration on October 26.
In a conversation with PW, the three co-owners said that Midway residents and visitors already have shown appreciation for their independent bookstore. “We aren't the first [local indie], but we’re the only current one,” said Leavitt, who’s Folklore’s book buyer and events manager. “We had people cry when they walked in, which made us cry. It’s really cool when we’re at the register and see the wonder as they take it in.”
Midway is “a bit of a tourist destination, with people coming from the Salt Lake Valley or the Utah Valley,” said Russell, Folklore’s operations manager, and “we’ve had a tremendous amount of population growth” in the region, increasing the small town’s traffic. October was the perfect time to launch, she added, because autumn brings “a lot of people driving up into the mountains to see the leaves,” as well as visitors from the nearby ski resort town of Park City.
During the winter, when snowy weather poses a challenge to coming and going, Folklore aims to be a cozy local destination. “Allison’s had an eye to that from the beginning, creating an experience-based retail” location where people will want to spend time and participate in book clubs, Leavitt said. “You don’t just run in and grab a book. We have a couch, we have chairs, and we have a fireplace. That differentiates us from big box stores.”
Folklore offers a general selection, inviting readers with a romance corner, mystery shelves near a stone fireplace, and a gifts area with puzzles and toys. “Our nonfiction section is pretty big too,” Leavitt added. Especially because two romance bookstores opened in Utah this year—Lovebound Library in Salt Lake City and Lagg (Like a Good Girl) Bookstore in Lehi— “we wanted to make sure anyone who came in could find a section that appealed to them.”
While planning the store, Leavitt, Lind, and Russell consulted with Calvin Crosby and Anne Holman, co-owners of the King’s English in Salt Lake City. “They helped us with everything from getting started to our design to letting me work [at the King’s English] on weekends” to learn the ropes, said Lind, a former high school librarian who manages Folklore’s inventory and works with Leavitt on book buying.
Folklore also is establishing a nonprofit wing, presently known as Folklore Commons, inspired by the King’s English’s 501(c)3, Brain Food Books. Brain Food “focuses on Title 1 schools and underserved areas, especially in Salt Lake City, and our nonprofit is rural,” Leavitt said. “Between the two of us, I think that a nonprofit festival would be really cool to do. But I’m a big dreamer, looking far ahead. That’s a 2025 idea.”
A Bookselling Trio
Preparations for Folklore Bookshop took two years, although Leavitt and Russell have nurtured a bookstore dream since 2018, when they met through their children’s activities. They couldn’t find the perfect place until a multi-use development took shape in the heart of Midway, and Lind—another fellow parent—joined them in their planning process.
“We did a new build from the ground up, which we now rent,” across from the Town Hall and ice rink, Leavitt said. Folklore occupies a 2,200 square foot space in the development, which includes Airbnb rental units, a flower shop, and a yoga studio. A Glockenspiel chimes on the hour. “Our town has had three Hallmark movies filmed here in the last year, that we know of,” Leavitt said. “It’s very much that small town experience.”
“There’s a nice synergy between the businesses and what we’re creating here in Midway,” added Russell, who previously worked in a home décor store and has applied her retail chops by getting a business license, setting up the point-of-sale system, merchandising, and writing a training packet. Folklore has six employees so far, with more hires anticipated.
Leavitt brings her background as a children’s and YA author to Folklore’s events. Her new middle grade novel The Garden Just Beyond (Godwin Books) comes out next May, and a paperback edition of her 2023 middle grade novel North of Supernova (Square Fish) will be published in April. To accommodate readings and signings, “we have enough space for about 100 [seats] in the store,” and all the furniture is movable for accessibility, she said. Folklore held a Seasonal Sweater Soirée with guests Ally Carter (The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year) and Erin Sterling (The Wedding Witch) that drew a crowd of 80 people.
A former Nevada resident, Leavitt also arranged for Folklore to be the vendor for the Las Vegas Book Festival on October 19. “The timing wasn’t what we would have planned, because it was two weeks after we opened,” she said. “But I’ve gone to this festival maybe nine times as an author, and anytime we can bring books to kids in the place that I grew up, that’s very important to me.” She coordinated with Brian Garth, senior cultural specialist for the City of Las Vegas, to supply books at the event.
Depending on which co-owner is asked, any similarities between Folklore Bookshop’s name and superstar Taylor Swift’s Folklore era are either accidental or completely intentional. “It is and it isn't” an allusion, Russell said. Lind added: “It's been great for social media. The Swifties are good fans,” and BookTok influencers have discovered the store.
For Leavitt, “folklore is the traditions and stories of a community, and we wanted to capture that connection with people. But,” she added, “we are doing a ‘Merry Swiftmas’ celebration on December 13, which is Mother Taylor's birthday, and we do have a Tortured Poets Department,” a Swiftie section that combines classics, poetry, and romance, complete with a Royal typewriter so that visitors can express themselves.
While Lind and Russell appreciate Folklore Bookshop’s name for its general appeal, Leavitt has her own agenda. “I saw Eras [Swift’s concert] twice,” she said. When naming the store, “I got away with it—I was a mastermind.”
