Welcome to Malvern Books!
Malvern Books is now closed. Malvern Books was a bookstore and community space in Austin, Texas. We specialized in visionary literature and poetry from independent publishers, with a focus on lesser-known and emerging voices.
An Update from the Manager of Malvern Books
Dear Friends,
We’ve had a wonderful time sharing our favorite books with you over the past nine years, and it’s been an honor to celebrate the work of so many brilliant writers through our readings and events.
Malvern Books is the realization of Joe Bratcher’s vision—Joe dreamt of a bookstore that would carry the books he loved, mostly poetry and fiction from small, independent presses. He wanted to promote writers and translators of books from other countries, while also championing the work of local writers.
When Joe first talked to me about opening Malvern Books, I must admit I was skeptical. I didn’t think we’d find an audience. It was 2012 and everyone was saying that bookstores were dead, Kindle and online shopping were the future. I anticipated many quiet sales days, with Joe and I just sitting there, looking at each other. He told me if that’s how it ended up, well, at least we’d have a chance to chat—and since we always seemed to laugh a lot when we talked, it sounded like a good way to spend some time. And so from then on, whenever we’d have a really slow sales day, with just a few people coming in, we’d look at each other and say, “We’re living the dream!” and we’d laugh.
But back to opening… in early 2013, with the help of our amazing architect, contractor, and interior designer, we created the space that Joe had in mind. We started posting on social media thanks to Tracey, our wonderful digital media manager and first Malvern hire. And we were so grateful to the many enthusiastic writers and readers who expressed their excitement at the imminent arrival of Malvern Books. From the very beginning it felt like we were building a community.
We opened our doors in October 2013, and we were shocked by how many people came by. You showed up and you loved what we had to offer! You constantly surprised and humbled us with your kind words and helpful suggestions. People from out of town would visit the store because a local friend had told them they had to come by, and we received much appreciated shout-outs from the Austin Chronicle and numerous other newspapers and journals.
And then 2020 hit—but even with the pandemic, we had loyal customers who came by for curbside pick ups, signed up for individual shopping appointments, and participated in our Zoom book clubs and events. If we didn’t say it enough, THANK YOU!
All along the way, we were lucky enough to have truly wonderful staff members who loved the books we carried and who helped us build the store we have now. Their work has been invaluable and we could not have done this without them.
On July 28th of this year, we lost Joe. I can’t tell you how hard it has been to try and carry on in this space without him. Our little Malvern world has not been the same since, and, as much as we love this store and our amazing customers, Malvern Books simply cannot continue without our Joe.
Malvern Books will be closing on December 31st, 2022. It has been a wonderful nine years and we thank each and every one of our cherished customers, friends, staff, and suppliers for helping us along the way.
As we move forward, we’ll be sharing our plans with you for sales and specials. For now, we just wanted to let you know this was coming. We hope you all continue to seek out works in translation and books published by small presses—there is so much great stuff out there—and that you continue to support our local independent bookstores, like our dear friends at BookWoman, among others. But, most importantly, we hope to see you in the store sometime soon, to say goodbye and to thank you, both for being the readers that you are and because you have come with us on this incredibly fulfilling journey in Joe’s world.
With heartfelt thanks and wishing you all the best,
Becky Garcia,
Manager, Malvern Books
A lively birthday celebration for legendary local poet Mr. Huffstickler (1927-2002). With cake, coffee, music (starting at 6.30pm) and a ton of awesome readers, including Annie Hartnett, W. Joe Hoppe, David Jewell, Sylvia Manning, Mark Smith, and Larry Thoren.
We’re celebrating National Poetry Month with a very special edition of W. Joe’s Poetry Corner… it’s poetry karaoke time!
Here’s how poetry karaoke works: you roll a lettered die and then select a poem by a poet whose last name starts with the letter the die landed on—and then you read this poem aloud for everyone to enjoy! (Poems can be chosen from a book on our shelves, or from one of the anthologies we’ll provide.) And there will, of course, be fabulous raffle prizes for a few lucky readers.
Everyone is welcome to take part, but please note that participants can’t read their own poetry—poetry karaoke is all about introducing people to the poems and poets that have inspired you.
Texas Association of Authors celebrates the winners of their third annual Book Awards Contest with a weekend of readings at Malvern Books.
Saturday’s Reading Schedule:
- 1.15pm—Myra Hargrave McIlvain, author of Stein House (General Fiction winner)
- 2.15pm—Jedah Mayberry, author of The Unheralded King of Preston Plains Middle (Multi-Cultural Fiction winner)
- 3.15pm—Robert Stevens, author of Master Robert (Civil War Historical Fiction winner)
- 4.15pm—R. Flowers Rivera, author of Troubling Accents (Poetry winner)
Texas Association of Authors celebrates the winners of their third annual Book Awards Contest with a weekend of readings at Malvern Books.
Sunday’s Reading Schedule:
- 1.15pm—Elizabeth A. Garcia, author of One Bloody Shirt at a Time (Police/Crime Fiction winner)
- 2.15pm—Howard Webb, author of Loup Garou (Supernatural Fiction winner)
- 3.15pm—Marjorie Brody, author of Twisted (Young Adult Fiction winner)
- 4.15pm—L. A. Starks, author of Strike Price (Mystery/Thriller Fiction winner)
- 5.15pm—Kenneth Womack, author of Playing the Angel (Contemporary Fiction winner)
Join us in celebrating the release of Next Stop, Heaven, the third book in Ron Jaeger’s
Trilogy of Light series. Ron will be joined by Austin poet Jan Marquart, founder of the About The Author Network.
Ron Jaeger wrote the three novels of the Trilogy of Light (The Secret of the Bermuda Triangle; Sharing a Man; and Next Stop, Heaven) over five years—but it was only after he had published the second novel that he realized he had written an unintended trilogy. One theme in particular runs through all three novels: We all have genius, inner light, but we seldom bring it out in creative acts because we have been bludgeoned into conformity.
Jan Marquart is a psychotherapist and author of eleven books. She believes in the power of personal story and helps those who come to her uncover, discover, and recover from personal narratives. Jan has a private practice in Austin and is CEO and Founder of About the Author Network, which helps those interested in writing keep their pens moving. Jan also teaches writing classes for Story Circle Network and has published essays, poems, stories, and articles for in print and online publications.
We’re having an all-day party to celebrate the 100th birthday of world-renowned Chilean (anti)poet Nicanor Parra!
Here’s a taste of what we’ll be doing to mark this grand centenary:
- Starting at noon, guests will be giving readings from Chilean writers every half an hour
- There’ll be an opportunity for you to share your favorite Parra poems
- From 7pm onwards, we’ll host a reading and discussion with poet and Parra translator Dave Oliphant, who has many tales to tell about his interactions with the great man
- Cake and refreshments with the program at 7pm
Nicanor Parra is hugely popular in his native Chile, and many consider him to be one of the most significant poets of Spanish-language poetry—Pablo Neruda called him “one of the great names in the literature of our language.” Parra has been nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and in 2011 he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary prize in the Spanish-speaking world. Despite his fame as a poet, Parra kept up his “day job” as a professor of theoretical physics until his retirement in 1991. Parra describes himself as an “anti-poet,” someone who disdains any hint of poetic grandiosity. He shuns poetic convention in favor of playful, conversational musings, and his verse is full of raucous wit and humor. Stop by Malvern Books to celebrate his happy 100th and learn more about this wonderful poet!
It’s Harvey Pekar’s 75th birthday! He’s not around to enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the life of this writer, jazz critic, inspiration, and all around Fine American.
Party MC’s W. Joe Hoppe, Kathy McCarty, and David Thornberry will be reading his comix, sharing reminiscences, spinning his greatest hits, and serving birthday cake!
Opening day seems like it was only yesterday, but in fact Malvern Books turns one this week! And we’re kicking off three days of birthday celebrations with something rather appropriate: a reading from UT Austin’s 1st year MFA students—hey, they’ve been immersed in literature for one year, too!
We’re celebrating Malvern Books’ first anniversary this weekend, and we’re doing it in fine style, with music, readings, food, prizes and cake! Come and join the fun!
This evening we’ll have classical guitar from Tony Morris, along with readings from W. Joe Hoppe, Kurt Heinzelman, and Richard Sober (who will also be displaying his artwork).
Kurt Heinzelman is a poet, translator, scholar, and editor. His latest book of poems, his fourth, is Intimacies & Other Devices (2013). Demarcations (2011) is his translation of Jean Follain’s 1953 volume of poetry Territoires. A scholarly article, “The Grail of Origin: Translation and Originality,” is forthcoming in The Writers’ Chronicle. He was founding co-editor of The Poetry Miscellany and is currently Advisor and Editor-at-Large for Bat City Review and Editor-in-Chief of Texas Studies in Literature and Language (TSLL). He is also an Honorary Professor at Swansea University (Wales).
Richard Sober has been painting and writing since he was fifteen. Sober’s checkered career includes work as a carpenter’s helper, mailroom clerk, cabdriver, messenger, dishwasher, line cook, housepainter, gardener’s helper, census field supervisor, bibiliographic searcher, caregiver, union steward, data entry clerk, warehouseman, and harm reduction specialist. He is the author of Chopin Express, Anything With a Hole In It, Rosewood-The Serpentine Nature of the Beast-Four Windowboxes, Correo Aereo, Because the House is Wild and Empty, and Adjusting to the Light. He is currently working on two manuscripts of poems, Borrowed Earth and Fictive Kin. This December he will have a solo exhibition of 350 paintings in Baltimore. Sober and Sandie Castle can be heard on a spiken word CD, Missing in Action, produced by Birdhouse Studios.
We’re celebrating Malvern Books’ first anniversary this weekend, and we’re doing it in fine style, with music, readings, food, prizes and cake! Come and join the fun!
This afternoon we have honky-tonk cabaret from TOPSY, a reading and book signing with Dr. Fred McGhee (author of Austin’s Montopolis Neighborhood), and a reading and screening of two short films from poet and film maker Richard Bailey.
Fred L. McGhee, Ph.D. is Adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology at Austin Community College and served as the founding president of the Montopolis Neighborhood Association. Also a former board member of the Austin History Center Association, he has combined historical photographs with personal photographs and images generously provided by longtime residents and friends of the Montopolis neighborhood. A specialist in the multicultural history of Texas and Hawai’i, he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a candidate for the Austin City Council from District 3, which includes Montopolis.
Richard Bailey’s poetry collection REVIVAL was awarded Finalist for the 2012 Emily Dickinson First Book Award. His poems have appeared in several journals, including The Madison Review, Mudfish, and Whiskey Island Magazine. His play A SHIP OF HUMAN SKIN was a Finalist at Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival, 2012, and Semifinalist at The Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2012, and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, 2012. His short films have shown in festivals across the country, including SXSW, Black Maria, FOCUS, Social Outcast, Wildcatter Exchange, and at Anthology Film Archives in NYC.
Join us for a poetry reading and birthday cake to celebrate the late, great poet laureate of Hyde Park: Albert Huffstickler.
Albert Huffstickler (December 17, 1927 – February 25, 2002) was born in Laredo, Texas, but he lived in Austin in his later years, and became a local literary legend. You could usually find him in a café in Hyde Park, decked out in suspenders, smoking, drinking coffee, and working on a poem. (Rumor has it he wrote a poem a day, and his impressive publication record—four full-length collections, plus hundreds of poems published in chapbooks and journals—lends veracity to the story.) He was a two-time winner of the Austin Book Awards, and in 1989 the state legislature formally honored him for his contribution to Texas poetry. In May 2013 a new Hyde Park green space at the corner of 38th and Duval Streets was named Huffstickler Green in his honor. Huff was a friend and inspiration to many, and everyone who knew him talks of his kindness, his honesty, and his passionate support for local literature. Austin Community College English professor W. Joe Hoppe, who will be reading tonight, describes his friend and mentor as “a great encourager of poetry.”