Welcome to Malvern Books!

BlogMalvern 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

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
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Barbara Frances Book Launch 7:00 pm
Barbara Frances Book Launch
Feb 6 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Barbara Frances Book Launch
Join us in celebrating the launch of Barbara Frances’ new novel, Like I Used to Dance. Barbara Frances has plenty of stories and a life spent acquiring them. Growing up Catholic on a small Texas farm, her childhood ambition was … Continue reading
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David Jewell & Ric Lance Scow Williams Book Launch 7:00 pm
David Jewell & Ric Lance Scow Williams Book Launch
Feb 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
David Jewell & Ric Lance Scow Williams Book Launch
Join us in celebrating the launch of Last Word/First Word: A Poetic Conversation by David Jewell and Ric Lance Scow Williams. The book was a collaborative effort of three years of emailing poems back and forth, nearly every day, and using the last word of … Continue reading
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Novel Night with Scott Semegran & Dwaines Lawless 7:00 pm
Novel Night with Scott Semegran & Dwaines Lawless
Feb 11 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Novel Night with Scott Semegran & Dwaines Lawless
Join us for the fourteenth event in our Novel Night series, a monthly celebration of all things prose! Here’s how it works: two published authors will read from their books and there’ll be an audience Q & A. We’ll then have an open … Continue reading
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Austin Writers Roulette 4:00 pm
Austin Writers Roulette
Feb 14 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Austin Writers Roulette
Austin Writers Roulette features a different monthly theme and line up of artists who love to perform their original written works such as poetry, essays, spoken word, singer-songwriting, or excerpts from novels for 5-8 minutes (1200 words or fewer). Interested … Continue reading
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An Evening with Toni Sala, Music By Tish Hinojosa 7:00 pm
An Evening with Toni Sala, Music By Tish Hinojosa
Feb 19 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
An Evening with Toni Sala, Music By Tish Hinojosa
Join us for an evening with award-winning writer Toni Sala, who will be reading from The Boys, an “altogether brilliant” novel that centers around the sudden deaths of two young men in a provincial town in the Catalonian countryside. Live music from award-winning folksinger Tish … Continue reading
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Indie Authors at Malvern Books 3:00 pm
Indie Authors at Malvern Books
Feb 20 @ 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Indie Authors at Malvern Books
Join three Austin indie authors as they read selections from their novels and discuss how they made the leap to indie publishing. Authors featured include: · Anna Castle writes the Francis Bacon mysteries and the Lost Hat, Texas mysteries. · … Continue reading
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W. Joe’s Poetry Corner with Abe Louise Young 7:00 pm
W. Joe’s Poetry Corner with Abe Louise Young
Feb 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
W. Joe's Poetry Corner with Abe Louise Young
Presenting W. Joe’s Poetry Corner, in which our host W. Joe Hoppe interviews a poet, who will then give a reading and answer questions from audience members. W. Joe’s guest this month is Abe Louise Young. Abe Louise Young is an independent … Continue reading
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I Scream Social: Galentine’s Day Edition 7:00 pm
I Scream Social: Galentine’s Day Edition
Feb 26 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
I Scream Social: Galentine's Day Edition
Get your cones ready for a special Galentine’s Edition of Malvern Books’ newest FREE reading series, I SCREAM SOCIAL, hosted by Malvern’s own Annar Veröld & Schandra Madha and featuring young women poets and fiction writers from the Austin community. … Continue reading
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The Lion & The Pirate Unplugged 2:00 pm
The Lion & The Pirate Unplugged
Feb 27 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Lion & The Pirate Unplugged
In association with VSA Texas (The State Organization on Arts and Disability) and the Pen2Paper Creative Writing Contest (a project of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities), we’re delighted to present an inclusive (mic-less) open mic for writers and musicians. Join us for this fun … Continue reading
Bruce McCandless Book Launch 7:00 pm
Bruce McCandless Book Launch
Feb 27 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Bruce McCandless Book Launch
Join us in celebrating the launch of Bruce McCandless’ latest novel, The Black Book of Cyrenaica, a historical horror story involving a supernatural terror that besieges an expedition to save American sailors imprisoned in Tripoli. We’ll also enjoy live music from two talented … Continue reading
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