Ankeny, Iowa’s First Bookstore to Open in April

This spring, Mary Rork-Watson, whose background lies in office administration, literature studies, and art, will open Plot Twist Bookstore, the very first bookstore for Ankeny, a city of 45,000 people in central Iowa.

“It’s the first and only bookstore in town, so I’m going to have a nice general selection of titles that’s balanced,” said Rork-Watson, who said Plot Twist will feature literary fiction, poetry, graphic novels, Westerns, cookbooks, and history titles, among other categories. “Ankeny is a growing community with lots of families and a community college, and it’s a wonderful environment that’s very supportive of local businesses,” she added.

A soft opening for the 1,400-square-foot general interest bookstore in downtown Ankeny is planned for Monday, April 11, with a ribbon-cutting to take place on Friday, April 29. The store’s grand opening will be celebrated on Saturday, April 30, coinciding with the second annual Independent Bookstore Day (IBD). Rork-Watson said the dual celebration will feature IBD merchandise for sale and fun activities to draw people in. To promote her store in the meantime, Rork-Watson is helping to sponsor the fourth annual Ankeny Author’s Fair at the local library on April 9.

“I’m going to provide the welcome bags and fill those with information for about 50 local authors, some of whom are self-published,” she said.

Rork-Watson, who studied English in college and worked in office management and administration, also has her own art studio. Currently, she is working with her sister-in-law, a designer, on the use of space and color within the store to create a warm, inviting vibe.

“I like the idea of being in a creative business so this just worked out really well,” said Rork-Watson. “It dovetails with my art background. There are definitely going to be some artistic touches in the store, some sort of funky overflow in to the design and merchandising. I can’t help it; that’s just going to happen.”

In addition to being a community gathering place, Plot Twist will offer bookbinding workshops, readings with local and national authors, story hours, play-readings, writing workshops, lectures, music, and book club meetings. Rork-Watson also plans to sell non-book items, including cards, journals, and candy from Des Moines chocolatier Chocolate Storybook.

“We’re just really excited about making the space warm, with artsy touches like cool comfy chairs,” she said. “The fun of being an independent bookstore is being able to do whatever you want to do to make it feel inviting.”

Before diving into the business of opening a store, Rork-Watson took her time researching the fine points of bookselling. Whenever she could, she talked to other Iowa booksellers, including Alice Meyer, who owns Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, and Kate Rattenborg, owner of Dragonfly Books in Decorah.

“It’s been over a year of hard work, of just digging in,” Rork-Watson said. Her preparations included workshops on retail and business hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration and a trip to Winter Institute 11 in Denver, Colorado. Rork-Watson also took part in the Paz & Associates workshop “Introduction to Retail Bookselling,” held in Denver just prior to institute.

Winter Institute 11 was well-worth the conference fee, said Rork-Watson, just for the conversations she was able to have with other booksellers about best practices for handling returns, events marketing, and working with self-published authors.

“It was this awesome collaborative sharing environment where the message was, we’re all in it together,” said Rork-Watson. “It’s just marvelous to know that these resources are available. The booksellers I met were so available and helpful and gave such good advice. It was wonderful to meet those people who have found a way to make it work.”

Last December, Rork-Watson launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for store start-up costs, including second-hand fixtures and a POS system. Now, as she readies to open in about a month and a half, Rork-Watson has hired two staff members: one full-time employee and onepart-time.

“Opening a bookstore has been something I’ve wanted to do and it was just about finding the right place and waiting for the right time,” said Rork-Watson, who sees her career switch from office management to bookselling as a plot twist in her own life. “The name Plot Twist … fits with what I want to do. It’s a funky name with a fun energy that people will remember.”