Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Wilcox.
Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Founded by local storyteller and playwright Gary Carden, City Lights Bookstore has been a downtown Sylva staple since 1985. Joyce Moore took the reins in 1987 and turned it into a literary hub, regularly hosting talented writers who visit to share their work at live events. Having grown up here in Jackson County, I was a young customer from the beginning. After studying emergency medical care at nearby Western Carolina University, it took a couple of years to realize my vocation was in books, not EMS. Joyce hired me as a bookseller in 1997 and sold me the store in 2010. I’ve hewed to the successful model Joyce established, gradually expanding our already extensive collection of materials on the southern Appalachian biosphere and culture. We now catalog our used and rare books and have added specialties in modern first editions, poetry, gardening, natural history, astronomy, and space science. Locals and visitors of all ages enjoy exploring our displays. In addition to crisp classics and new releases, we sell used and rare books, maps, journals, optics, greeting cards, puzzles, gifts, and more.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Becoming a bookstore owner in 2010, the year the Kindle was the “It” gift, was certainly a gut-check. That was just a couple of years after the collapse of the housing market, and we’ve weathered subsequent financial downturns with discipline and good luck. We have an amazing and supportive community, enabling the bookstore and the town to persevere in the face of a pandemic and an epochal storm that devastated so many of our neighbors around the region.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about City Lights Bookstore?
We’re a downtown bookshop that’s bigger on the inside. We have an extensive collection of materials on the southern Appalachian biosphere and culture. We sell new, used, and rare books for children and adults. Our selection is broad but we boast greater depth in materials relating to Appalachia, poetry, gardening, natural history, astronomy, and space science. Locals and visitors of all ages enjoy exploring our displays of crisp classics, new releases, used and rare books, plus maps, journals, telescopes, binoculars, greeting cards, puzzles, gifts, and more.
What’s next?
With the ongoing support of our resilient community, we hope to continue doing what we love.
Pricing:
- We sell new and used items
- as low as 50 cents
- we’re pretty proud of a few exquisite books and scopes
Contact Info:
- Website: https://citylightsnc.com
- Instagram: @city.lights.nc
- Facebook: @citylightsnc
- Other: https://www.biblio.com/bookstore/city-lights-bookstore-sylva
