When Amber Dermont moved to Houston in 2001 to start a Ph.D. at the University of Houston's creative writing program, she made Brazos Bookstore her second home.

The Cape Cod native, now a published novelist who teaches fiction writing at Rice University, didn't know much of anyone in Houston.

"Brazos Bookstore really became my touchstone," she said. "I always knew that if I went to the store, there would be great conversation."

Since Karl Kilian opened the store in 1974, the small bookshop on Bissonnet has been a touchstone and a sanctuary for readers and writers, natives and newcomers.

That's Kilian's vision. In the 1960s, he studied art history at the University of St. Thomas under Dominique de Menil, then went to New York for graduate work. Kilian applied for a job at a bookstore called the New Yorker, and the owner - who'd just lost his manager - hired him to run the place.

When he came home to Texas a couple of years later, Kilian - then 29 - decided to open his own bookstore in Houston. He rounded up money by forming a corporation and selling stock to local businessmen who were willing to invest in a bookstore.

More Information timeline 1974Using money from local investors, Karl Kilian opens Brazos Bookstore in a small space on Bissonnet Street. 1982The University of Houston literary magazine debuts - originally Domestic Crude, it's now called Gulf Coast. Kilian will develop a relationship with the UH writing program, inviting students to stage readings at the store. 1983Kilian helps found the literary nonprofit Inprint, which brings authors to Houston to read at larger venues. 1987When the Menil Collection opens, Kilian operates the museum's bookstore as a satellite location of Brazos. 2006Kilian takes a job at the Menil Collection, forcing him to sell the store. A group of Houstonians bands together to buy Brazos and keep it open.

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"I thought I'd bring some of the best parts of the New Yorker" bookstore to Texas, Kilian recalls. He wanted a store with cosmopolitan taste - thoughtful journals and magazines, books that celebrated art, architecture and poetry. He didn't have money to advertise, so he hosted store events and readings.

He didn't have the connections to bring in big-name authors, but he had hustle: "You saw a group of people standing on a corner and said, 'Hey, any of you an author? Would you like to have a book party? Come over and read at Brazos Bookstore.' "

It was at least a year before the store hosted a nationally published writer. In 1976, Kilian persuaded Max Apple - who was teaching at Rice - to read stories from "The Oranging of America." Soon after that, the creative writing program started at the University of Houston, attracting acclaimed writers - including Donald Barthelme - who helped bring even more big names to give readings at Brazos.

In 1983, Kilian helped found Inprint, the literary nonprofit that supports the UH writing program and brings in authors for readings in larger venues. When Rich Levy, Inprint's executive director, came to Houston in the mid-'80s, he made a beeline for Brazos Bookstore.

"It wasn't where you went to get the latest Danielle Steel book," Levy said. Kilian preferred to keep his store free of mugs and toys, journals and cards, too.

With its highbrow readings and wares, Brazos built a national reputation, Levy said - which helped Inprint gain clout as well. "When we started going to (BookExpo America) to talk to publishers, our calling card was: 'We're from Houston, where Brazos Bookstore is - and, in fact, they're the bookseller for our reading series.' And then the publisher would talk to us."

But a solid reputation doesn't keep the doors open. When big-box bookstores moved in, peeling customers away with discounted books and fancy coffee, Kilian struggled to keep his independent bookstore alive.

Bookstop, Barnes & Noble and Borders cut into Brazos' sales. It frustrated Kilian to see people come into the store with notepads, writing down titles they planned to buy elsewhere for less. If he was grumpy, he'd approach them: "I would say, 'Here's a bookmark with our address on it. You're not going to find these in Houston. When you realize that, give me a call.' "

The internet brought more competition. When Amazon became a threat in the late '90s, Kilian sent more than one letter to regular customers, asking them to buy books to keep the store afloat.

To stay open, Kilian focused on the strength of a local, independent bookstore: community. He hosted parties, made sure that Brazos was the exclusive seller at book events, and kept bringing in the writers Houstonians wanted to see: Susan Sontag, Tom Wolfe, Gloria Steinem, Larry McMurtry, Grace Paley.

Readings at the store were intimate, just as they are today. Lined up in a few rows of folding chairs, customers could hear and see an author up close. "Some readings, people would be hanging from the rafters," Levy says.

David Sedaris's overflow crowd stood in the parking lot, straining to catch what was being read inside.

Anne Rice had similar drawing power. "It was nearing midnight, and she was still signing books," remembers Dermont. "There were still fans outside, hoping to catch her as she went from the door to a limousine."

Occasionally the store would organize a marathon reading - once for "Of Mice and Men," once for the poetry of Walt Whitman. A marathon reading of "A Lesson Before Dying" brought in author Ernest Gaines, who was scheduled to end the evening by reading the book's last chapter. But the marathon lasted far longer than anyone expected. At 2:30 in the morning, Gaines finally read to the 15 or 20 brave souls who'd waited all night.

Kilian was just as happy to nurture developing writers. "I was always impressed by the willingness to give the reins of the store over to students," Dermont said. The store hosted regular readings for Gulf Coast, the UH student literary journal, and let students sell their work.

In 2006, Kilian took a job as programs director at the Menil Collection, which required him to sell the store. When he couldn't find a buyer, a book-loving group of Houstonians - loyal customers and community leaders - went in together. A decade later, the group still owns the store.

Kilian's spirit lingers there, said Benjamin Rybeck, the store's marketing manager. When Kazuo Ishiguro came to Houston for an Inprint reading last year, the author remembered coming to Brazos early in his career - 25 years and hundreds of readings ago.

"He said, 'I was in Brazos in 1990, when my book came out then. And how is Karl?' " says Rybeck.

In her 2012 novel "The Starboard Sea," Dermont gave her protagonist the middle name Kilian, "just as a tip of the hat" to her friend.

"Karl is intellectually, artistically and spiritually one of the great resources and landmarks of Houston," she said. "There's no one in the world like him; he really is one of the great impresarios."