On November 11, 1970, two couples opened a small bookstore out of the ground floor of a two-story duplex on West 17th Street, just blocks from the University of Texas campus. With the modest sum of $5,000, they put together a hand-picked collection of books from small presses or little-known authors that focused on alternative politics, political theory, metaphysics, and eastern religions. They chose the name Grok Books, which was taken from Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, to promote the idea that engaged reading can bring change and growth in the individual and society. The store quickly became a favorite spot for University students, faculty, and staff.

Philip Sansone visited Grok Books shortly after it opened and the store made quite an impression on him. He returned to Austin in the summer of 1978, after seven years abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer, and decided to purchase the store. After Philip had trained for only a few days as the new owner, the store’s manager quit when Philip insisted on putting in air conditioning. As Austin was changing into a hot spot for art and music, Philip started expanding Grok’s mission to become a place for Austinites to come together and celebrate ideas of all kinds. Under Philip’s leadership, Grok started hosting talks by nationally-known authors like Timothy Leary, Buckminster Fuller, Ram Dass, John Lilly, and Ray Bradbury.

Timothy Leary and Grok Staff

Realizing that he had outgrown the little duplex in West Campus, Philip moved the store to the Brodie Oaks Shopping Center in 1984 and changed the name to BookPeople. Drawn from the passionate preservation of the written word by a small group of revolutionaries in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the name BookPeople spoke to the store’s desire to be a cultural center for all of Austin. The store’s inventory expanded to include more general interest titles, a children’s section, and a diverse selection of gifts and stationery.

In 1995, Philip made the bold decision to move BookPeople to its current location at 6th and Lamar with the help of twenty-five investors and an active Board of Directors. At the time of its grand opening, BookPeople became the largest bookstore in Texas with over 40,000 square feet of selling space and laid claim to the largest selection of book titles in any bookstore nationwide.

The risk paid off, as BookPeople has continued to thrive and expand in its larger space. Now, with hundreds of author events each year, an award-winning children’s section, a renowned Literary Camps program, and thousands of gift items, BookPeople has become a destination bookstore with a national reputation. We’ve hosted too many fantastic authors to count, from Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, to celebrities Jane Fonda and Anthony Bourdain, to award-winning writers Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen, to local authors Owen Egerton and Amanda Eyre Ward, to children’s authors Mo Willems, Rick Riordan, and Gary Paulsen.

In 2005, BookPeople was nationally celebrated as Publisher’s Weekly Bookseller of the Year, and while that was a great honor, we are even prouder to have won the Austin Chronicle Best Bookstore in Austin award for the last 20 years running. Our independent spirit and local roots are what have sustained us over the last 40 years, and we are proud to be founding members of the Austin Independent Business Alliance with our current CEO Steve Bercu serving as its president. Because the Austin community has always supported us, we are constantly looking for new ways to give back. We actively work with local schools, nonprofits, and literacy groups to support their efforts to foster the love of reading in our community. This month we are also launching our second annual Holiday Giving Tree program to supply books to underprivileged local youth.

BookPeople remains, after 40 years, committed to be a community bound by books. So we’re celebrating our anniversary during the entire month of November with the sale of limited edition 40th Anniversary t-shirts (proceeds from which benefit AISD), amazing author appearances, as well as a fantastic party for you, our valued customers, on Saturday, November 13 from 11:30 AM -1:30 PM. Please join us for cake, balloons, activities, and fun.

Thank you for 40 wonderful years, Austin!