Flyleaf Books celebrates four-year anniversary

The sole mission of Flyleaf Books is not to sell books.

Instead, owner Jamie Fiocco said Flyleaf strives to sell the experience of buying a book.

“The goal is to be a resource for the community and to share our love of books,” she said.

In celebration of that idea, Flyleaf is holding an all-day party Tuesday for its four-year anniversary at its Chapel Hill store.

Fellow Midtown Market shopping center tenants such as Foster’s Market and Lucha Tigre will cater the event throughout the day, Fiocco said.

Apple cider and treats from Foster’s will be served from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and then Lucha Tigre will serve beer and snacks until a birthday cake from Foster’s will be presented at 6:30 p.m.

Compared to anniversaries in the past, Fiocco said that this year has been a little more organized.

“Every year we get older, we get better at what we do,” she said.

The night will end with a book reading from local, nationally recognized author Lee Smith. Smith will be reading from her newest book, “Guests on Earth” at 7 p.m. this evening.

Fiocco said that Smith — who resides in her hometown of Hillsborough — is one of her favorite authors, and that as a prominent southern author, Smith’s readings are always well attended.

It has been 45 years since Smith’s first book was published, Fiocco said.

“Her reading will cap our day of festivities, and since it coincided with Lee Smith celebration week, it’s a bit of a double anniversary,” she said.

Emma Boyer, Smith’s publicist at Chapel Hill’s Algonquin Books, said Smith is a gem and a favorite in the community.

“You can’t talk about North Carolina literature without talking about Lee Smith,” Boyer said.

Boyer said Smith has a great relationship with local bookstores and that Tuesday marks the first reading for “Guests on Earth” in Chapel Hill.

Members of the Chapel Hill community are invited to join the festivities throughout the day, and everyone who purchases something Tuesday will receive a special “thank you” from Flyleaf.

Flyleaf’s marketing director, Linnie Greene, emphasized the importance of community to an independent bookseller like Flyleaf.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to the quality of customers and people willing to give us a chance even though it may be easier to buy a book someplace else,” she said.

“These people understand the value of a community business.”

Greene said that in her career at Flyleaf, she has noticed that people learn more about their community over time.

“We’ve learned that good science books relate to this community because of the proximity to the medical school and Research Triangle Park, for example.”

Even though Flyleaf is a relatively young bookstore, Greene said employees are always thinking about long-term goals.

“A lot of our customers are our friends,” she said.

“We try to establish relationships with people because it’s more than just a sale, it’s a cycle between the customers and publishers for us.”

Fiocco agreed and said that Flyleaf’s future goals are similar to ones they have now.

“We want to introduce readers to authors, books and publishers that they may have not learned about otherwise,” she said.

“A lot of these authors people don’t hear about on The New York Times Best Sellers List.”

Greene said that the birthday is not so much a celebration of “look what we’ve done,” but, “look where we live and the people who have helped us get here.”

“The bookseller’s ultimate dream is that there is a generation of kids shopping with us now and that one day they will bring their kids in to the store.”

arts@dailytarheel.com