Clever Quill plans Carrollton summer book events

What started as a suggestion from a regular customer has grown into one of several efforts by Clever Quill Bookstore to encourage reading, support local businesses and bring unique events to Carrollton.

Owner Megan Jones said the bookstore's upcoming Shop Small Audiobook Crawl and Beasts & Books Festival are designed to celebrate reading while creating opportunities for community engagement and small-business support.

The Shop Small Audiobook Crawl will be held June 27 and encourages participants to listen to an audiobook while walking through Carrollton and visiting participating businesses.

“The audiobook walk portion of the event originally was suggested by one of my amazing regulars,” Jones said. “I thought the idea was a fantastic way to encourage the community to read while simultaneously getting some exercise and fresh air.”

As she developed the event, Jones decided to partner with local businesses throughout town, giving participants a reason to stop and explore shops along their route.

“Instead of walkers just walking straight past the businesses, they could be incentivized to stop in and check out the products and services each business has to offer and hopefully make some purchases to support our local small businesses,” she said.

Participating businesses include Carroll County Coffee Co., Raven & Wolf Crystal Shop, Betty Kaye Bakery, The Shoppes, Downtown Alley, Lane's Corner, Wade's World Gaming and Clever Quill Bookstore.

Jones said she hopes the event highlights audiobook readers, a segment of the reading community that often receives less attention.

“There aren't many events or activities focused on audiobook reading,” she said. “This is the chance to highlight and celebrate that portion of readers.”

The bookstore is also preparing for its largest event to date, the Beasts & Books Festival, scheduled for July 11 at Clever Quill Bookstore.

The fantasy-themed festival will feature authors, artisans, food trucks, musicians and vendors.

Jones said the idea grew from conversations with her husband about making use of the approximately three acres surrounding the bookstore.

“Our first thought was a book festival,” she said. “Fantasy-themed books are extremely popular among readers, myself included. Planning a fantasy theme came effortless for us because we both love all things fantasy.”

Interest in the event has exceeded expectations.

“We had an outpouring of excitement from our vendors, authors, musicians and artisans,” Jones said. “We had an abundance of vendors wanting to participate in our festival, which has been amazing.”

She said one goal is to provide local readers with an experience often found only in larger cities.

“There are lots of book events to attend in Ohio, however most of them occur close to bigger cities such as Cleveland and Columbus,” Jones said. “We are hoping to host a large-scale book event locally, that way our readers won't need to travel to larger cities in order to participate in book festivals.”

Jones also hopes the events introduce visitors to Carrollton.

“Hopefully this will encourage people from out of town to learn about our store, as well as experience the wholesome, small-town vibes that Carrollton has to offer,” she said.

The bookstore plans to make the Beasts & Books Festival an annual event and continue expanding its programming.

In addition to future events, Jones said Clever Quill is working to expand inventory and event space into the building's second floor. The bookstore is also exploring licensing opportunities that would allow it to offer handcrafted mead as part of future events.

“We hope that we are able to continue hosting and planning both small and large-scale events for our community, as well as bring in new customers to our store and other businesses in Carrollton,” Jones said.

Clever Quill Bookstore is located at 450 S. Lisbon St., Carrollton, Ohio 44615. For additional information about upcoming events, visit cleverquillbookstore.square.site.