Lisa Morton, manager of the Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood, Los Angeles
Fifteen years ago I had achieved a measure of success as a screenwriter...and
hated it. I wasn't one of the lucky few who coped well
with no structure and too much solitude. I was missing being around
other people, but I knew I couldn't settle for an office job.
One day the neighborhood bookstore had a "Help Wanted" sign up, and
even though it was a full-time position it took me all of 24 hours to decide
to apply, and another 24 to get hired. Now 15 years later I'm the manager of
that same bookstore - the Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood - and I'm pleased
to say that the store has become one of the largest and most beloved used bookstores
in Southern California.
As a writer who was (of necessity) familiar with computers from
early on, I was able to bring some technical know-how
to Iliad, and we became one of Abebooks’ original ‘Heritage’ booksellers.
Thanks to both our walk-in and online success, we've
just purchased our own building (not an easy thing to do in Southern
California!) and will be able to more than double our current size.
I love being around books and book people, and my writing
has really blossomed in my years at Iliad. While working
here I've written and sold more film scripts, lots
of short stories, and two books of non-fiction, so
I like to think of myself as being a bookseller in
more than one way. I'm especially proud of my short
story "Blind-Stamped", which was chosen to
appear in the Dreamhaven Books anthology Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores;
that story is based in large part on the Iliad and some of our customers. It's
a great pleasure coming in to the store every day and knowing that I'll never
lack for inspiration and ideas for my "other" career as long as I
work here.
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