Meet Fort Wayne's new local bookstore: Sunbound Books

When Liz Kelpin gets a moment to herself as a busy mother of two young children in Fort Wayne, she often wants to browse a local bookstore. While she loves scouring the shelves of Hyde Brothers for rare and used books, she sometimes has to go to a big box store for newer titles.

“Fort Wayne really doesn’t have any local bookstores selling new books,” Kelpin says. “It feels like, with the resurgence of Downtown and local business, we should.”

After toying with the idea for years and seeing a rise in reading physical books during the pandemic, Kelpin began working with the Indiana Small Business Development Center to build a business plan for a local bookstore “on a whim.” As a former marketing associate at Wiley Publishing in Indianapolis, an English major and a lifelong reader, she loves “traveling through a book,” and named her store Sunbound Books to express that emotion.  

“I was really trying to capture the experience of sitting in a corner, next to a window, where it’s golden hour, the house is quiet, and you’re lost in a book,” she says. “It’s this very unique, almost sacred, space.”

Step into Sunbound Books (@sunboundbooks), opening Sept. 19 at 3215 N. Anthony Blvd., and you’ll see what she means. Sunlight spills into the shop through large front windows, adorned with plants, and shelves of colorful, neatly spaced books line the walls. Toward the back, there’s a children’s section, and shelves lined with gifts for booklovers, like puzzles and stationery. 

Kelpin envisions Sunbound Books focusing on women and children’s stories' and interests because that’s what she and her three employees know best. Working with two fellow moms and a retired 7th Grade English teacher of 30 years (Susan Pape at Portage Middle School), she says the shop is “by readers and for readers.” She plans to offer a variety of genres by female authors in literary fiction, mystery/thriller, romance, memoir/biography, travel, and more. 

“Some titles to look forward to upon opening are new releases by favorite popular authors Sally Rooney, Liane Moriarty, and Rainbow Rowell,” a press release says.

Looking to the future, Kelpin sees Sunbound Books in a unique position to support the North Anthony Corridor’s small business community, only a short, five-minute bicycle ride from her home in the 46805. She hopes to bring more visitors to her corner of Fort Wayne, too.

“Every place my family has vacationed — Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Colorado — the thing I like to do is visit the local bookstore, get the kids a book and check out the local authors section,” she says.

We sat down with Kelpin to learn more about Sunbound Books, her recommended reads and upcoming events at the shop. Here are a few quick things to know.

The grand opening: There will be a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on Sept. 19 and special extras throughout the day, along with all weekend. Complementary cookies and apple cider will be available, and there are some giveaways happening of Sunbound merchandise along with coupons for a free scoop of ice cream with another local business, the Oh Five Scoop Shop.

Weekly hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed.-Sat. and noon-4 p.m. Sun.

Pro tips: “There’s plenty of parking in our front parking lot,” Kelpin says. “Come in with an open mind, and even if you’re not a reader, you might find something for the readers in your life. We offer cards and gift wrapping for presents, just in time for the holidays, and we plan to feature local art on our walls. My first artist is Britta Glass, a teacher at Beacon Heights Preschool who does amazing watercolor and collage work on the side. Every three months, we’ll change our featured artist, and we might even host some art classes at the bookshop.”

Fun fact: Kelpin has lived in Fort Wayne most of her life, and she’s “part of a Chick-fil-A dynasty” here. Her father owns the Chick-fil-A on Coliseum Boulevard, and before that, the one at Jefferson Pointe, and she has worked there since she was 11, most recently in catering and marketing. 

Recommended reads: “As an English major, I love the classics and literary fiction,” Kelpin says. “I love books about family relationships and especially books that provide perspectives that are not familiar to my own experience. Recently, I really loved Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. It sounds crazy, but it’s about a girl who believes she’s an alien. She lives in a small New Jersey town, and she interacts with people around her as if she’s observing human behavior, but it’s about her relationship with her mother, too.

“I also love anything by Ann Patchett, who wrote Tom Lake. It’s about a mother who was in a play one summer called “Tom Lake,” and now she’s describing her experience and summer romance to her three adult daughters. But it’s really about moms and daughters and their relationships.

“For children’s books, there’s one I love called The Outside, written and illustrated by Gianna Marino. It’s about prairie dogs, and the illustration is beautiful. The main character is afraid to go outside because he has all of these worries, like it might rain; or there might be a coyote, or it might be dangerous. But his friends say: “Oh, just go out; it’s fine. Be brave.” And so he does go out, and all of the things he worried about do happen, but because he has prepared and made a tunnel, he and his friends can escape and come back home. So it shows that it’s OK to be afraid sometimes, and it’s also OK to try new things. My eldest child is more cautious, so we like to read that book.”

For local authors: Kelpin says there’s not technically a “local author” section of Sunbound Books yet, but she will feature a few local authors her first month, including Harding graduate Ashley C. Ford’s memoir, Somebody’s Daughter, a New York Times bestseller touted by Oprah Winfrey. She hopes to host author talks, writers’ workshops and the like, too.

Community connections: Sunbound Books plans to coordinate events with North Anthony businesses, like The Garden’s Night Markets. It also sells local products for booklovers and displays plants by Fuller Plants in its shop.

Also watch for: themed book clubs, book boxes and special release parties. Keplin plans to offer at least three book clubs in various genres, as well as special events for popular book releases, like the third Fourth Wing novel Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, scheduled to be released at the end of January. “We’re already planning a midnight release party for that,” she says. “Another thing we’re going to offer is a book box. We’re going to pick a book each quarter that will also include merch and small gifts themed around that book.”