Lauren Groff is adding bookstore owner to her résumé.
The critically acclaimed author will open The Lynx, a bookshop in Gainesville, Florida, with her husband, Clay Kallman, next year, Shelf Awareness reports.
Groff is known for novels including Fates and Furies, Matrix, and, most recently, The Vaster Wilds, published in September by Riverhead. She has been a finalist for the Kirkus Prize twice and for the National Book Award three times, and former President Barack Obama is among her fans.
The Lynx, Groff told Shelf Awareness, will highlight writers from Florida and authors whose books have been challenged or banned in the state, which leads the nation in book bans.
“We have such a rich and varied literary history that no one knows about,” Groff said, adding that writers with Florida ties who would be celebrated at the store will include Laura van den Berg, Karen Russell, and Edwidge Danticat.
The store will be located in Gainesville’s Porters Community neighborhood, part of a new development that will feature an outdoor space where author readings can be held.
Groff shared news of the store on Instagram, saying that the physical location won’t be ready for a few months, but that customers can already order books through its Bookshop.org website.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
