13 April 2012

Once upon a crime

Okay, I've never been there. I've driven by, but never stopped. But this sounds like a place I ought to go given my penchant for reading mysteries.

Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore offers good reads, great service
When you first step through the door of Once Upon a Crime, located on W. 26th Street just off Lyndale in Uptown Minneapolis (only five minutes away from Metropolitan State University’s Minneapolis campus), the word “cozy” comes to mind. First, you inhale the instantly relaxing smell of paper, ink, and aging wood. Waiting to be petted is the store dog Shamus. The Border Collie-Dalmatian-Lab-German Shepherd mix lies on his stomach by the door, carving a bone with his canines. And of course there are the mystery books—in total 20,000 to 30,000 of them. This abundance of hardcovers and paperbacks sit on bookshelves that line the walls and fill parts of the small room’s interior.

Always at the ready to help navigate you to the book of your dreams are the owners of Once Upon a Crime: Pat Frovarp and Gary Shulze. The two bought the store from former owner Steve Stilwell on August 1, 2002…

In the spring of 2011, Once Upon a Crime was nationally recognized for its promotion of mystery literature with the Raven award. According to Once Upon a Crime’s website, “the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing.” Frovarp and Shulze received the trophy raven at a ceremony in New York City...


Minneapolis bookstore publishes mystery anthology
"Write of Spring," an anthology published by the folks at Once Upon a Crime bookstore, will be published this spring by Nodin Press. The book is a collection of mystery stories by Brian Freeman, Ellen Hart, David Housewright and a whole slew of other local writers; it was compiled to mark the store's 25th anniversary.

Gary Shulze and Pat Frovarp, bookstore owners, won the Raven Award two years ago from the Mystery Writers of America. They promise that this book is not just their first, but also their last, venture into publishing.

The book will launch at the store's annual Write of Spring celebration, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. April 7 and brings in dozens of mystery writers in one-hour shifts. (The store is at 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.) All royalties will be donated to Memorial Blood Centers.


Welcome to the website for ONCE UPON A CRIME MYSTERY BOOKSTORE
Pat and Gary at ONCE UPON A CRIME are informal, low-tech, and happy to provide the best customer service around. They carry thousands of new mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction and also have a large collection of rare, used, and hard-to-get volumes. They can order almost any book. Feel free to call ahead to check to see if the book you want is in stock: 612-870-3785 or EMAIL. Please drop a note if you would like to be on the e-mail notification list for information about upcoming appearances.

1 comment:

Beth Stilborn said...

Next time I'm in the Cities (who knows when that will be) I must check this out!

The smell of a bookstore like that is so wonderful.

My Minnesota friend took me to a wonderful bookstore in St. Paul -- the name escapes me right now, but it had that indescribably bookish smell. I loved that store! She could hardly drag me away.