our story
historyIn July 2017, Jennifer Morrow, a resident of the town of Vienna, Virginia, opened the small independent bookstore at 110 Church Street NW in Vienna. Her vision was to create a space where individuals young and old can gather to exchange ideas, receive personalized book recommendations, and discover new titles and local authors. |
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The NameJen came up with the name “Bards Alley” to represent her choice to showcase classic and contemporary work in the bookstore’s inventory of 5,000+ titles. The “Bard” portion of the name refers to the Elizabethan writer, William Shakespeare, who is commonly known as, simply, “the Bard,” while “Alley” refers to J.K. Rowling’s Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series. |
Jen was also inspired by the image of a bard as a lute-carrying lyric poet. She believes everyone has a unique story to tell in their own way. Jen’s vision for Bards Alley is to have it be a place of discovery, which is another reason why she chose the word “alley.”
the missionBards Alley is a woman-owned independent bookstore and wine bar that promotes literacy, supports local authors, engages the community, and encourages localism. Bards Alley also donates to schools and nonprofits and partners with businesses for locally sourced light fare, strengthening the local economy. |
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Jen morrow
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After experiencing firsthand the wonder of her son learning to read, Jen knew she had to find a way to bring a bookstore to her community. Her favorite books include epic stories such as One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; however, she certainly won’t turn down the chance to read classics such as Pride & Prejudice for the tenth time!
Jen chose the name “Bards Alley” to represent a store whose inventory includes classics as well as new books (think Shakespeare meets Diagon Alley). When not reading aloud to her kids or nestled with a book and one (or more) of her three cats, you can find Jen enjoying a cup of strong black coffee, quoting facts about Elvis Presley, or hosting game nights at her home. She is excited by the prospect of her favorite book not having been written yet. |
amy lane
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Amy has been in the book business since 1995 and is grateful to be a part of the dynamic team at Bards Alley. She is an avid theatre-goer and performer with an MA in Theatre History. One of her greatest joys is helping folks find just the right book for themselves or others!
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Kim Stryker
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We are thrilled to introduce you to our Marking and Events Lead, Kim! It’s her job to spread the word about the cool stuff happening at Bards Alley. When she’s not scheduling author events, she’s at her suburban farm house in Falls Church with her two Bernese Mountain Dogs, Abe and Allie, her three chickens, and her one husband. Kim is also a folklorist who has studied apple farmers, winemakers, and food traditions in Virginia. Currently, Kim is teaching a class at GMU called “Food & Folklore” which looks at how culture intersects with what we eat.
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Leah Grover
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Leah emailed Jen the day Bards Alley opened to beg for a job. Imagine her surprise when she was hired nine months later! She’s thrilled to bring her passion for young adult literature to the Bards Alley team. Leah hates trying to pick a favorite book—but, if forced to choose, she almost invariably responds with something by Gail Carson Levine. Or the book she enjoyed most recently. Or Anne of Green Gables. Or Harry Potter. Or…
When she’s not trying to convince people to buy her favorite young adult or middle grade novels, you can probably find her writing, studying fairy tales, or hanging out with her husband, Ryan. "...a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story." (C. S. Lewis) |
Lynne Kohls
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Lynne’s start at Bards Alley began with a casual conversation between Jen, the owner, and Lynne. “My dream is to hopefully open a bookstore, with wine and coffee,” Jen once said. Lynne responded, “Not hopefully, but when you open your bookstore, I would love to work for you!” Lynne has been with Bards Alley since day one, working as a bookseller and in the café. When she isn’t at Bards Alley, she is either spending time with her husband, sons, extended family, friends, dog, or kindergarteners; hosting her book club; or restocking her Little Free Library. Lynne’s favorite books are The Other Wes Moore and Twisted Fairy Tales, which she loves to read aloud! One of her favorite adages to live by is: “When something goes wrong in your life just yell, ‘Plot twist!’ and move on.”
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." (Maya Angelou) |
Pauline Murphy
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Pauline’s professional background is in elementary education. Working as a teacher helped her realize that one of her passions is sharing her love of reading with others. When she isn’t at Bards Alley, she is volunteering at an animal shelter, playing with her two dogs, running, or reading. Pauline’s favorite adult reads are The Nightingale and Tuesdays with Morrie. Her favorite children’s book author is Pam Muñoz Ryan.
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Diane Naughton
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Diane has always wondered what it took to create and run a bookstore, so she asked Jen Morrow if she needed an assistant. How lucky for Diane that Jen said yes! Diane didn’t know much about shelf-talkers, opening inventories, or sidelines, but she knew what she liked when she visited other bookstores.
When she is not reading or going to her book club, Diane can be seen walking her black lab, Maggie, practicing yoga, and producing independent films. But as much as she loves a good movie, it’s never as good as the book! "I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." (E. B. White) |
Kathy Ellen Davis
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Kathy Ellen recently moved from California, where she worked at an indie bookstore, and is so happy to be working at Bards Alley! She reads about twenty books a day to her toddler and occasionally finds time to write kidlit too. Warning: if she talks to you in the store you may end up buying more books than you planned because she’ll show you all her favorites. She mostly reads middle grade and young adult books, but also reads some adult non-fiction. If you see her in the store, chat with her about books! She loves to hear people’s favorite reads!
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Amy Woolsey
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Amy has loved stories since she first discovered Hogwarts and Middle Earth as a kid. Over time, her taste in literature has grown to encompass everything from George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss to Alison Bechdel's Fun Home to Mohsin Hamid's Exit West, but tales of magical worlds and epic journeys will always have a special place in her heart. When she's not at Bards Alley or in a book, she is watching movies and TV, rooting for the Washington Nationals, or writing.
"Go up into the gaps. If you can find them; they shift and vanish too. Stalk the gaps. Squeak into a gap in the soil, turn, and unlock – more than a maple – a universe." (Annie Dillard) |
Beth permenter
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Beth is an Orlando native who moved to Virginia to avoid selling her soul to "The Mouse." In addition to being a bookseller and Book Pedaler for Bards Alley, Beth works at Bikes@Vienna, just across the parking lot! She's always open to chatting about books, typewriters, bicycles, or her garden.
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The experience of the booksellers here makes the task of discovering a new book, or a classic, an easy and exciting experience! All of the staff members here are pleasant and enthusiastic about books of every genre. I do admit that this bookstore is small, but they carry a great selection of books. I also need to mention they have a café that serves WINE, BEER, COFFEE and FOOD! Not to mention they carry Mary Lee’s bakery treats (the M&M blondie is amazing). Come check out this quaint little shop and discover something new!
Ryan G.
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Amazing little bookshop! Great selection of books and they have a wine/coffee bar too! The wines we picked were fantastic and the staff was friendly too! Fabulous!
Maureen F.
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Cool atmosphere. Friendly staff. Very cool that they sell coffee and booze.
John E.
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