About Us
Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read opened its doors in August 2018. Our location nestled inside Fort Smith’s Bakery District focuses on local authors, small presses, a curated selection of new fiction, non fiction, and children’s titles. We work to create children’s programming that is engaging, educational, and open to all ages, offer a variety of book clubs and specialty events, and are always ready to talk to you about what we’re reading! We are Fort Smith’s only independent bookstore that focuses on new titles and author events, and our curated selection reflects the interests of our community. Bookish is a member of the American Bookseller Association, the Fort Smith Downtown Business Association, the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, and the Southern Independent Bookseller Alliance.
Sara putman
Owner and Co-Founder
An Arkansas native, Sara began living the bookstore life with the help of friend and co-founder Jennifer Battles. She took over operations of Bookish in January of 2020. Sara and her family live in Fort Smith and she spends most of her time discussing books with the wonderful folks of Fort Smith. Sara has spent 14 years putting books into the hands of middle and high school students – the preparation she needed to find the perfect book for every customer who walks through the door. Sara attended graduate school at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock for her Secondary Education degree and The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville for her English degree. Sara has certainly enjoyed building a place for the readers of Fort Smith and the River Valley to call their own. You can catch Sara each week on The Bookish Life podcast.
