New indie bookstore brings a ‘safe space’ for free speech to Utah mountain hamlet

Midway • The new independent bookstore in Midway is already the stuff of legends — partly because of its name, partly because of some of the genres it carries, and partly because of a certain pop icon the romance section of the shop salutes.

But, mostly, Folklore, a new addition to Main Street in this idyllic Wasatch County town, celebrates community — a safe space, in this era of book bans, the co-owners say, for free speech and open dialogue.

The three friends who run Folklore — Audrey Lind, Alison Russell and middle grade author Lindsey Leavitt Brown — all met or bonded through books.

Leavitt Brown and Russell live in the same neighborhood and share a love of The King’s English Bookshop in east Salt Lake City, Russell’s childhood book haunt.

The two started talking about creating that same King’s English feeling in Midway, about 40 miles away. Eventually, they brought in Lind, who was a librarian at Wasatch High School.

As the three worked to open their store, they also talked about book banning. Leavitt Brown said in an email that the group “felt prompted to build a safe community space for free speech and open discussion.”

They wanted to create a “third place” with their bookstore, Russell said, a spot away from work or home where people can connect with others in their Swiss-themed town of 6,000 residents.

They opened their doors in the fall.

“We’re super happy to create that [experience],” Leavitt Brown said. “When we’re [at the store], it does feel very safe already.”

A dream and a purpose

Leavitt Brown has previously spoken out against book banning. She was one of more than 40 Utah children’s authors, led by fellow Utah writer Shannon Hale, to sign a letter in 2022 decrying the “plague of book banning.”

Earlier this year, 14 books were banned from Utah’s public schools.

As a librarian, Lind said she dealt with book ban fears. “There were lots of parents that were angry,” she recalled, “and giving us lists that we didn’t even have the books on the shelves, for books they haven’t read themselves.”

The three behind Folklore, Leavitt Brown said, have learned to look at those concerns as “an opportunity for growth.”

“We’re in a political year,” she added. “There’s still going to be disconnect and fallout from this experience this year, and books are just an organic, safe and empathetic way to find connection with people that you don’t feel like you have that with.”

That’s what they hope to foster at Folklore through experiences, events and the titles on the shelves.

Folklore is as cozy as its name implies. Towering green shelves hold the books, and a live painting done during the store’s grand opening sits on the mantle above a fireplace, where visitors sit and read.

There’s a spot for everyone here, Leavitt Brown said, introverts and extroverts are welcome — all by design.

A shrine to Taylor Swift

Each section is dubbed a “nook,” and each nook houses a different genre.

In the romance nook, a subtle Taylor Swift shrine resides with a nod to the pop icon’s latest studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” It features a restored, working Royal typewriter, the same model that appeared in the music video for “Fortnight,” according to a framed plaque at the store. Visitors are welcome to use it.

“Write a poem. A love note. A soliloquy,” the sign encourages. “You are the mastermind.”

The store name is not technically related to Swift’s album “Folkore.” It’s more of a mindset the owners want to have when welcoming people into their store, building on the idea of creating a community.

“Folklore,” Leavitt Brown said, “is the traditions and oral traditions of a particular community of people.”

And in Midway, the owners said, the community has already embraced the store.

“People walk in and their eyes just light up. People who’ve lived in this community for a long or little time,” Russell said. “That feels like a triumph in itself.”