READ MORE: El Paso\u2019s bookshops offer more than just books<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThat kind of vibrant literary culture was one of the things we missed most and hoped to recreate on some small level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Opening Literarity more than two decades later was an attempt to do just that: to create a space where readers and writers could encounter one another casually, where books were curated intentionally, and where literary conversation was part of the city\u2019s daily rhythm rather than confined to campuses or formal events.<\/p>\n
From the outset, Clark said Literarity was designed to elevate Borderland writers \u2014 not as a niche category tucked away on a shelf, but as a defining feature of the store.<\/p>\n
Books by local writers were displayed prominently just inside the front door, and new releases were featured on the main table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t wait for people to discover those books on their own,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe proactively point guests to those books and tell them about those books and the authors.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach meant introducing readers to writers whose work explores migration, identity, history and place \u2014 themes that define much of the region\u2019s literary output. Clark noted that several of those authors, including Tim Z. Hernandez, Jonna Perrillo, Rosa Alcal\u00e1 and Daniel Ch\u00e1con, teach at the University of Texas at El Paso.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CB_TimHernandez-9947.jpg\")
Tim Z. Hernandez, a local poet, writer and professor, is the author of the El Paso Matters Book Club selection \u201cAll They Will Call You.\u201d (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
For Hernandez, an associate professor of creative writing, that visibility mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an author in this city, there is no other bookstore in this community that has supported its authors more than Bill\u2019s bookstore,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n
He described the store as \u201can intellectual hub\u201d and said Clark frequently hand-sold books by local writers, sometimes purchasing new releases in large quantities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people walk in, those are the first books I\u2019m trying to sell \u2014 local authors,\u201d Hernandez said, recalling Clark\u2019s approach. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a lot of infrastructure that supports literature in this city. So we\u2019ve relied on people like Bill and his shop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hernandez\u2019s connection to Literarity also extended to the El Paso Matters Book Club, where his book \u201cAll They Will Call You\u201d was selected as a featured read. Clark, a member of the El Paso Matters Board of Directors, helped establish the club, which spotlighted Borderland authors and brought them into direct conversation with readers through in-person discussions and community events.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perrillo, professor of English education and author of \u201cEducating the Enemy,\u201d said the store\u2019s advocacy translated into real readership.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1217-scaled-e1686260956894-1024x683.jpg\")
El Paso Matters Book Club members listen to author Jonna Perrillo talk about writing \u201cEducating the Enemy: Teaching Nazis and Mexicans in the Cold War Borderlands.\u201d (Angela Saavedra\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
\u201cMy own book broke sales expectations many times over thanks to Literarity\u2019s tireless promotion,\u201d Perrillo said. \u201cIts closing will leave an enormous gap to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perrillo\u2019s work was also featured through the El Paso Matters Book Club, which selected her book for community discussion and hosted public conversations around its themes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For both authors, the store functioned as a bridge \u2014 connecting academic presses and regional writers with general readers who might not otherwise encounter those works.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve worked to make Literarity Book Shop a platform for doing good and giving back to our Borderland community,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe\u2019ve attempted in our own small way to improve the quality of life in our El Paso community by creating a space and events for sharing ideas and forging new friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n
That philosophy extended beyond author signings and curated shelves.<\/p>\n
After the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, the bookstore worked with national media figure Rachel Maddow to help raise money for victims through the El Paso Community Foundation\u2019s support fund. Clark also noted the store supported organizations, including El Paso Matters and KTEP public radio, and raised funds for various community causes.<\/p>\n
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the bookstore adapted quickly \u2014 without receiving federal pandemic assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe survived COVID shutdowns without any government PPE money and were then immediately hit by a year or so of massive construction on Mesa,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
Even during the pandemic, Literarity partnered with a federal social services task force to provide Spanish-language books to area hospital patients and their families. The store also supplied books to teachers building classroom mini-libraries to encourage student reading.<\/p>\n
Clark added that many of the pressures the store encountered were structural rather than local. Bookselling, he noted, is a low-margin business in which prices are set by publishers and printed directly on book covers. That leaves little flexibility for retailers facing rising overhead costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In recent years, those margins have been squeezed further by rising commercial rent, increasing property taxes passed on by landlords and escalating energy costs. At the same time, publishers have raised cover prices while expanding direct-to-consumer discount sales, and online retailers continue to undercut independent bookstores.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmazon\u2019s predatory pricing continues to be a big problem,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThey frequently sell books at prices less than the wholesale prices indie bookstores have to pay to publishers and distributors.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/literarity_closure.jpg\")
After nine years, Literarity Book Shop will close its doors on El Paso\u2019s Westside. (Courtesy Literarity)<\/p>\n
Despite the challenges, the store weathered particularly difficult stretches.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to love it and believe it\u2019s your mission, not just a business,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
Clark recalled the gratification of watching guests from cities such as New York, San Francisco and London walk through the door and react with surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone \u2026 makes a point to say how pleasantly surprised and delighted they are to find a bookstore like Literarity in El Paso, it confirms my longstanding belief that our city leaders fail to understand that creating a world-class city is not only about big, shiny, expensive projects like ballparks, waterparks and amphitheaters,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
For Hernandez, that role was central to the store\u2019s importance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the ones who are spreading the culture and legacy of El Paso beyond El Paso,\u201d he said, referring to local authors whose books travel nationally and internationally. Without independent bookstores to champion those voices, Hernandez added, sustaining that literary ecosystem becomes more difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t show our gratitude \u2014 and that means going and buying books \u2014 they\u2019re going to be gone,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cAnd there goes a part of our own cultural face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clark said some of the most meaningful moments over the years were quieter ones \u2014 customers returning to share how a book recommendation had moved them, or strangers introduced inside the store who remained in conversation long after their purchases were complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been lots of small, but gratifying moments,\u201d he said, including \u201cwhen a world-class poet tells you that her reading at Literary attracted a larger audience than her reading in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CB_JPerrillo-2.jpg\")
Jonna Perrillo sits at the historic entrance of Crockett Elementary, a school featured in her book \u201cEducating the Enemy: Teaching Nazis and Mexicans in the Cold War Borderlands.\u201d (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
For Perrillo, the store\u2019s legacy lies in its ability to connect scholarship and storytelling with everyday readers.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir pride in local writers and in collecting everything from classics to truly eclectic literature has made our community more broadly and deeply educated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Clark said opening Literarity transformed his own connection to El Paso.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiterarity has been everything to us over the past nine years,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been our raison d\u2019\u00eatre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite living in the city since 1993, he said he and Mary Anna \u201cnever felt deeply connected to the community\u201d until opening the store. Through Literarity, they met readers, families and writers who became lasting friends.<\/p>\n
As for what comes next, Clark remains guarded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of my writer friends are cautious about sharing work in progress,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I will follow their lead for now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He confirmed the store will maintain at least an online presence while he reflects on the future.<\/p>\n
Asked how he hopes the store will be remembered, Clark pointed to a phrase hanging on the shop\u2019s back wall: \u201cOpen books open minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that to be true,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve witnessed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Bill-Clark.jpg\")
Bill Clark<\/p>\n