Kara and James Davis of Amicus Books, located at 413 D Street in Marysville, would like you to know that Amicus Books is much more than just a place to buy books. The full title of Amicus Books is actually “Amicus Books Literary Arts Center.” They host a plethora of activities aimed at area writers, readers and word enthusiasts. Started in April 2005, Amicus Books is run entirely off of community donations, in the form of donated books for sale. The book shop is the main supporting arm used to fund the activites run at the center.
Although it is not a nonprofit organization in the strictest sense of the word, according to their website, “The best description of Amicus, although unconventional, is ‘private community center, open to the public.’ . . . we allow people to wrestle with the idea that capitalists can also nurture a community in a powerful way.”
Kara Davis states that, “We don’t accept grant money, and we don’t have any wealthy benefactors contributing to the store. We feel that it’s important that the community support us. If there is no community support, then we need to move on and work somewhere else.”
Amicus Books is home to a great number of activities – among them a youth zine for writers ages 16-23, under the title of the Intrepid Press. Intrepid Press was, in fact, spawned by the original poetry group that would hold meetings at Amicus Books. They eventually published a book of poetry, and the proceeds from the book went into funding the Intrepid Press. The zine gives young writers from our area the chance to get published and voice their opinions and work with other literary-minded young people.
The Literary Arts Center also hosts the Literary Lounge, which is an Authors’ and Writers’ Co-op. The program focuses on promoting local authors, including those who aspire to be authors, by connecting them with others involved in the local literary world. You can apply to become part of the Literary Lounge at the Amicus Books website, Amicusbooks.com. They hold about six seminars a year, which they are hoping to increase to twelve in the future, and which are free to members of the Co-op. The seminars cover a variety of subjects, generally about the process of publishing and promoting books.
Amicus Books mainly focuses on providing people with knowledge. They have a large selection of scientific and non-fiction books, but there’s also a small fiction room for those who enjoy a good yarn.
The upstairs is welcoming, with comfortable chairs in a loft area, and guitars just asking you to play them. If you’re a writer in the Marysville/Yuba City area, and you want to connect with other writers, I highly reccomend stopping in to Amicus Books Literary Arts Center and chatting with either Kara or James. They’re both highly knowledgeable individuals, and they’re here in an effort to help people succeed in their literary endeavors.
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