In a residential area off of Kingston pike is a new hidden gem, Bear Den Books, which is an independent bookstore that opened on July 9. The shop is located at 1200 Kenesaw Avenue, which is in the heart of the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood. This specific neighborhood was one of the first suburbs in Knoxville, and is home to a sizable elementary school.
The quaint shop was started by friends and UT alumni Nick Wendell and Tex Fry. The idea for Bear Den Books came about while the two lived in different parts of Texas.
“Down in Austin, I went to an independent bookstore every day … I would just go and look at books and read. Nick would do the same in San Antonio,” Fry said.
This experience inspired the duo to give a little gift back to a place that means much to them. Fry explained that while there are a few bookstores downtown, there are little to none on the west side of Knoxville.
In terms of selection, the shop boasts an impressive selection of youth and middle-grade books, as well as popular fiction and nonfiction books — most focusing on highlighting local spots.
“You’re getting to interact with the owners and form community at our store,” Fry said. “We have shelves with our own personal favorites — and are planning on guest pick shelves. We are always happy to special order books for folks as well.”
Bear Den Books is currently in collaboration with the Knoxville History Project, which is an educational nonprofit whose mission is to research and promote the history of Knoxville.
“Nick and I are both history nerds … we love to take deep dives into what Knoxville was like in the 1800s … we love carrying books like that, books that go deep into the history of Knoxville,” Fry said.
Not only does the store simply sell books, but the shop also offers events such as story-times for children and author readings.
“We had our first event a couple of Saturdays ago — a children’s author, Katie Cate, read her book ‘Have You Seen A Black Bear,’ and the kids loved it,” Fry said. “We looked out the window and saw an army of strollers headed our way. We had a great turnout … Sequoyah Hills has been super welcoming.”
The owners plan to hold events for other age ranges, including the college crowd. The goal is to give students a space to find a book or just relax. There is also a coffee shop and The Plaid Apron close by, making it a great area for college students to go and visit.
Bear Den Books is also an important place for local authors of color.
“We have a large selection of books written by people of color and are committed to supporting local authors of color as well. We’re constantly working to find new and old books written by people of color,” Fry said.
Bear Den Books functions differently from the big names and is an asset to authors of color — as an independent bookstore, Bear Den Books chooses the authors they sell instead of relying on a corporate office.
“We definitely want to listen to our community. We want to hear what people want to read, and what they would like us to carry.”
Fellow UT alumni Kaitlyn Sage Patterson and Bear Den Books customer is a local author and currently works as the developmental director at We Need Diverse Books, which specializes in supporting diversity in the literary world.
“We Need Diverse Books works with parents, educators and librarians to help bring diverse books into classrooms and into underserved populations,” Patterson said. “We work with authors to help them throughout their career, through our Black creatives fund, our Native fund and our mentorships.”
Patterson explained that currently, authors of color are having issues with getting their books onto shelves at big-name booksellers.
“Last week we got news from Barnes and Nobles that they are cutting back on buying middle-grade and children’s book titles. Which means diverse voices will be sidelined,” Patterson said. “I see that with one of our Co-Founders, Dhonielle Clayton. Her book ‘The Marvellers’ hit the New York Times Bestseller list, but they may have five copies in a Barnes and Noble. While another white author will have 25 or 30.”
Shopping local and getting books from independent bookstores such as Bear Den Books not only helps diversify the stories books are telling, but they also support the community.
“We want to give authors of all backgrounds a platform. We’re certainly hoping to support local underrepresented authors by carrying their work and having them in for events,” Fry said.
UT Alum Tex Fry is the co-founder and co-owner of Bear Den Books. Fry seen in the shop on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.
