Lauren Pronger’s Chapterhouse Books: A Haven for Diversity and Community in Amarillo
Lauren Pronger opened her community-focused bookstore in Amarillo with a clear mission: to ensure that every person who walks through its doors feels seen and represented. Since its official launch on June 1, 2023, Chapterhouse Books has been warmly embraced by the community, drawing people from Amarillo and surrounding areas like Plainview, Shamrock, and Lubbock.
Chapterhouse Books‘ journey began in April 2022 as a pop-up and online venture. Pronger, a native of Amarillo, returned home after college in the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and her father’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis. She initially started small, with just a six-foot table and 20 books, but the positive reception from the community fueled her ambition to open a permanent location. The business slowly grew, and Pronger, with the help of her late father — who passed away two weeks before she signed her lease and was the director of the Small Business Development Center — gradually built it into a full-fledged store.
„Our mission is mostly community-driven,“ Pronger said. „We’re really here for the community of Amarillo. We want to make sure that everybody can come in and see themselves represented on our shelves, but also to make sure that people can come in and see their neighbors represented.“
In a city like Amarillo, which is often perceived as homogeneous in culture, Pronger sees her bookstore as an essential space for fostering understanding and appreciation of the city’s true diversity. „Amarillo is much more diverse than people first assume,“ she said. „We kind of have a reputation that’s not always the best, especially for authors and publishers from places like New York, L.A., or Austin. But we do actually have a lot of those same kinds of people here in Amarillo who are born here or who have moved here.“
Pronger grew up in Amarillo and later earned a degree in linguistics from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. She didn’t realize the extent of her city’s diversity until she returned after college. „I think it’s good for people to realize that we are a much more diverse community,“ she said. „There are people here who have lived in Afghanistan, Somalia, Burma. We have a lot of Spanish speakers, Arabic speakers, and Farsi speakers. All of that is here, and you can find that culture, which people don’t realize.“
Despite the personal and logistical hurdles, Pronger’s determination has paid off. The store’s opening was marked by a successful event featuring author Johnny Garza Villa, and since then, the community’s response has exceeded expectations. Loyal customers return regularly, and new visitors are often delighted to discover a store that offers exactly what they’ve been searching for.
The bookstore’s success also underscores a broader shift in Amarillo. Despite being a conservative town, there is a growing appetite for literature that pushes boundaries and broadens perspectives. Many of the books that Pronger curates represent a broad spectrum of cultures, languages, and lived experiences. Pronger has observed that even though some people might initially react to certain books with discomfort, they often find something else on the shelves that speaks to them. „We do try to carry a little bit of everything for everyone. That’s normally what I tell them — if you don’t like what you’re looking at, look at the book next to it,“ she said.
Pronger emphasizes that her goal is to provide a wide variety of books that can expand readers‘ horizons and deepen their understanding of the world around them. „Books make us better people,“ she said. „The more widely read you are, the more types of books you read, the more experiences you learn about, the better you become as a person and as a community member.“
In addition to selling books, the store also hosts a variety of events designed to engage and educate the community. These include author visits, book signings, trivia nights, and open mic events. Upcoming highlights include a virtual book release party with Syrian American author Shifa Saltagi Safadi and an in-person event with fantasy author Martha Wells.
Pronger’s mother, Kay Brizzolara, initially had reservations about her daughter’s venture, particularly given the political climate and the potentially controversial nature of some of the books they sell. „I was really worried about her,“ Brizzolara admitted. „I was proud of her for doing something, but I was afraid she might get a lot of blowback. But the response has been lovely. I’m proud of her for sticking with it. I have seen those moms crying when they see a book they can get for their child that they can relate to.“
Despite these concerns, the bookstore has encountered little opposition and has instead been met with overwhelming positivity. Brizzolara, who helps her daughter with the store, has since become one of its biggest supporters. „I would really like to see her whole vision for the community come to fruition,“ she said. „The bookstore is just one part of that, but working with lots of the different nonprofits that she works with, really being able to make an impact in the lives of some of the kids in the community that don’t have access to these kinds of books.“
For Pronger, the bookstore is already a success. „Every time I can sell a book to someone, I consider that a success,“ she said. „I’m already diversifying bookshelves and introducing people to books that are really good, and authors that are really cool that they may not have seen otherwise.“
Looking ahead, Pronger hopes to sustain the store’s momentum and continue to build on its early success. „If we can survive our three-year lease, that will be a success for me,“ she said. „I think it’s already been a success. If we can keep the kind of reception we’ve already seen and keep that energy going, that would be great.“
As Pronger reflects on the journey that led her to open the bookstore, she is reminded of the importance of perseverance and community support. „All businesses are scary,“ she acknowledged. „But when you see the joy on someone’s face when they find a book that speaks to them, it’s all worth it.“
Chapterhouse Books is located at 3317 SW 6th Ave. in the historic Route 66 district of Amarillo. For more information about upcoming events, go to chapterhousebookstore.com/pages/events.