Approaching its next milestone in East Falls Church, a 15-year-old bookstore is looking back at achievements from organizing a young adult book festival to getting a visit from President Barack Obama.
One More Page Books, an independent bookseller at 2200 N. Westmoreland Street, will celebrate 15 years in business with an anniversary event next Thursday, Jan. 22, from 6:30-8 p.m.
Customers are invited to the store to share cookies, snacks, bubbly beverages and memories that all began in January 2011 — when Eileen McGervey left behind 20 years in the tech industry to open an independent bookstore near the East Falls Church Metro station.
One More Page Books opened amid a challenging economy recovering from the Great Recession. As local bookstores like Borders were closing, the newcomer was met with support from the Arlington and Falls Church communities, who appreciated a gathering space for book browsing and discussions.
“We are so fortunate to be in a neighborhood that really supports local businesses,” said McGervey.
In the first year, more than 70 authors appeared at One More Page Books for visits and book signings. It drew other famous visitors, too.
The bookstore gained international attention in November 2012 when President Barack Obama visited with his daughters. McGervey found out about the visit 10 minutes before it happened.
“While he was in the store, a crowd had gathered outside the store and when he walked out the door a roar went up,” McGervey told ARLnow at the time.
Another highlight for One More Page Books was organizing the annual NoVa TEEN Book Festival from 2014 to 2021. The festival for young adult readers was coordinated with the Arlington Public Library, Fairfax County Public Library, George Mason University’s Fall for the Book, and Falls Church City Schools. Each year, the festival had 40 and counting young adult authors and 800 people attending.
Since 2021, One More Page Books has led a small business passport program for Arlington and Falls Church, featuring more than 20 local retailers and restaurants for the holiday shopping season. Other recent events have included partnering with Falls Church’s Audacious Aleworks and Preservation Biscuit for Boozy Book Fairs starting in 2023 and participating in the region’s first annual Indie Bookstore Crawl in 2024.
The bookstore hosts non-book-related events tailored to staff and customer interests as well, like wine an chocolate tastings, the Sweetest 16 Chocolate Taste-off, Taylor Swift Bracelet Making Night, a “Twilight” 20th anniversary party, puzzle exchanges and more. It has supported community causes through its Free Books (and Puzzles) for Feds initiative during the latest government shutdown and “Shop for a Cause” donation days to benefit groups like World Central Kitchen, Friends of the Arlington Library and the Latinx KidLit Book Festival.
The small business has navigated challenges too. In 2019, One More Page Books held an auction to cover a surprise rent hike tied to a real estate tax valuation change. The business surpassed its fundraising goal, receiving auction donations from the community, including Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, One More Page Books pivoted to an online shopping model and home delivery. The bookstore continued author events virtually and shared videos of the store and book picks to keep the community connected. It gradually reopened the in-person store in 2021 with precautions in place.
In 2023, the community supported the bookstore again, helping a fundraiser to pay for maintenance repairs surpass its goal.
One More Page Books’ mission to provide a neighborhood-based bookstore to foster a love of books continues. The bookstore continues to partner with Arlington Public Library for its Arlington Reads series, and host featured authors like Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver, Jason Reynolds and White House photographer Pete Souza. Two bookstore employees have gone on to write books — Anna Bright has published four books with HarperCollins and Amanda Quain has published three books with Macmillan.
One More Page’s website has more information on its upcoming events and other offerings.
