By Candice Huber, SIBA Membership Coordinator

Brave + Kind Bookshop is owned by SIBA Board member Bunnie Hilliard, and they will celebrate their sixth anniversary this year. Prior to owning the store, Hilliard worked at several banks. Once she became a parent, she developed a passion for children’s literature and decided to open her own bookshop. Besides selling children’s books, Brave + Kind holds workshops, camps, multilingual story times, parties, and more. Hilliard says the best part of being a bookseller is helping people see themselves or their loved ones in stories.

According to Hilliard, the best thing the store did in the past year is launch the Atlanta Indie Bookshop Crawl. “Always collaboration in lieu of competition. A rising tide lifts all ships.” Brave + Kind also consistently partners with local nonprofit organizations to provide free books and author visits to schools and programs that don’t often have adequate access. Their main priority this year is to continue developing community and connecting with customers and the like-minded.

Hilliard’s favorite handsell is perpetually The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, which she says is the story of America every person should read and know. She’s currently reading Trayvon Generation by Elizabeth Alexander, who was the poet at President Obama’s 2008 inauguration.

You can learn more about Brave + Kind Bookshop on their website and you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at @braveandkindbooks.