READ MORE BOOKS! Each character of this directive is painted in bubbly letters on a pane of a large gridded window of Cherry Street’s newest gem: Meadow Market Books, located in the space formerly occupied by Gas Petal Flower Shop.
On my first visit, I sense immediately this isn’t your run-of-the-mill bookseller. Near the entry stands a rack of FREE (according to a handwritten sign) zines, books, and other odds and ends. The shop is small, but its white walls, wide windows, and smart use of vertical shelf space keep it from feeling cramped. Across the way, popular titles like The Shining and Lincoln in the Bardo cozy up next to Carl Antonowicz’s graphic novel The Ardent. The next case features two packed shelves devoted to Oklahoma authors.
Initially, owners Jared and Melodie Coulter (also of Bad Habit Improv) wanted to open a mobile bookshop, a project that never panned out. But the Tulsa stars aligned when they saw this little space for lease, spawning a new version of their bookstore dreams.
What they learned soon after opening is just how many writers we have in our city. “We always knew we wanted to support local as much as we can,” Jared explained, talking specifically about visual art and other non-book items like artwork, totes, glassware, candles, T-shirts, you name it, from artists based in and near Tulsa. It became clear that a crucial part of their role would be to give Tulsa writers both shelf space and a welcoming venue for book events. And they’re collaborating with fellow booksellers: when I last visited, a whole case in the middle of the shop featured a selection curated by the local pop-up Kinara Bookstore.
“We get at least an author a day in here,” Melodie, a writer herself—and a former librarian—said, clearly fueled by this community impact. The couple shared their love for their open-door policy, which encourages authors to bring their books in and stock them on the shelf. The result is refreshing in the age of Amazon, which is happy to take the dollars of readers and writers without offering the benefit we get in a place like Meadow Market: locals hyping up locals. And it stands in stark contrast to more commercial booksellers, where the selections tend to feel more plucked from standard industry catalogs than hand-picked and hand-delivered.
Last year’s closing of Whitty Books and Fulton Street Books & Coffee hurt, but I’m happy to say Meadow Market is here filling a gap. They can get all the bestsellers, sure, but their goal isn’t to fill the space with all the books you’d see on a standard distributor’s list. This shop is for you if you’re more interested in discovering work from indie authors, small presses/zines, and writers who may in fact be your neighbors. They also have a great kids’ section and used collection (and a generous in-store credit policy if you have a used book to bring in). And keep an eye on their events—the homey space can fit more people than you think.
