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Politics and Prose
Politics and Prose (sometimes stylized as Politics & Prose or abbreviated as P&P) is an independent bookstore whose main location is in Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C., on Connecticut Avenue.
They have two other locations in the DC area, one of which is in Union Market, which is near the NoMA-Gallaudet Metro station, and the other location is at the Wharf, which is near the Waterfront Metro Station.
It was founded in 1984 by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade. They expanded it fivefold to its present size. After a failed sale attempt in 2005, they sold it to Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine in 2011.
Its author events attract famous speakers, such as Bill Clinton and J.K. Rowling.
Carla Cohen, after losing her job with the Carter administration, decided to create an independent bookstore in Washington, D.C., despite having no previous experience with running a business. She partnered with Barbara Meade, whom she found through the classifieds, and who, with her previous experience of managing a bookstore, became a co-owner early on. Cohen decided to name the store Politics and Prose because it was "Washington-sounding" and not pretentious, and the two co-owners founded the store in 1984. Meade worried that the name was a put-off, and the store struggled at first to attract authors to speak at its events and relied on local journalists to publicize the location. The store's original location in the Forest Hills neighborhood was across the street from its current spot, and in 1989, Politics and Prose moved to their present larger location after finding success. The store merged with a nearby children's bookstore, the Cheshire Cat, and incorporated its staff in 1990.
Business continued to be successful during the late 1990s as other independent bookstores fell by the wayside and companies such as Barnes & Noble expanded. Cohen and Meade decided to sell the store to Danny Gainsburg, who was selling his T-shirt business so he would be able to afford the cost of the store. The co-owners made an agreement with Gainsburg that he would gain control of the store if he could function amicably with the rest of the staff. Cohen and Meade set him up in a part-time position to see how he would interact with the employees and sold him an equity stake in the business without informing the other staff members. Gainsburg was pressured to leave by the staff after he kissed an employee on her birthday. The three co-owners agreed that Gainsburg should resign, and Gainsburg received his initial investment plus a premium. Gainsburg said to The Wall Street Journal, "We all started with good motives, but there was lots of naiveté on all sides." In 2006, a year after the botched sale attempt, Cohen and Meade both decided to hold onto the store as sole co-owners for at least three to five more years and met with an outside consultant to devise an eventual exit strategy.
In June 2010, Cohen and Meade announced their intention to sell the store. Cohen became seriously ill around this time, and it contributed to the timing of their decision to sell. Journalist Jim Lehrer wrote of the impending sale, "...putting Politics and Prose up for sale is like putting the Washington Monument up for sale." There was considerable speculation in the media about possible buyers for the store. There were reportedly over 50 inquiries by October into the possible purchase of the store from Meade and Cohen's husband, David, who inherited her stake in the store after her death from cancer.
It was announced on March 28, 2011, that two former employees of The Washington Post, Lissa Muscatine, and her husband, Bradley Graham, had purchased the store from Meade and David Cohen. The store was reportedly sold for $2 million, although price was not the main factor in the selection of new owners. Meade fully retired from work in the store on December 31, 2012. Graham and Muscatine have added literary classes and trips since purchasing the store.
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Politics and Prose
Politics and Prose (sometimes stylized as Politics & Prose or abbreviated as P&P) is an independent bookstore whose main location is in Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C., on Connecticut Avenue.
They have two other locations in the DC area, one of which is in Union Market, which is near the NoMA-Gallaudet Metro station, and the other location is at the Wharf, which is near the Waterfront Metro Station.
It was founded in 1984 by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade. They expanded it fivefold to its present size. After a failed sale attempt in 2005, they sold it to Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine in 2011.
Its author events attract famous speakers, such as Bill Clinton and J.K. Rowling.
Carla Cohen, after losing her job with the Carter administration, decided to create an independent bookstore in Washington, D.C., despite having no previous experience with running a business. She partnered with Barbara Meade, whom she found through the classifieds, and who, with her previous experience of managing a bookstore, became a co-owner early on. Cohen decided to name the store Politics and Prose because it was "Washington-sounding" and not pretentious, and the two co-owners founded the store in 1984. Meade worried that the name was a put-off, and the store struggled at first to attract authors to speak at its events and relied on local journalists to publicize the location. The store's original location in the Forest Hills neighborhood was across the street from its current spot, and in 1989, Politics and Prose moved to their present larger location after finding success. The store merged with a nearby children's bookstore, the Cheshire Cat, and incorporated its staff in 1990.
Business continued to be successful during the late 1990s as other independent bookstores fell by the wayside and companies such as Barnes & Noble expanded. Cohen and Meade decided to sell the store to Danny Gainsburg, who was selling his T-shirt business so he would be able to afford the cost of the store. The co-owners made an agreement with Gainsburg that he would gain control of the store if he could function amicably with the rest of the staff. Cohen and Meade set him up in a part-time position to see how he would interact with the employees and sold him an equity stake in the business without informing the other staff members. Gainsburg was pressured to leave by the staff after he kissed an employee on her birthday. The three co-owners agreed that Gainsburg should resign, and Gainsburg received his initial investment plus a premium. Gainsburg said to The Wall Street Journal, "We all started with good motives, but there was lots of naiveté on all sides." In 2006, a year after the botched sale attempt, Cohen and Meade both decided to hold onto the store as sole co-owners for at least three to five more years and met with an outside consultant to devise an eventual exit strategy.
In June 2010, Cohen and Meade announced their intention to sell the store. Cohen became seriously ill around this time, and it contributed to the timing of their decision to sell. Journalist Jim Lehrer wrote of the impending sale, "...putting Politics and Prose up for sale is like putting the Washington Monument up for sale." There was considerable speculation in the media about possible buyers for the store. There were reportedly over 50 inquiries by October into the possible purchase of the store from Meade and Cohen's husband, David, who inherited her stake in the store after her death from cancer.
It was announced on March 28, 2011, that two former employees of The Washington Post, Lissa Muscatine, and her husband, Bradley Graham, had purchased the store from Meade and David Cohen. The store was reportedly sold for $2 million, although price was not the main factor in the selection of new owners. Meade fully retired from work in the store on December 31, 2012. Graham and Muscatine have added literary classes and trips since purchasing the store.