Mere footsteps away from beloved local institution, Guglhupf Bakery, Café, and Biergarten, Golden Fig Books blends the concept of a traditional used bookstore with the curation and community focus that has powered the recent resurgence of independent bookstores. While our store inventory primarily consists of used and children’s books, Golden Fig does have new titles available as well. The charming, thousand-square-foot store features an inviting layout resplendent in natural light. Deep blue walls, expansive windows, and well-stocked shelves give Bull City bibliophiles a place to gather.
Golden Fig is a place where the whole of Durham’s community can find their next great read. Focusing the inventory on used books, with their superior affordability and sustainability, helps us to exemplify our town’s values. At the same time, we believe stocking and ordering new books is a vital service as it gives us the ability to highlight diverse authors whose works can be extremely difficult to find used. Organizations like We Need Diverse Books and The Lambda Literary Foundation are doing incredible work advocating for better recognition and representation of overlooked identities. They’ve made impressive progress on these fronts in recent years and we’re very excited by the opportunity to amplify these authors’ stories and perspectives with our new book selection.
Golden Fig Books was founded by David Bradley in February of 2019. David has worked in the publishing and bookselling industries for nearly a decade. In 2013 he partnered with Chapel Hill-based publisher Algonquin Books and wrote feature articles on 44 independent bookstores across the nation. He then worked at Barnes and Noble before becoming the Store Manager of Letters Bookshop from 2015-2017. He is an alumnus of UNC Chapel Hill and a Durham resident.
"The name Golden Fig relates to a quote from one of my favorite novels (and the store's first featured book), The Bell Jar. Without ruining anything for those who've yet to read it, there comes a point in the novel where the main character is comparing life to a fig tree. Every branch symbolizes a different path she can take and each fig represents a different career or destination. Naming the store Golden Fig Books is both my way of intentionally stating that this is the career path I choose and also functions as a sort of mission statement for the store, as we want to help our customers and our community find books that will lead them to their own golden figs." - David
