Fact & Fiction Turns 25

Twenty-five years ago, Barbara Theroux opened Fact & Fiction in downtown Missoula, Montana, after gaining bookselling experience at several university bookstores.

“I thought Missoula needed to have a strong store in the downtown area,” said Theroux. “I had worked in college stores, and I had taught at ABA booksellers schools, so I thought, ‘I can do this in Missoula.’”

Over the years, Fact & Fiction has undergone several changes in order to keep up with developments within both the surrounding community and the book industry.

“I think the changes have come in how we adapt to everything – to changes in the economy, to the way people read, and to the way authors write,” said Theroux. “Keeping up with Montana authors has been the best thing. We have so many local authors with national and international recognition, and it’s so great to get to know them and be able to sell their books.”

In 1998, Fact & Fiction relocated from Main Street to Higgins Street, which is a popular retail area with more foot traffic. In 2008, when Theroux started to plan her retirement, she sold the store and the rights to its name to The Bookstore, an independently run business on the University of Montana’s campus. As part of the deal, Theroux agreed to remain at Fact & Fiction for two more years. Today, Theroux still works at the Higgins Street store and has no immediate plans to retire. In addition, there’s a second, smaller location of Fact & Fiction within The Bookstore.

“A strange thing happened on the way to retirement,” Theroux said. “I’m still here, and I’m still doing what I love.”

Fact & Fiction is hosting a yearlong celebration, which kicked off at the beginning of 2011, with the creation of canvas bags adorned with Fact & Fiction’s 25^th anniversary logo. To go along with this, Theroux has been committing “Random Acts of Reading,” by rewarding customers who “proudly carry their Fact & Fiction bag” in the bookstore with free books. She has plans to expand her “Random Acts” beyond the bookstore, to those seen carrying the bag on the street or at the farmer’s markets.

Throughout March, the store’s actual “birthday month,” it has been holding a “lucky birthday sale.” Customers draw a paper shamrock bearing a discount, which can range from 10 to 50 percent, out of a box, and they receive that discount on their day’s purchases.

When the weather improves, Theroux has plans to do a lot of “party-type things,” she said, like getting a hot dog cart and serving ice cream.

Coincidentally, it’s the 90th year for The Bookstore on campus, “so it’s a double celebration,” said Theroux, who has been spreading the word to her customers.

“People are definitely aware that we’re here, and that it’s our 25^th anniversary,” she said. “We just want to keep it going all year long and thank people for what they’ve done.”