Octavia Books Turns 10

New Orleans’ Octavia Books celebrates its 10th anniversary on October 16. The bookstore invites all of its customers and friends for a big afternoon party with champagne and cake.

When Judith Lafitte and Tom Lowenburg opened the bookstore, “conventional wisdom said it couldn’t be done,” said Lowenburg. “Only about five independent bookstores opened that year in the U.S.”

Octavia is in a 2,500-square-foot space in a century-old, corner commercial building in uptown New Orleans. The spot has historically been a focal point for the neighborhood, and Lafitte and Lowenburg ensured that attention continued by undertaking a renovation that put their store on the front cover of New Orleans Magazine’s “Best of New Orleans Architecture” issue. 

Although Octavia Books opened its doors in September 2000, “we decided to celebrate in October, rather than September, because following our five-week evacuation in 2005 [due to Hurricane Katrina], on Saturday, October 8, we became the first bookstore in the New Orleans area to reopen,” explained Lowenburg. “We missed our anniversary that year, but we had a big celebration in 2006.”

For the fifth anniversary of Katrina this fall, Octavia Books hosted a full roster of events, including signings with John Woodin (City of Memory: New Orleans Before and After Katrina, University of Georgia Press); Robert R. M. Verchick (Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World, Harvard University Press); and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey (Beyond Katrina, University of Georgia Press).

The effect on business of the BP oil spill – the second big disaster in the Gulf in the last five years – has been difficult to gauge, Lowenburg said. But he remains very concerned about what the environmental impact will be on the entire area.

During each crisis, and in less stressful times, Lowenburg and Lafitte have always positioned Octavia as a community resource. “As an independent bookstore, we take our role as a community meeting place for the exchange of ideas very seriously,” said Lowenburg. “This is manifest through the books we stock, the many events we host, the book clubs we foster and the way we assist our customers.”

The booksellers’ good works extend beyond the store. “We are significant supporters of institutions such as our local public radio station, WWNO,” said Loweburg. “We work with a number of schools to advance their programs; we donate books to a range of local non-profit organizations. Along with other New Orleans independent booksellers, through the New Orleans Gulf South Independent Booksellers Association, we help operate the Book Tent at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, with the proceeds supporting local literacy programs.”

In addition, Lowenburg has been active in defense of the First Amendment and last year offered testimony before the Louisiana legislature to help defeat a censorship bill.

“We hope we have and will continue to enrich your life and the life of our precious community,” Lafitte and Lowenburg said on the invitation to Octavia’s anniversary party. “Thanks for being part of the story with us. And, as with many of the books we read, we know the best is yet.”