William Zink & Michael Owen
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Michael Owen is the proprietor of Trust Books, which has 2 locations: on Front Street (Jenks Building) in Cuyahoga Falls and on Main Street (Northside District) just off of downtown Akron. Trust Books carries literary titles not often found at other bookstores. In addition, Trust Books hosts musical acts of all genres, sells artisan foods and novelties, boasts a rotating art gallery, and has a fine collection of beer and wine. It's also home to a record shop, vintage clothing store, and photography gallery. In its brief existance, Trust Books has become the artistic and cultural hub of Cuyahoga Falls and north Akron.
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William Zink is the author of numerous books, including The Hole, Ballad of the Confessor, Ohio River Dialogues, Pieta, Eddy and Julia, Wild Grapes and most recently, North Hill. His books have been praised by Booklist, Andrei Codrescu, The Charleston City Paper, The Main Street Rag, The Akron Beacon Journal, Donald Ray Pollock, Dagoberto Gilb, and others. His novel, Ohio River Dialogues, was a finalist for the Ohioana Fiction Award.
What's our goal with the Street Books Project? First, we want to sell books. Specifically, books written by William Zink, but we'll also carry other titles you don't often find in Barnes & Noble or even at your local library. We figure if you can't come to us, we'll come to you. Which leads to our second aim: Many folks, because they don't get out that often, they can't afford books, or they can't find books that reflects their geographic or cultural interests, just don't read. We'd like to help remedy that. Finally, the act of interacting with someone on the street, selling books, conversing about literature, if even for a moment, can be a powerful, valuable human exchange. In this day of social media, we feel strongly that real person-to-person dialogue can only be a good thing.