People's Book grows into Takoma Park community hub, wins local honors

People's Book, an independent bookstore that opened in Takoma Park in 2023, has evolved from a retail venture into a neighborhood gathering place that emphasizes multilingual children’s books, community publications and school partnerships.

Megan and Matt Bormitt, co-owners of People's Book, said they opened the shop after moving to the neighborhood in 2020 and finding no nearby bookstore they could walk to. "We wanted to walk to the local bookstore," one owner said, describing kitchen-table conversations about whether they could open a store that served neighbors.

The owners said they curate shelves to reflect the community and to broaden readers’ perspectives. "Megan always talks about, the windows and mirrors theory of literacy where we don't have books that reflect our community," Matt Bormitt said, noting the shop carries books in Spanish, Amharic and English for children and emphasizes independent publishers and authors of color.

The store also hosts small events and a zine section of self-published work on subjects from local history to music. "We had one on parenting, one on love," Matt Bormitt said, and the shop is experimenting with community-produced zines created during in-store events.

Megan Bormitt, who said she is a former teacher, described the store’s growing work with local schools: bringing authors to read to students, organizing book fairs and expanding that programming in the store’s opening year. "We are able to work with a few schools in our opening year doing things like bringing authors to visit and read to kids," she said.

The owners said living in the neighborhood helps their business model: conversations at the register and interactions while picking up their child at Takoma Park Elementary School translate into ongoing relationships with customers. The couple described complementary roles in the business: one handles buying books, the other day-to-day upkeep and store operations.

People's Book has also partnered with local nonprofits such as Small Things Matter and Casa to donate books and support community causes, the owners said. The shop was named best bookstore in 2024 and 2025 by the Washington City Paper, recognition the owners said reflects community embrace.

For a list of events and more information, the owners direct readers to the store’s website.

In Takoma Park, this report was produced from a feature segment recorded for local media.