When Zora’s Place opens in September in Evanston, it will be the only Black woman-owned bookstore in the city. The bookstore, which will open at The Aux Wellness Collective, will celebrate and support Black women authors, artists and entrepreneurs.
“We’re creating a warm, intentional space where Black women can feel seen, supported, and inspired,” founder L’Oreal Thompson Payton said, according to Evanston RoundTable.
A seasoned journalist and author, Thompson Payton has written for the Baltimore Sun, Jet, Ebony, and other publications and has now authored several books. Her 2024 book, Stop Waiting For Perfect, is about overcoming imposter syndrome and self doubt. This December, she will launch her first children’s book, a biography about Amanda Gorman.
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Thompson Payton has always loved reading, but growing up, she realized that books she often read did not reflect her identity. “As a teenager I didn’t see myself represented in the books or magazines I read, like Sweet Valley High, Cosmo Girl and Teen People. That void is what inspired me to become a journalist, and write my own stories. I realized that my words and writing could help other people,” she said.
Opening a bookstore is not really surprising for Thompson Payton as her dream has always been to own one.
“My retirement dream was to create a bookstore with a coffee shop, yoga studio, and co-working space,” she said. “But on a bookstore crawl with friends in 2019, I became inspired by Café con Libros, a small intersectional feminist bookstore with a coffee shop in Brooklyn. Then when the Black woman-owned bookstore Call & Response opened in Hyde Park, I thought, ‘why can’t we bring this to Evanston’”?
Thompson Payton is also a certified yoga teacher and will teach classes at the Aux Wellness Collective, the Black-owned wellness collective where her bookstore will be.
“Evanston is very diverse, and The Aux makes perfect sense. There’s a cafe and laundromat, and it seems like a natural place where people might want to get a book,” she said.
The Evanston resident’s bookstore will feature various genres to cater to readers of all ages. There will be fiction, Black romance with a focus on queer feminist perspectives, children’s section and gifts such as journals, candles, and stationery.
Besides the books, Thompson Payton is planning on hosting book clubs, story times, author talks, and writing workshops at Zora’s Place.
“I see it having an Afro-bohemian vibe, like you’re walking into your rich auntie’s living room. There will be space to get cozy, grab a book, and stay a while,” she said.
The bookstore’s name, Zora’s Place, was inspired by author Zora Neale Hurston, whose novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, is seen a classic of the Harlem renaissance.
“She is my favorite author, and this is a way to celebrate her while centering Black women at the heart of the store. I really wanted to stay true to my roots and vision in having this bookstore highlight Black women and girls,” Thompson Payton said.
