24 | MAY 5 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

A

fter a two-year 
COVID-induced 
absence, Metro 
Detroit’s “biggest and best 
used book and media sale” will 
return to Livonia’s Laurel Park 
Place from May 15-22. New 
this year, in addition to more 
than 200 tables brimming with 
used books and media inside 
the mall, shoppers can find a 
great sampling of Bookstock’s 
offerings in their outdoor tent. 
Even with the two-year 
pause, the Bookstock leader-
ship team stayed together and 
has been working diligently 
behind the scenes to make sure 
the sale, first launched 20 years 
ago, would return. 
“
A small group of volunteers 
continued to meet weekly 
at our book depot, now at 
Congregation Beth Ahm, 
continuing to sort books and 
hold a few pop-up sales for 
members of Bookstock’s part-
ner agencies,” said Beverly 
Phillips, Bookstock’s publicity 
chair. “Even during COVID we 
were meeting, trying to figure 

out how we could come back 
because we knew we were out 
of people’s minds and mem-
ories for two years. We knew 
that would be a challenge.” 
Proceeds from Bookstock 
benefit literacy and education 
projects throughout Detroit 
and Oakland and Wayne coun-
ties, as well as several counties 
in northern Michigan. Detroit 
Free Press Columnist Neal Rubin 
is Honorary Chairperson 
of Bookstock and Alycia 
Meriweather, deputy super-
intendent of Detroit Public 
Schools Community District 
(DPSCD), is Bookstock’s 
Honorary Chancellor. 
Bookstock 2022’s Presenting 
Sponsor is the Mike Morse Law 
Firm. 

THIS YEAR’S KICK-OFF
Bookstock’s Pre-Sale will kick 
off on Sunday, May 15, at 8:15 
a.m. with a performance by 
members of the Detroit Public 
Schools Community District’s 
Renaissance High School 
Marching Band. There is a $20 

admission charge for the pre-
sale only, which runs through 
11 a.m. and offers shoppers 
and collectors first crack at 
Bookstock’s treasure trove of 
bargains. 
This year, Bookstock offers 
more than ever before, with 
hundreds of thousands of gen-
tly used books, DVDs, CDs, 
books on tape and vinyl for 
sale at bargain basement prices. 
The sale will continue through 
Sunday, May 22, running 
Sundays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and 
Monday through Saturday 11 
a.m.-7 p.m. 
Bookstock 2022 will 
celebrate teachers with 
Teacher Appreciation 
Days on May 17 and 
May 18, giving 50% 
off to all teachers 
with a valid ID from 
2-7 p.m. On Tuesday 
at 5 p.m., the Bookstock 
B.E.S.T. Awards (Bookstock’s 
Extraordinary Student/School/
Teacher essay contest) will be 
presented to DPSCD fourth-
grade students, and cash prizes 

will be given to students, their 
teachers and their schools. 
There will be a Half Price 
Finale on Sunday, May 22. 
Over its nearly two decades, 
Bookstock has generated more 
than $2.25 million for litera-
cy and education projects in 
Michigan. Nearly 700 volun-
teers work together throughout 
the year to organize and staff 
the weeklong Bookstock sale. 
Over the course of the pan-
demic, Bookstock increased 
their social media presence. In 
December, Bookstock started 
holding a series of Facebook 

Live events at independent 
bookstores. Rubin conducts all 
the interviews for the events.
“We felt because our focus is 
literacy, we want to also high-
light the independent book-
stores that are the lifeblood of 

After a two-year pause, the epic sale has more books and media than ever.
Bookstock Is Back!

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

LEFT: Shoppers browse at a past Bookstock sale. RIGHT: Honorary Co-Chair and Detroit Free Press Columnist Neal Rubin and Alycia 
Meriweather, DPSCD Superintendent and Bookstock Honorary Chancellor.

