We’re hiring!

Part-Time Bookstore & Community Lead
$20/hour · about 13.5 hours/week · Fayetteville, WV

Canary Books is looking for someone to help take care of the shop on weekends, but this is a little more than a regular retail job.

I’m looking for someone who will actually care about the space and want to make it better: someone who notices when a display could use some love, has an idea for a book club or event, can hang something on the wall without being afraid of a drill, and is willing to clean the bathroom when it needs it.

The schedule

Friday: 2:30–8 p.m.
Saturday: 2:30–8 p.m.
Sunday: 2:30–5 p.m.

This will start as a seasonal position through the end of December. If it’s a good fit for everyone, I’d love for the position to continue afterward, probably with fewer hours during the slower winter months.

What you’d be doing

You’ll run the bookstore independently during your shifts: helping customers, ringing up sales, learning our inventory system, receiving and shelving books, keeping things organized, and generally making sure the shop is in good shape.

But a big part of the job is what happens when the store is quiet.

I’d love someone who can look around and find useful things to do without waiting for a list from me. That might mean:

making a new display or rearranging a section
decorating the shop for the season
making signs or shelf recommendations
organizing and improving the kids’ area
stocking and processing incoming books
helping with used books and trade-ins
planning a book club, reading, screening, kids’ activity, or other small event
reaching out to local writers or community folks about potential events
helping set up and clean up for events
assembling or moving shelving and furniture
hanging art, signs, shelves, or displays
organizing storage and supplies
sweeping, dusting, taking out trash, and cleaning/restocking the bathroom
noticing things that are broken, awkward, empty, messy, or boring, and helping fix them

Basically: I want Canary to be a little better at the end of each weekend than it was at the beginning.

A few practical things about the job

Canary is an upstairs bookstore, and this is a pretty hands-on job. The person in this role will regularly use the stairs, receive and shelve boxes of books, bend and reach for shelving, use a step stool, move lightweight furniture and displays, and help with occasional small store projects like assembling shelving or hanging signs and art.

Keeping the shop clean is also part of the job, including sweeping/vacuuming, dusting, taking out trash, and cleaning and restocking the bathroom.

You should be comfortable doing these parts of the job independently, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Who I’m looking for

You do not need previous bookstore experience.

I care much more about finding someone who is dependable, kind, curious, creative, and self-directed. You should like books and people, but you should also be comfortable working by yourself and taking ownership of a small space.

You’ll probably be a good fit if you:

have good taste and enjoy making spaces feel welcoming
are organized and pay attention to details
can come up with ideas and actually follow through on them
are comfortable learning new software
don’t mind a mix of creative work, customer service, cleaning, and physical tasks
are reasonably handy or willing to figure things out
can lift boxes of books, walk up and down stairs, and move or rearrange bookshelves
like the idea of helping a tiny independent bookstore become more of a community space
can work the Friday/Saturday/Sunday schedule reliably

Canary especially loves Appalachian voices, queer stories, and books that help people understand one another. You don’t have to read exactly what I read, but it would be great if that general spirit appeals to you.

Interested?

Email chris@canarybookswv.com with a little about yourself, any relevant work experience or résumé you have, and a few sentences about why you’d like to work at Canary.

Also answer this:

Tell me about a space, event, project, display, organization, or other thing you’ve helped make better. What did you do?

Formal cover letters are absolutely not necessary.

Pay: $20/hour
Start: October 2026
Seasonal through December, with the possibility of continuing into 2027 at reduced winter hours.