10-03-2025
How to get a book from Texas author Larry McMurtry's collection
Larry McMurtry fans will have the opportunity starting this weekend to visit the late author's long-shuttered bookstore in Archer City for a fundraiser aimed at turning the shop into a literary center.
Why it matters: McMurtry, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lonesome Dove," devoted his life to books and writing. The literary center will be dedicated to maintaining his legacy.
The Texas author left behind Booked Up No. 1 — along with 175,000 books — when he died in 2021.
The latest: A nonprofit writers organization bought McMurtry's bookstore from Chip and Joanna Gaines last year, with plans to open the Larry McMurtry Literary Center.
Flashback: Every summer longtime University of North Texas lecturer George Getschow would take students to Archer City, 25 miles south of Wichita Falls, to learn from McMurtry, who grew up in the small town.
Now Getschow views opening the literary center as "payback" for McMurtry's writing mentorship.
What they're saying:"Larry went above and beyond in spending more than a dozen years working with students that we brought up there," Getschow tells Axios.
"He opened up his house to us. He opened up his bookstore. … He was just an incredibly generous person when it came to people who wanted to do what he did."
State of play: The bookstore is currently crammed with hundreds of thousands of books and needs repairs and renovations before it can officially reopen as the literary center.
The center will preserve McMurtry's collection and host writing workshops.
What's next: Booked Up No. 1 will open 10am-5pm Saturdays and Sundays at 214 S. Center St. in Archer City this month.
Visitors can take home one of McMurtry's books — many of which contain his commentary — for a $25 donation.
Visitors are limited to 10 books per person.
