WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT
KEEBE FITCH
GENERAL MANAGER, MCINTYRE’S BOOKS
F PHOTOGRAPHED AT MCINTYRE'S BOOKS
BY MORGAN CARTIER WESTON
56
CHATHAM MAGAZINE
APRIL / MAY 2022
ew places are as beloved as an independent bookstore, and McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village is no exception. The shop was designed to welcome, delight and inspire and has been a passion project for general manager Keebe Fitch for more than 30 years. “The simple act of reading a book can move someone to tears, help them find peace, make them laugh themselves silly, help them obtain knowledge or get so incredibly angry. To be able to talk with people and share those experiences is a beautiful thing,” Keebe says. So when Keebe’s father – Fearrington Village founder R.B. Fitch – wanted to open a bookstore in the 1980s, Keebe asked Erica Eisdorfer at the Bull’s Head Bookshop on UNC’s campus for a job. She credits the author’s engaging and thorough tutelage with showing her what it takes to run a bookshop. Keebe looked to two other female mentors for guidance on inventory and cultivating a memorable experience. “We opened McIntyre’s Books in April 1989 with the help of Jean Harper, who worked at Charles Scribner’s Sons in editorial, and Jane Bradford, who was a head librarian in Ohio,” she says. “It was an incredible time to be opening a bookstore.” In the decades since, the shop has grown into an informal community center, playing host to everything from writing