Carrie Obry

Carrie Obry has had a love affair with books her whole life. In grade school, her favorite time of day was SQUIRT (Super Quiet Uninterrupted Independent Reading Time). In college, she studied literature and creative writing at a small school in Wisconsin, then headed to the big city to get a master’s degree in literary theory from New York University. While there, she began a career in publishing, working as a copyeditor and acquisitions editor as she moved to Chicago and then Minneapolis working for independent publishers. For the past 12 years, she’s been the Executive Director of the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. Carrie believes independent bookstores are that “great good place” (to quote Ray Oldenburg), essential to creating vibrant communities and sustaining literary culture.