Meet Annabelle Chang | Founder of Annabelle’s Book Club LA

We had the good fortune of connecting with Annabelle Chang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Annabelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I think the literary community has historically undervalued the power of young adult readers, but I think we are at a moment where that is changing. When I started doing my market research, I learned that more than 70% of YA titles are purchased by people in the 18-64 age range. It made me think that a YA-focused store would appeal to a much wider audience than just teens. Now that the store is open, that is exactly what we are seeing. More than half of the customers in my store buying YA literature are adults. I think there was a perception that YA books are just fun reads, but there is now a realization that they often tackle difficult and serious issues. A lot of parents come in to buy books to read along with their kids, which I think is fantastic. YA is a great window into the world of what it is like to be a kid today.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career? 

When I was younger, I was much more risk-averse, and I had the idea that in order to be an entrepreneur you had to be totally unafraid of risk and failure. Over time, I began to realize that when you find something you feel truly passionate about, it enables you to push past the fear in order to bring something innovative and exciting into the world. When I had the idea to open a YA bookstore, I knew that I was ready to put in the work to make this happen.

What habits do you feel helped you succeed? 

As an avid reader, I am always looking to expand my reading tastes with a variety of genres and authors. I continued this habit when choosing books for the store, as I aim to represent a wide range of interests and tastes in our book selection. We carry everything from travel books and memoirs to picture books and rom-coms, and it’s been so fun seeing customers of all ages find new books and authors they are excited about.

What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand? 

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that when you truly believe in your vision and your brand, others do, too. Our entire team wholeheartedly believes in the importance of YA literature and the ability of these books to bring joy to people of all ages. That translates to our customers, who end up being our best brand ambassadors. In only three months, the word of mouth has led to a wonderful sense of community being built around the store. We are so excited for the in-person book clubs and author signings we have coming up. I really find joy in connecting fellow book lovers.

What’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you? 

One important lesson I’ve learned is that when you want to start a business, you can’t wait for everything to be perfect. There will always be something that isn’t exactly how you want it to be, and there will always be some challenges you don’t expect. In my experience, a big part of running a business is being willing to learn as you go and making adjustments as needed.

Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance? 

It can be challenging to balance the day-to-day needs of the store with attending class and completing my schoolwork. Fortunately, the school I go to, Laurel Springs, is an online school that allows me the flexibility to be at the store during the week while also taking the rigorous classes I am interested in. Before opening the store, I was a competitive tennis player for many years, and that experience helped me learn how to manage my time efficiently from an early age.

How did you come up with the idea for Annabelle’s Book Club LA? 

Growing up, bookstores were my favorite places, and I’ve always been an avid reader. When the pandemic hit, I received so many requests for book recommendations that I decided to create an Instagram account and blog to share some of my favorite YA reads. After seeing the positive response to the stories I featured, I expanded my blog to include interviews with authors, bookstore owners, and other inspiring people in the book world. I started selling some of my favorite YA books online, and I eventually transitioned to selling books and merchandise at in-person pop-up events like the L.A. Times Festival of Books. After seeing how excited people were about the books I was featuring, I started to think about creating a store where my book curation would be more permanent. As I researched and visited bookstores in L.A. and across the country, I realized that there were no YA-focused ones, and I wanted to fill that gap in the market.

What are you inspired by? 

Authors have always been my personal heroes, and I am so inspired by the creativity and talent of the many writers whose books I read. I feel so lucky to have met some of my all-time favorite authors!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Annabelle’s Book Club LA is a highly curated collection of books and gifts with a modern point of view. Its prime Studio City, CA location stands out with a hot pink facade and offers book lovers a wide selection of YA, general interest titles, art & coffee table books, plus book-themed inspired merchandise 16-year-old founder Annabelle Chang designs and sells at the store and online.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Eat: –  Gjelina
–  Nobu
–  Bestia
–  République
–  Jon & Vinny’s

Drink:
–  Erewhon’s Hailey Bieber smoothie
–  La La Land’s lavender bloom matcha latte
–  Boba Guys’ strawberry boba with rice milk

Visit:
–  LACMA
–  The Broad
–  MOCA
–  The Academy Museum
–  Universal Studios

Shop:
–  Larchmont
–  Montana
–  Melrose Place
–  Century City Mall
–  Brentwood Country Mart
–  The Grove
–  Palisades Village

Read:
–  The Last Bookstore
–  Chevalier’s
–  Zibby’s Books
–  Diesel
–  Book Soup

Hike:
–  Runyon Canyon

Surf:
– Surfrider Beach in Malibu

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful team at the store who have helped bring my vision to life. I am also thrilled to have the opportunity to work with amazing literacy organizations like The Book Truck who work to ensure that all teenagers have access to books they love.

Website: www.annabellesbookclubla.com

Instagram: @annabellesbookclubla

Other: TikTok: @annabellesbookclubla

Image Credits
Stephanie Girard, Jeremy Wetmore Spann