About Elk River Books
Elk River Books carries a curated selected of used, collectible and new books, and literature-related sidelines, with an emphasis on books about the outdoors and the American West. As members of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, the Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers Association, and the Independent Online Booksellers Association, we strive to uphold the highest professional standards in the business. All of our books are guaranteed to be as described.
Elk River Books was conceived from the beginning as a community gathering place, where writers and readers could come together for thought-provoking and engaging conversations that would strengthen the civic bonds in our small town.
We’ve held hundreds of events since opening, hosting authors including Richard Powers, Terry Tempest Williams, Carl Hiaasen, Gretel Ehrlich, Jim Harrison and Peter Matthiessen. In 2013, we created Elk River Arts & Lectures, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating and celebrating Livingston’s literary heritage by sending authors into classrooms. In the years since, our programs have expanded to include poetry workshops for elementary school students, oral storytelling sessions, a reading group for teens, and an annual week-long writing workshop featuring some of the nation’s most prominent nature writers.
Sign up for our monthly email newsletter to get the latest news on upcoming events, or just drop by the store: Let us help you pick out your new favorite book, order something special for you, or show off our ever-changing selection of antiquarian and collectible items.
About Andrea Peacock
Bookseller
Andrea spent her childhood reading well-worn copies of Albert Payson Terhune’s collie books and exploring the universe with the likes of Ursula LeGuin, Madeleine L’Engle, and John Christopher. She’s worked for alternative weekly newspapers all over the West (including a stint editing the Missoula Independent), and has authored two books: Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation, and The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears (co-written with Doug Peacock). Having gone from newspaper reporter to used book dealer, she figures her next career move will be into the typewriter repair industry.
About Marc Beaudin
Bookseller
After college in Michigan, Marc spent the next couple decades hitchhiking the highways and backroads of North America and Britain, living in a variety of tents, cabins, tipis, anarchist attics and dilapidated apartments along the way, eventually settling in Montana. His poetry and prose have been collected in several books, anthologies, journals and recordings including Life List: Poems, From Coltrane to Coal Train: An Eco-Jazz Suite and Vagabond Song: Neo-Haibun from the Peregrine Journals. Throughout his life, he’s stumbled into several careers including outdoor educator/naturalist, scenic designer/theatre director and English teacher/professor, but it seems like antiquarian bookdealer is the one that’s sticking.
What Brought Us Together
A Brief History
In 2008, Marc moved to Montana from Michigan to help Andrea and her husband, Doug build their home. As the Peacocks were moving in a year later, they discovered there wasn’t enough room in the new house for all of their books. Marc remarked, “I’ve always wanted to have a used bookstore.” Andrea thought about this for a few days, then said “Why not?”
After a year of planning, Elk River Books held its grand opening on May 25, 2011, featuring a reading by friend and esteemed author Rick Bass. They soon outgrew the tiny storefront on Callender Street, spent a stretch renting in artist Russell Chatham’s old gallery on Main Street, then landed for good in their current location, the former J.C. Penney building on Second Street.
Looking for Something?
We’ll consult with hundreds of our colleagues in the trade to track down your treasure.
Visit Our Bookstore
Located in historic downtown Livingston, Montana in the former J.C. Penney building on Second St.
Shop Online
Browse our online store. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, search our storefront on Bookshop.org, a marketplace that supports independent bookstores like ours.