OUR STAFF
Arwen Severance,
Store Owner
Arwen has been working at the Bookstore since 2001, when she arrived home from Hawaii with her husband, Josh and their daughter, Tegan. Arwen and Josh welcomed a second daughter, Amelie, in 2008, and you can often find Amelie behind the counter helping out. Arwen learned the family business over the last decades from her mother-in-law & previous store owner, Janice, and officially became owner of The Bookstore in 2018. It is a complete joy owning the store.
Nicole Dahlmer
Nicole has been a part of the Bookstore Team since 2013 and manages all the social media for the store. She is the fifth generation of her family to live in Gloucester and uses the area as one of the main themes in her art and photography. Nicole reads many genres - favorites include Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Poetry, and Antiracist nonfiction - and usually has a stack of four or five books she is in the middle of reading.
Aurelia Harrison
Aurelia spent the better part of their childhood in the aisles of the store. Aurelia just graduated from GHS and is an avid music lover and (former) member of the school’s drama club. They love fantasy, memoir, graphic novels, and fiction books especially.
Charlee Bianchini
Charlee has been working at The Bookstore for over 20 years now. A 4th generation Gloucester resident, she also spends her time as a musician. She is on the board of the Gloucester Writers Center. She doesn't go anywhere without a book in hand.
Tegan Severance
Tegan has grown up in the Bookstore, moving back from Hawaii when she was three. She was at the store all the time visiting her "Nonna" and helping out with small projects. Tegan officially started working at the Bookstore while she was in high school. After studying veterinarian medicine in college and receiving her degree, she is now working at a veterinary hospital in Woburn! She can be found behind the counter during our busy holiday season.
Janice Severance,
Previous Owner
One morning in 1980, Janice was putting her kids on the bus when neighbor, Ann Banks, approached her about working at her bookstore in downtown Gloucester. That was the beginning of Janice's biggest life accomplishment, aside from raising her kids. She worked for Ann for ten years and then in 1990 took over the store herself. Since then, she has come to deeply love her work and customers, and she gets very excited when she loves a book and can recommend it to a customer. She particularly loves choosing titles for her political section, and has been known to tell customers to "get out of my store!" if they have differing opinions. She has loved offering author readings as they have made the store a gathering place for the community.
All of Janice's children have worked in the store and one of her biggest delights is that her daughter-in-law worked for her for over 16 years and has become a knowledgeable bookseller, enough to carry on the tradition herself.