[Updated April 2025]
We’re hiring for a full-time position.
BOOKSELLER / EVENT ASSISTANT
Key West, FL
Position: Full-Time
Books & Books at the Studios of Key West is seeking an energetic and creative person to work with us at our beautiful store.
This full-time position will work closely with the Store Managers and Directors on a range of tasks critical to the store with a special emphasis on event set-up and coordination.
The ideal candidate must be a self-starter who can work independently with little direction—an investigative problem solver, dependable, highly organized, able to juggle multiple priorities despite frequent interruptions.
This is a great opportunity for someone who is eager to learn and grow in this industry.
Qualifications:
- Prior bookselling, event coordination, or retail experience preferred.
- Strong organizational and communication skills, with an ability to multitask.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with frequent in-person customer interactions.
Requirements:
- Strong interpersonal and customer service skills and ease with telephone, email, and in-person communication;
- Basic computer skills and a proficiency for learning new programs a must.
- Must be able to interpret store policies using discretion and judgment.
- Frequent weekend and evening work required.
- Immediate availability preferred
Physical Demands, to be performed with or without reasonable accommodation:
- Must be able to stand for extended periods of time.
- Ability to infrequently lift boxes weighing up to fifty pounds.
- Ability to climb a ladder or footstool.
Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
Bookselling Duties:
- Provide excellent customer service, assisting customers with book recommendations and inquiries using search tools on which you will be trained.
- Handle sales transactions and operate the register.
- Maintain store organization, restock shelves, and assist with merchandising.
- Support inventory management systems.
Event Support:
- Assist the store managers in organizing, promoting and executing literary and cultural events.
- Supervise and host events (approximately once a week during fall and winter), managing setup, breakdown, and coordinating tasks with other staff members.
- Field event requests, ensuring they align with the bookstore’s mission and programming vision.
- Track event inventory and coordinate deliveries.
To Apply:
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume to
booksandbooks@tskw.org with the subject line “Bookseller Application 2025.”
This is a full-time, exempt position with two weeks annual paid vacation, Base salary of $50,000, adjustable upward for a person with outstanding credentials. Preference will be given to candidates currently living in the lower Florida Keys.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
About Books & Books @ The Studios
We’re part of The Studios of Key West, a non-profit arts organization with artist studio spaces, exhibition galleries, a performance space and a residential program for visiting artists. See www.tskw.org
The Books & Books store functions as an arm of The Studios, but is also affiliated with the leading independent bookstore in Miami, giving us the knowledge and purchasing power of that larger bookseller. As such, we operate as a general interest bookstore, with a full range of titles, from best-sellers to classics, including a specialized section for Key West oriented literature and a substantial children’s section supervised by Judy Blume, who is one of the founders of the store. See www.booksandbookskw.com
The store is also the home to the Key West Literary Pantheon, a display honoring more than forty-five nationally known writers who have lived and worked in our community.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and committed to being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.
Cost of Living Warning
Key West has a very high cost of living. Affordable housing can be particularly difficult to acquire. Though we have set a salary higher than most similar stores, be warned that it must be evaluated in this light.