Larry McMurtry rides again with a new Literary Center and a book of tributes by friends and fans

Booked Up Inc., Larry McMurtry's beloved bookstore in Archer City, has a new lease on life.

The award-winning novelist's book project in his North Texas hometown has become the Larry McMurtry Literary Center. When it will open to the public has not been announced, but the center will be part library, part museum with an annual writer's workshop.

Soon after McMurtry passed in March 2021 at age 84, the renowned bookshop closed its doors. The property was then purchased by Waco-based power couple Joanna and Chip Gaines, stars of the show Fixer Upper. In October they announced the sale to LMLC.

Before becoming a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, McMurtry spent decades as a rare book dealer. Booked Up opened in the 1980s with the goal of making Archer City a destination for bibliophiles. At its peak the bookstore occupied four buildings.

There's still a lot of work to be done before LMLC has its grand opening. You can help the center by purchasing a copy of Pastures of the Empty Page. Edited by George Getschow, director of the Archer City Writers Workshop, royalties from the book go to support the center.

The 38 essays paint an intimate picture of McMurtry, and the contributors to the book include many familiar names of Texas letters. Lawrence Wright summed up our collective feelings: "[McMurtry] managed to create some of the most memorable figures in Texas literature."

McMurtry was a cantankerous curmudgeon uncomfortable with the adulation of his fans, but he was our old fart. William Broyles' 14-page remembrance is a moving tribute to his friend. It ended with what all his fans want to say: "Thanks, Larry, for everything."

The Larry McMurtry Literary Center is in Archer City 25 miles south of Wichita Falls. For information about the center, go to www.lmcmurtrylitcenter.org, where you'll find a link to purchase a copy of Pastures of the Empty Page.