Paul M. Wrigley and Debbie Cross of
Wrigley-Cross Books

Paul M. Wrigley and Debbie Cross are Wrigley-Cross Books. They chose the name because it sounds like a train station in London. They met, in 1979, at the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, England. (This was the first science fiction convention that Paul had ever attended.) Debbie lived in Portland, Oregon and Paul lived just outside of Birmingham, England. Years later, Paul told Debbie that she was the only person who had ever visited him who had never commented on the number of books that he owned. They maintained a long distance relationship for only a few months before deciding that the only practical thing to do was to get married so they could both live in the same country. Paul left his job, packed up his crates of books and moved to Oregon.

Paul, a statistician, got a job working for the local electric company and Debbie continued to work as a registered nurse. Their mutual interest in science fiction and books got them involved in attending and even organizing many conventions. In a thrift store one day, Paul bought a first edition of P. K. Dick’s Man in a High Castle for a quarter. He sold it at a very nice profit to a collector who worked at a local bookstore. The seed had now been planted. Paul began acquiring books for resale, and in 1987 began selling at conventions and via a catalog. Eventually, in an attempt to escape the medical field, Debbie went after an MBA. When she finally graduated, reality hit. She either had to pound the pavement for a real job, or they could open a bookstore.

Wrigley-Cross Books opened its doors in November of 1990 in a small regional mall. They carried a full range of used books, but specialized in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Horror. In these areas the stock ranged from paperback and hard cover reading copies to new titles, small press books, British imports and collectible first editions. Surprisingly, their greatest successes became collectible and small press horror and science fiction. They learned that their customers valued condition and scarcity, so they became adept at putting on dust jacket protectors, carefully packaging books for shipping and developing relationships with small and unusual presses. In addition they continued to sell books at science fiction and mystery conventions and issue multiple catalogs yearly. They also continued to organize local and regional science fiction conventions.

A couple years into the business an espresso bar was added to the store. British afternoon teas were held several times a year. Like most bookstores, Wrigley-Cross Books expanded to carrying some sidelines. It turned out that none of these added to their bottom line. Therefore, in 1995, when they moved to a better and less expensive location they decided to again focus only on buying and selling books. The only sidelines they have carried since then are book preservation and restoration items.

After fifteen years of the brick and mortar business, and just the one move, they made the difficult decision, based on the fiscal reality of today’s marketplace, to close the physical store in 2005. They continue to love bookstores and loved running a store. It is a sad thing every time another store closes its doors, but Portland has always been a hard place for a used bookstore to compete for stock, and a planned urban renewal in the area surrounding the bookstore was the final straw.

However, the choice they made has allowed Wrigley-Cross Books to remain a healthy business. They continue to do what they love and today operate out of their home in Troutdale, OR. They’re located in a scenic area near the beginning of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. They have a showroom which may be visited by appointment and once a month they host an open house for their regular local customers. They continue to issue monthly paper catalogs as well as maintaining their own website and selling through a variety of other sites, including IOBA. The inventory now focuses even more on the genre small press and collectible first editions, but they still maintain a good variety of non-fiction titles.

Paul and Debbie have been very active with the Portland Area Used Booksellers’ Association (PAUBA) since it was organized in the early 1990s. Over the years, PAUBA has sponsored collecting seminars, workshops for would-be sellers, and outreach at Wordstock. Debbie is currently on the committee which organized its first regional book fair in 2007. They are currently working on another book fair to be held April 25-26, 2008.

They never had a cat at the store, but they have two in their home. Clarence is 13 years old and weighs about 20 lbs. Just before last Christmas they added Buddy to their family. He is a lovely 8 year old Siamese tabby mix with beautiful blue eyes. Both cats love to sleep in the showroom and cover the loveseat with cat hair.

Paul and Debbie love the book business and the people they meet through it. Books are their friends and they own a large collection of genre first editions in the areas in which they specialize. All books are treated with respect and shipped carefully packed to reach their customers in the same condition they leave the showroom.

Paul and Debbie like to get to know their customers and help them find the books they want or even the books they don’t yet know they want. They strive to maintain a good relationship with the small press publishers, ensuring they always have a wide range of hard-to-find titles. They expect to stay in the business as long as they can still help books find good homes.

Paul M. Wrigley and Debbie Cross operate Wrigley-Cross Books out of Troutdale, OR and can be contacted at http://www.wrigleycrossbooks.com.