From studying communication to working in bookselling, Kristin Saner discovered her passion for creating connections and building community. Her journey led her to Fables Books in Goshen, where she now co-owns a space where literature and meaningful relationships come together.
Saner grew up in Kansas but moved frequently due to her mother’s role as a pastor. She graduated from high school in Lyons, Kansas, before attending Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas.
Initially, Saner planned to pursue a pre-med track. However, after struggling with biology and chemistry courses, she realized that wasn’t the right fit and switched her major to communication and global peace and justice.
“I started looking into the fine arts majors and communication just stuck,” Saner said. “I’ve always been good at public speaking. I actually competed in speech and debate during my last few years of high school and throughout college.”
Two weeks before her final year at Bethel, Saner had her first child. With support from professors, staff, and friends, she was able to finish her degree. After graduating, she and her husband had a tough decision to make.
“We had some long conversations about whether I should get a job or if we should continue growing our family, and we decided to grow our family,” Saner said.
When her youngest of three was 6 months old, Saner, her husband, and their kids moved to Goshen, Indiana — her husband’s hometown.
Saner was a stay-at-home-mom until her youngest turned 3 years old. At that point, Saner took a part-time job at Better World Books in Goshen while also starting seminary classes. However, she soon realized that she enjoyed bookselling more.
“There was a service and connection to people in that position,” Saner said.
Following a leadership transition at Better World Books, Saner moved on to work at Secret Door Games in Elkhart, handling marketing for about a year.
When Saner learned that Better World Books would be closing its retail location in 2019, she quickly reached out to some of her former co-workers with an idea — opening a new bookstore.
About 20 passionate community members shared the same vision and came together to discuss the possibilities. From that, a dedicated team of five emerged: majority owners Saner and her former Better World Books colleagues, Veronica Berkey and Shadow (Brad) Weirich, along with minority owners Mark Saner and Gary Berkey.
Fables Books officially opened its doors in July 2019.
For Saner, the most rewarding part of co-owning the bookstore is the opportunity to connect with customers and foster community engagement.
“I love creating events that bring people together through books,” Saner said. “It’s always fun listening to people at book clubs or author events as they meet others who love the same books they do.”
When she’s not at the store, Saner enjoys spending time with family and friends, supporting her three teenage boys in their extracurricular activities, and, of course, reading.
“Fables Books wouldn’t exist without our community or its other owners,” Saner said. “I don’t do this alone, and we all say that it is our community that keeps us going. Independent bookstores are vital to their communities, but they cannot thrive without the support of the people who live there.”