What Is Book Fort?
What the hell is Book Fort?
You may have seen pictures of the Broken Spines Books Book Fort and thought, What the hell is that?
That’s a fair question!
From the outside, the Book Fort looks like a couple of pop-up canopies, two camp couches, some books, and whatever other weird shit we’ve decided to cart across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that day. But describing what it looks like doesn’t really explain the magic that happens inside of Book Fort.
Inside, we have had people read, nap, color, play drums, hang out with guinea pigs, and perform trapeze. Once we even had people enjoy a full 3-course meal under the Book Fort canopies! We never quite know what is going to happen in the Broken Spines Books Book Fort and we kind of like it that way.
Okay, but what exactly IS it?
Our full Book Fort setup is made up of two blue 10x10 canopies. One side has a sitting area made up of camp couches and our portable coffee table. There are books, adult and kid coloring pages, a couple of hand drums, and little nostalgic things to mess around with while you sit and relax.
Across the back hangs our 6-foot Broken Spines Book Fort banner. We hand-painted it ourselves, and when we say hand-painted we mean it looks like a fucking 3-year-old got ahold of some paint and was left unattended.
Unhinged three-year-old was not the original aesthetic, but here we are. Originally, we bought a banner with the intention of using our handy-dandy Cricut machine to cut out a beautiful vinyl design for it. We dreamt of a beautiful banner that we could take to every event. Something that truly spoke to what Broken Spines Books really is.
Well, in true “Jen” fashion, she ordered the banner and then allowed it to sit for approximately 4.7 weeks while she confidently avoided the project. Then 2 days before the event where we actually needed it, she finally confessed to Rindy that she was out of her depth on this one. After thinking it over, we decided the best course of action here was to just paint the damn thing. So that’s what we did.
It started out innocent enough, just painting the words “Broken Spines Book Fort” in black. Well, that lasted about 2 minutes before the paint started flying! We ended up rolling on the floor laughing our asses off with paint all over the carpet, ourselves, and everything else. But, alas, we had a banner that strangely enough, completely represents everything that Book Fort has become.
The other half of Book Fort changes depending on where we are going and what the vibe of the event is. Over the last few months we have turned it into a kid’s play area complete with a giant Lite-Brite for New House Baking Co., an eatery to enjoy a hotdog during Westside Flannel Fest, and a quiet place to relax and enjoy some adult coloring at Booney Bash. We are currently working on turning it into a haunted library for Rez-Con at Island Resort and Casino this October.
Because obviously, we saw two canopies and were like, “Sure, we can make that haunted!”
For most events, our pop-up bookstore accompanies Book Fort. At family-friendly events, we also bring along totes of free books for kids to take home. Broken Spines Books works closely with our local library to help keep free reading material in the hands of young readers. Promoting literacy is near and dear to our hearts, and we’ve committed to bringing free books for kids to every family-friendly event we attend.
How did Book Fort become a thing?
To be honest, Book Fort was never part of the original Broken Spines Books business plan (and we use the term business plan so fucking loosely).
In July 2026, we were invited to vend at Booney Bash, a three-day music and art festival held in a giant field at Byce’s Michihistrigan Campground in Gould City, MI. Our good friends, Drew and Ally of 906 Canna Couple, run the festival. When they called us up to say that they had created a huge opening in the woods called “The Fort” and were wondering if we would be willing to turn it into a “Book Fort” for the weekend…
The only answer was “Abso-fucking-lutely!”
They gave us complete creative freedom to transform the space into anything we wanted. By the time the festival began, there were hammocks strung through the trees, fairy lights, a meditation area, adult coloring, drums, and a trapeze performer. It was incredible.
All weekend, people came in and used the space. They hung out, napped, talked, colored, and just existed together.
On the second evening of Booney Bash, laser lights in an array of colors rolled across the trees above us, spelling out “Broken Spines Books.” That was when we looked at each other and thought, We could do this.
Obviously, we couldn’t bring the woods and a trapeze artist to every event. But we could figure out how to create spaces that captured that same feeling we experienced out in those woods. So we gathered the canopies, bought the camp couches, and started hauling Book Fort around the U.P.
That’s what we hope Book Fort can be: a place where you can just exist for a minute while you take a breather from a bigger event.
When we started Broken Spines Books, we knew we wanted to be different from the bookstores we’d been to. We wanted people to experience books, not just buy one and leave. What we didn’t know was that creating that experience would involve hauling two canopies, couches, and sometimes a giant Lite-Brite all over the U.P.
But here we fucking are. And we love it.
What do people do in Book Fort?
The short answer is, whatever they want! Within reason of course.
Book Fort exists to create a sensory-friendly space inside of a larger event like a festival or concert. It is a welcoming place to relax and recharge without ever having to leave the event.
In Book Fort we have watched adults and kids reading together, kids playing and laughing, adults relaxing, families interacting, and yes a group of 6 sitting down for a whole ass 3-course meal!
At a recent event, we had a guy who just kept coming back to Book Fort to nap all weekend while his wife shopped.
Is Book Fort just for kids?
Nope!
What we’ve discovered over the past few months is that adults really love hanging out in a fort!
We love making family-friendly versions of Book Fort for events, but we also really enjoy creating adult-only versions.
Sometimes it’s playful. Sometimes it’s a lounge area. The setup changes to accommodate the vibe of whatever event we are invited to.
The two couches, table, books, and activities are the starting point; what we put around them depends on who’s coming and what type of event you are hosting.
Book Fort can come to festivals, markets, book fairs, conventions, breweries, community gatherings, private parties, and other events that could use a place for people to gather. If you have less room, we can do an abbreviated version with one 10x10 canopy instead of the full 2 canopy setup. We work closely with our event organizers to create the version of Book Fort that fits your event seamlessly.
For event organizers, the nice thing is that Book Fort gives people somewhere to go for a break without leaving the event premises. They can wander in, sit with a friend, take a photo, let their kids explore, and then head back out and enjoy the event some more–all while staying at your event longer.
Want to bring Book Fort to your next event?
Tell us what you are planning! We’ll need the event name, date, venue, city and state, expected attendance, and whether it’s family-friendly or adult-only. From there, we can talk about space, travel, availability, and pricing.
Book Fort started out as a weird, wonderful weekend in the woods. Now it’s one of our favorite things about Broken Spines Books. It gives people room to play, read, rest, and just be.
Books are just the beginning.
Want Book Fort at your event? Visit our Book Fort page and tell us what you are planning.
