LINDA, Project Director
Our literary sensibility comes from Linda Gallant, whose love of books began with a well-worn copy of Wizard of Oz (she hopes the story of Baum coming up with the title of his masterpiece by looking at a file cabinet marked O-Z is true). In addition to ushering H&H's books, anthologies, and chapbooks from conception to print, she’s supported literary arts programming and curation at H&H Books since 2019.
EMERSON, Bookstore Manager
Emerson committed to a life of bookselling roughly a decade ago and relishes being excited to go to work. (They've also been a religion writer, a stage manager, a LGBTQIA+ nonprofit board member, and a records digitizer in a government basement.) If they could time-travel, they'd sit on the carpet in their fourth-grade classroom and listen to Miss York read A Wrinkle in Time aloud. They live in Port Richmond in an extremely gay configuration of partners & cats.
CLAIRE, Creative Director
Our marketing, publicity, creative direction and book design come from Claire Moncla. Claire has always wanted to be a painter, but her brother Luke got all the talent. She decided to stick with writing, and it’s taken her from advertising and editorial to business development and nonprofit marketing. When she isn’t in the shop, she is helping her partner in their real estate business and chillin’ with her cats.
SHOSHANA, Assistant Editor
Shoshana Bockol started out at H&H Books in July of 2020 as an opinionated intern in July 2020 and has been curating book selections, editing chapbooks, promoting community literary events, and making the bookstore carry more on communism ever since. She also co-led the Riverwards Arts & Letters Series in 2023/2024. Shoshana started writing and getting her poetry published in the second grade. When she isn’t working (her other job being at a rare book museum), reading, or writing, Shoshana can be found tinkering on the electric bass in her West Philly apartment or finding weird objects on the ground.