New Material Books combines art and poetry for the creatives that call the West Bottoms home

Brandan and Hannah Griffin, the owners of New Material Books. // Courtesy of Hannah and Brandan Griffin

In the post-industrial expanse of the West Bottoms, in a red brick fortress called the Livestock Exchange Building, is a sunlit seventh-floor bookseller tailored to the artists and poets of Kansas City. 

At 250 square feet, New Material Books is about the size of a shoebox apartment. Thankfully, owners Brandan and Hannah Griffin know how to make the most of their space. While their selection might look like typical bookstore fare—including poetry, prose, and periodicals—there’s more to what, exactly, makes typical NMB fare. 

A few standouts: local writer Alex Tretbar’s hand-stitched collection of poems; an interactive pop-up book about the history and theory of the alphabet; and a scroll of receipt paper with poetry “printed in such a small font that it cannot and is not meant to be read in its entirety.” The latter is an NMB original with Kate Greene, a Kansas-born writer.

New Material Books makes the most of its space. // Courtesy of Hannah and Brandan Griffin

The Griffins met in New York City while getting MFAs in creative writing. Seeking a change of pace from the city, the couple relocated in 2022 to Kansas City, where Hannah’s brother lives. Neither of them are from the area, which at the time was new to them. Selling books—and knowing what they specifically liked about it—was not.

“We’ve both worked at bookstores, and there are already a lot of great bookstores in Kansas City. But we had a particular vision for the types of books we sell here,” Brandan says. “One day, we were driving past the West Bottoms and all these beautiful red brick buildings. It was so striking—the sun hit them, and there was this warm red glow. I was like ‘Should we just start a bookstore?'” 

Since the beginning, learning from and responding to the interests of Kansas City’s creative scene has been the heart of NMB.

The Griffins, who’ve worked with several Midwestern publishers since moving here, started with local pop ups that featured a selection of design books and poetry.

Their first was at the 10-year anniversary of a Lawrence press called Inside the Castle, which Brandan describes as legendary to experimental fiction lovers.

“We met people who had traveled from all over the world, and that was really inspiring. Seeing how connections develop in the Midwest reminded us that we’re doing this because we think stores like this should exist all over the country, not just in certain cities,” Brandan says.

Then, they focused their operations closer to KCMO. As the Griffins built a network of customers and friends, they hosted free writing workshops and readings at art galleries.

More people—especially artists—began to request pick-up orders, which is also how the Griffins made their way to the studios of the West Bottoms.

“Visiting some of their spaces, we saw a new way of experiencing art and their practice,” says Hannah. “We realized NMB didn’t just have to be a storefront.”

New Material Books makes the most of its space. // Courtesy of Hannah and Brandan Griffin

And it isn’t. Since opening their space about a year ago, the Griffins have made NMB a place to interact with local art, work on your own, and meet new people in the process.

This has so far included a “Wordmaking Workshop,” where participants explored ways of coining new words or coming up with a fresh spelling for old ones. This month, NMB will kick off a new series of readings, starting with Henry Goldkamp on Feb. 28. They also have an ongoing series of artist talks, with displays they plan on rotating throughout the year with a list of the artists’ book recommendations.

“I’ve always loved going to readings or talks where people mention books they read or works that inspired them,” Hannah explains. “So, artists can curate something and if someone’s interested, they can peer into their practice and way of thinking.”

That’s how one of her favorite books, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee, became part of the selection—from previously featured KC artist Sam Haan.

If that wasn’t enough, NMB is also a direct distributor for small independent presses—those without “institutional trappings”—to offer editions that can’t be ordered from anywhere else. But regardless of the publisher, everything on the shelves has a reason for being there—whether the Griffins have actually read it, had it recommended by a visitor or friend, or simply had the idea behind it catch their interest.

“It’s been a passion of ours,” Hannah says of NMB. “We like to keep a pulse on what’s going on in the world through books.”

Brandan adds, “It’s like that feeling when you find something, and you’re like ‘Finally, someone said this,” or at first, you don’t understand how it even exists. Then you process it, and you’re like, ‘This is the most amazing thing I’ve discovered.’ That spirit of discovery is part of our store.”

New Material Books is currently open Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. See their website for updates, as they’re subject to change.