Sunday, January 17th, 2010, marked the last book signing and presentation by an author at Amicus Books Literary Arts Center and Community Bookstore, located in the older part of Marysville, California, on 413 D Street. Author Michael Don Hubbartt presented his newly published book, The Sutter Buttes (Arcadia Publishing, 2010), to a large turn-out in spite of the weather forecast of a major storm. Mr. Hubbartt offered a comprehensive history of the Sutter Buttes, known as the world's smallest mountain range, a familiar landmark to residents of the Sacramento Valley.

Since its inception in 2005, Amicus Books' primary purpose was as a community literary arts center serving readers, writers, authors, and publishers. Some examples of the center's fine work follow:

• Wordcolors, an anthology of poetry, short stories and photography, in collaboration with the members of the first literary program, Poetry from The Green Chair.
• Downtown Marysville Art Chautauqua, in collaboration with local businesses, artists, and writers as a regular venue for the literary and visual arts.
• Intrepid Press, a 'zine, written, edited and directed by local writers and artists, ages 16 to 23.
• Educational and literary events, including presentations by authors Chris Enss, Jennifer Basy-Sander, Candy Chand, Richard Beban, Selden Edwards, Lueza Gelb, Erica Ross-Krieger, and John Esam.
• Moments in Marysville's History, a bi-monthly history discussion group, hosted by Marysville City Historian, Henry Delamere.
• The Better World Book Club that meets once a month to discuss a literary selection, and then applies what they have learned toward bettering their community by volunteering, continuing education, and starting other local programs, projects and non-profits.
• Events for the Literary Lounge's authors, poets, and illustrators in collaboration with the Yuba-Sutter Regional Arts Council. For example, in 2008, there was a fifties' style “mock-tail party”, and in 2009, the theme for the event was the seventies', complete with hors-d'œuvres and disco music.
• Annual Christmas teas with various themes, such as Victorian and mystery.
• The Literary Lounge, a group of writers, poets, publishers, and illustrators.

According to co-directors James and Kara Davis, Amicus Books was a unique experiment in funding a community project, in this case a literary arts center, solely through community support without grants or handouts. As James Davis explained, “Once the bookstore and community center have been closed, the project will be reorganized and evolved to focus on services that best meet the needs of the literary community—editing, publishing, publicity, freelance writing, and author coaching. We are grateful to all our community supporters for their past support and ask for the continued support in fulfilling the goals of this new venture.”

When Louise Miller, who was a Better World Book Club member, Literary Lounge board member, and a Victorian tea host learned of the closure, she was saddened. “My home away from home is closing,” she said. “The friendships I made at Amicus will endure, but the sparkling events hosted in this beautiful book-filled space will end. The loss makes me sad for myself and for the community.”
Amicus Books will remain open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 am to 5 pm, and on Saturdays from 10 am to 5 p.m. For more information, please see www.amicusbooks.com.