The former CEO of Tattered Cover had hoped to make his comeback with another independent bookstore called Denver Book Society. It ended up being a short story.

A month after the bookstore opened in Uptown Denver, Kwame Spearman is no longer running the business.

The store’s founding partner Richard Garvin will now be the sole owner of the Denver Book Society at 1700 N. Humboldt St. and Spearman has left, as his presence was causing strains with the community since its opening, the bookstore announced Friday afternoon.

“Kwame is passionate about preserving independent bookstores and I’m appreciative of his early contributions,” Garvin said in a news release. “However, his continued involvement in Denver Book Society is not serving the mission of this bookstore.”

Garvin stated he is committed to earning the trust of the community.

When asked for comment, Spearman pointed The Denver Gazette to his letter published in Westword in which he said it was always the plan to leave the bookstore fully in Garvin’s hands.

“This transition is not a change in direction. It is the completion of the original plan,” he wrote.

He also mentioned his past actions have hurt the Denver Book Society and said part of being a public figure is getting things wrong and being “misunderstood” and “mischaracterized.”

“At times, those dynamics have been unfairly attached to the Denver Book Society and to Rich,” he wrote. “That has been difficult to see, and it is something I take seriously. The bookstore should never carry that weight, and I want to make sure it does not moving forward.”

OLD COMMENTS SPARK PUSHBACK

Spearman was the CEO of Tattered Cover between 2020 and 2023, when it rapidly expanded to McGregor Square, Westminster and Colorado Springs.

He later ran for Denver mayor and left Tattered Cover as CEO.

The bookstore amassed a lot of debt, according to court documents, struggling to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and online competition — leading it toward bankruptcy and its eventual sale. 

During his failed campaign in 2023, he said Denver should collaborate with federal immigration officials again and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could detain immigrant workers in the suburbs when they go back home from their jobs in Denver, 9News reported.

It’s been a flash point as his comments have resurfaced online in a time when pushback has grown against President Donald Trump’s ramped-up immigration enforcement. 

“Around the metro area, there are opportunities for that cooperation between the suburban cities and the counties with the federal government,” he said in 2023.

The announcement on Friday said Garvin and the Denver Book Society are “firm supporters of immigrant rights.”

The Denver Book Society pledged to have a shelf of books featuring authors of diverse cultural backgrounds and committed to donating 25% of proceeds of those book sales to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. 

The Denver Book Society was founded after Garvin and Spearman failed to win the bid to buy Tattered Cover, which was bought by Barnes and Noble for $1.8 million.

Garvin had an events business in San Francisco, moved to Denver during the pandemic and reached out to Spearman to help save Tattered Cover from its bankruptcy.

He asked Spearman to serve as a consultant because Garvin didn’t have a background in bookstore management.

Garvin also sits on the board of directors for Aspen Words, a literary organization founded in 1976, and Opera Colorado. He also is a patron of  Denver Art Museum’s Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and Contemporary Collectors Circle.

The Denver Book Society posted a letter from Garvin on its Instagram on Friday saying he listened to the community about their concerns.

“This is my greatest passion project; I’m sorry that personnel choices alienated the Denver community and that I failed to recognize these issues in advance,” Garvin said. “I hope that the steps we’re taking will instill confidence that we’re committed to creating a safe gathering place for inclusive conversation, and literary programming that inspires connection.”