Have you been wondering who is behind the Tucson Tome Gnome? Wonder no more! The Tucson Tome Gnome is run by three good friends who share a life-long love of all things bookish. One evening during the summer of 2021, these three friends met for dinner (burgers!) and chatted about how wonderful it would be to bring some joy and random kindness to the Tucson community by hiding books around town for people to find. The hope was that people would read the books, love them, and then hide them for others to find – leading to a “pay it forward” model of community bookish joy! With this idea taking shape, the group decided to make it a reality. A few weeks later Tucson Tome Gnome was launched.

So, who are the Tome Gnome’s Helpers?

• Mary Ellen Flynn has called Tucson home for 12 years and has had a varied career including as a front desk manager and auditor at hotels on Cape Cod, as an entrepreneur running a medical billing company, as a Jill-of-all-trades at the San Francisco Chronicle, and (most recently) as a Project Manager at the University of Arizona. Now she loves spending time with her family and reading to the little ones in her life. She is also the resident cookie baker and voice of the gnome, supplying the gnome’s helpers with weekly baked goods and “gnomisms” that fuel Tome Gnome planning sessions. 

• Jody Hardy has called Tucson home for the past 12 years and has dedicated her life to books and authors as a local bookseller and volunteer with the Tucson Festival of Books. Jody is currently the manager at Mostly Books and is an expert at helping people find their next favorite reads. She is also the resident book suggester, always knowing which books the Tucson Tome Gnome should consider hiding and sharing with the community. 

• Emily Walsh has called Tucson home for the past 10 years and is a nonprofit and higher education operations professional. She is also a volunteer with the Tucson Festival of Books and serves on the Development Council for the UA Poetry Center. Emily loves giving back to the community and growing Tucson as a bookish town. She is the resident strategist and social media/website manager for the gnome (figuring it out as she goes!). Emily was also the instigator behind bringing the Tucson Tome Gnome to life.

We’re so excited that you’ve stopped by! We can’t wait to see how Tucson Tome Gnome continues to grow and evolve. Thanks for joining us on this journey and supporting our dream of bringing more bookish joy to the Tucson community!