A Brooklyn woman has won $15,000 in start-up cash from the Brooklyn Public Library for her design of an independent neighbourhood bookstore. Her plan is so crazy it just might work: “a small bookstore with a cafe, a wine bar, lots of wood and lots of brick,” she told the Daily News.

Giant bookstore chains such as Borders and Barnes & Noble don’t intimidate Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo one bit. She’s dreaming of someday opening a small, successful Brooklyn bookshop.

“It’s not impossible for an independent bookstore to survive, even when large chains are nearby,” said Stockton-Bagnulo, 29, of Park Slope.

A Canadian connection is that Stockton-Bagnulo, AKA The Written Nerd, is the events co-ordinator at McNally Robinson’s Manhattan location, which opened in 2004. It looks like the Winnipeg-based indie retailer is facing stiff competition “ even from within.