
For Keeps, a bookstore and reading room in Atlanta, is like going to a crowded kickback. A crew of regulars assembled around the tables to discuss the curated selection of books (mostly rare early editions by Black writers), talk, and hang out with its founder, 29-year-old Rosa Duffy. Her customers include Kathleen Cleaver, Tayari Jones, and Ta-Nahesi Coates, and it’s no accident that the shop attracts the clientele that it does. “I’m an artist,” Duffy insists. Whip-smart, stylish, and unreasonably friendly, she tries not to refer to herself as an entrepreneur or a business owner. She calls For Keeps an “installation,” one that reflects her passion for people and ideas.