Casey Thorhauge, left, and Courtney Griffith are opening a new fantasy-only bookstore in Ottawa. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA

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Casey Thorhauge had a ready answer to the lottery question for nearly two years. “If I won, what would I do with my life? I would open a bookstore and cafe and just be happy,” she said.

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Her wish is materialising in Fables & Pages, the fantasy bookstore she and cofounder Courtney Griffith hope to open in Ottawa by early October.

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Evermore Books made the idea seem possible. Thorhauge met owner Amanda Holmes through a local book club shortly before Ottawa’s new romance bookstore opened in the Glebe. The response showed a store devoted to one genre could find an audience in Ottawa.

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“I thought if she can do this on her own, I probably could, too,” Thorhauge said.

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A January layoff, her third tech job lost in five years, sent her looking for work under her control.

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“I need to build something that’s for me that I can’t get laid off from,” she said.

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Griffith remembers asking what Thorhauge wanted to do with her life at that point. When her friend named the bookstore, Griffith was on board. “Then you should actually do that,” they said.

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Thorhauge, who works as a wedding photographer on weekends, soon realized she would need a co-founder to manage the shop when she was on location. Griffith said yes right away. “I was in 110 per cent. I said, ‘Tell me what you need me to do and we’ll make it happen.'”

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The two grew up in Barrhaven, cementing their friendship as teenagers by swapping paperbacks and trading reading recommendations. Twenty years on, they want to expand their circle — and timing is on their side.

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Canadian readers have made a strong commercial case for the venture. Fantasy titles accounted for about 13 per cent of national fiction sales in 2025, an eight-per-cent increase over the previous year, according to BookNet Canada.

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Thorhauge said invented worlds give readers room to examine power or oppression through unfamiliar rules.

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Griffith values the time such books ask readers to spend in another person’s perspective. Epic tales use magic and foreign worlds to confront topics like mental health and rigid gender roles, they said, giving readers a language to confront personal struggles.

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“You have to live inside someone else’s head for anywhere between 300 and 1,200 pages,” Griffith said. “Fantasy readers are very in touch with their empathy.”

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The pair has toured nine storefronts in central Ottawa so far, including the former Westboro Books space on Richmond Road. They are concentrating on walkable neighbourhoods where a bookstore can accommodate regular local customers.

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Ottawa’s independent bookselling community has welcomed the newcomers with open arms. Stephen Crocker and Cole Davidson of The Spaniel’s Tale reviewed their business plan and financial projections, pointing out expenses they had missed. Holmes shared what opening Evermore had taught her.

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Fables & Pages will stock new fantasy books exclusively. Thorhauge said Ottawa’s used bookstores already serve readers well, so she and Griffith saw no reason to duplicate their work. When a requested title is unavailable, they plan to direct the customer to other independent sellers in town.