Bill Callaghan

Local author Bill Callaghan has seen amazing success with his latest book, Raised With Praise … How My Parents Made Me a Happy Soul, and in an unexpected market – Menards. Callaghan asked if his book could be sold locally, at both the east and west locations, and sales skyrocketed. So he contacted the St. Louis distribution center, and has now managed to get the book on the shelves of 50 test stores across the nation.

“Menards wasn’t even on my radar,” says Callaghan. “I noticed that they had a book section, so I called and asked if they would be interested in taking on this book by a local author.” The phone call sealed the deal that put his book on display at Menards.

A recent coincidence on a plane made Callaghan realize the extent of his book’s impact. He was reading his book in his seat when a 22-year-old student from the University of Memphis commented, “Great book, huh?” He replied “You think?”, amazed that his book made it this far from Eau Claire. A professor from the university had assigned the book for a class that the student had taken the previous semester. Remembering that his book was sold in theMemphis Menards, Callaghan is almost positive the professor found the book there.

For other local authors, it’s hard to know if they’d have similar success. We specifically asked Menards about the possibility of other local books appearing on their shelves, and they chose not to comment. Yet Callaghan said, “I think they would be open to it. You never know if you don’t try.”