After closing its doors on Front Street at the end of October and originally planning to continue as an online business, Brilliant Books announced Friday it is filing for bankrupty and will be unable to fulfill outstanding orders and subscriptions or offer any refunds.

Owner Peter Makin wrote in an email he had been trying to keep Brilliant Books going as a business following the closure of its brick-and-mortar store. "I truly believed that, with your loyal support and our marketing reach, we would find a way to continue," he wrote. "It soon became clear that selling our remaining books, shelves, and other assets had not raised nearly enough for us to go on. We had expected a significant sum, enough to cover our liabilities. We did not get close. We started this new life already overdrawn. We simply have no money and can no longer purchase books."

Accordingly, "because the business is out of money and credit, I am now working through a formal bankruptcy process to wind down Brilliant Books," Makin continued. "As part of that process, I am no longer able to fulfill outstanding orders or subscriptions, and I am not able to issue refunds. I know that is not the outcome you expected when you placed your trust, and your reading, in our care. I am deeply sorry to be writing this instead of sending tracking numbers and monthly picks."

Makin said the company stopped taking new orders "once it became clear we might not be able to keep our side of the bargain. About two weeks ago, when it became apparent we were facing a serious crisis, we stopped processing all new orders for both books and subscriptions. We removed the 'buy' button from the website so no one could send money for anything we weren’t confident we could supply." He noted that "in a formal bankruptcy, all remaining obligations are handled through the court and its appointed trustee, and there will be an official process for anyone who needs to file a claim."

Makin said the situation has caused the "most painful grief I have ever known, not only for the loss of a store I spent eighteen years building, but for the trust that readers, subscribers, and friends of the store placed in me that I have not been able to fully honor. I am deeply sorry, and I feel a profound sense of responsibility and regret for letting people down. So many of you have stood by me and this store for years, and I know I have not been able to keep every promise I made."

The store owner noted in closing that "with an irony you might expect from Brilliant Books, we do have a large batch of Christmas books and goodies that were bought months ago, specifically for pop-ups, before everything came to a head. They are already paid for and sitting in boxes. Rather than leave them there, we are going to bring them out for one last Brilliant Books pop-up on Saturday, November 22 at The Crooked Tree Arts Center."

Only books will be sold at the table, no future orders or subscriptions, according to Makin. "The books for this final pop-up were purchased months ago; we are not using new customer money to buy stock," he wrote.