Persephone Books is a female-run publishing house and London bookstore that publishes out-of-print 20th century female authors. It's a quintessential example of the kind of business built of passion, intellect and saleability that inspired Girl on the Street and What Women Make.

On my way from Brompton to Bloomsbury to interview Nicola Beauman, Persephone's founder, I had to quickly change gears from innovation and novelty-seeking to the section of my brain that strikes even closer to my heart, creative writing and its hopeful end product, publishing.

When I walked into the store, I further detached from the streamlined design arena and took in the intimate, cluttered and well-lighted store stacked sky high with books in gray and floral print covers. There I was ushered toward the back to a room that was even more cluttered and more charming, filled with the smell of new paper from boxes of books.

I tripped down a step, a graceful entrance, and took a seat opposite Ms. Bauman and settled into a worn leather chair adjusting my bags and jacket around me. When I