Dave Eggers

Mr. Eggers rose quickly to literary stardom with his 2001 national best seller A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Which I am re-reading. He parlayed that success the following year into a tutoring workshop for students, supported by volunteer staff of more than 1,500 teachers, writers, editors and parents, at a building known as 826 Valencia (both the workshop's name and the street address) in San Fran.'s mission district. Eggers' aims to make learning fun, the space is fronted by a pirate shop that sells everything from planks by the foot and lard by the pound to parrots and peg legs. Already a wild success in the neighborhood, 826 has now spread across the country. To date, there are branches in 6 cities, with a 7th slated to open in Boston, this month. In keeping with the tradition of quirky storefronts, Boston 826 will sell crpto-zoology essentials. In Seattle, they sell space travel items and in Brooklyn it is Superhero supplies.