Our Staff

Kevin Royal Johnson founded Royal Books in 1996. He is originally from Arkansas, got an Engineering degree at Vanderbilt University, and after 15 years working for the government in DC, decided to move to Baltimore and do something more interesting. Royal Books originally operated on the fourth floor of a giant building that produced chemical sealant for underground pipes, and in 2002 made a permanent move to its present, more proper location on 25th Street.

Kevin has authored two books on the first edition sources for American film noir, The Dark Page (1940-1949) and The Dark Page II (1950-1965), both published by Oak Knoll Press. In 2012 he curated an exhibit of rare cinema-related photographs at the American Film Institute, Behind the Fourth Wall: Actors and Directors on the Set 1926-2001. 

His third book, The Celluloid Paper Trail: Identification and Description of Twentieth Century Film Scripts, was published by Oak Knoll Press in late 2019.

In the past two decades Kevin has worked with the archives of John Cassavetes, George A. Romero, Beauford Delaney, Chris Offutt, Andrew Offutt, Glenn Branca, Dana Andrews, Robert Kanigel, Vincent Peranio, and many others.

Kevin likes pimento cheese sandwiches toasted on one side, a good burger, and obsessing over vinyl. He enjoys watching movies and listening to music in a fashion that might be described as autistic, organizing information for purposes that remain mysterious, reading comics and comic strips published prior to 1979, studying film history, and avoiding film criticism. He resides happily on a quiet hill at the northwestern edge of Baltimore City, said by some to be unreachable unless you know the password. He does not want to go camping, avoids crowds, and depending on the topic either has little to say or can't stop talking.

Ezra Warwick was born and raised in New Orleans, but traveled north after high school, following the siren call of cooler, calmer climates. After receiving a degree in sociology from Bard College they moved to Baltimore, and, after a series of largely desultory "B" jobs—baker, barista, barback, babysitter—finally found suitable employment at Royal Books in 2019. Ezra handles the store's daily operations, including processing orders, cataloging and editing, communicating with consignors, and assisting with appraisals and collections. When not wrangling books, scripts, and other forms of rare paper, they enjoy lifting weights at the gym, hunting for antiques, cuddling with their neurotic chihuahua Lula, and cooking Cajun food with a glass of wine in one hand—although mostly they spend their time curled on the couch, watching movies with their wonderful husband, Ryan. Ezra likes avant-garde fashion, bel canto, Coca-Cola with peanuts, crooked teeth, NTS Radio, secluded swimming holes, and Letterboxd (duh), and may be bribed with strong coffee and sour candies, should the need arise.  

Tim Boniface was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and studied Fine Art in his youth at the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has been a proficient technical illustrator, a begrudging graphics artist, and a manager of book and art supply stores. These days, when not obsessing about Jasper Johns, Marcel Duchamp's Étant donnés, or endlessly rereading his beloved Thomas Pynchon novels, he spends most of his energies focused on cooking, listening to nearly any and all music he comes upon, and watching far too much television with his sweetheart of the last 25 years, Chris. An avid film lover, his ideal movie would be Carl Theodor Dryer's Ordet cast with the characters of Alex Cox’s Repo Man with a soundtrack by The Residents. Today he can be found in the bowels of Royal Books, researching and cataloging some of the amazing books, scripts, archives, and ephemera found here at Royal Books. "Sous les pavés, la plage!"

Designer
Lucy Nguyen grew up in Virginia, but has since settled in Baltimore after graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a degree in illustration. As a long time appreciator of antique books and 20th Century art and design, they've been pleased to visually document Royal Books' collection and design the tri-annual catalogs since 2022. When they don't have their nose stuck in old paper, whether it be at the store or from their own stash, their love for animation, comics, and fashion is fueling a never-ending stream of drawing, writing, and sewing projects. In their remaining free time, you can find them watching the lastest prestige TV drama or a '90s anime with their partner and two cats, or meticulously perusing a vintage clothes rack.

Beth Kopp was born and raised in Maryland and moved to Baltimore in 2020. She graduated from Goucher college with a degree in history and has a love of women’s and gender history. When she’s not at home on the couch with a book and her two cats Georgia and Simon, you can find her taking a ballet class, visiting an art museum, or out for a good meal with friends. She loves collage art, amateur knitting, and cooking in her kitchen while playing music in her headphones as loud as possible. 

Bookkeeper
Jodi Feldman is originally from New Jersey, but most recently came to us from California.  She moved to Baltimore in 2016 to escape the never-ending hamster wheel that is life in Los Angeles. She discovered a gift for math and administrative arts while volunteering at Maximum RocknRoll in the 90s and parlayed those gifts into being the Punk Rock secretary. She then parlayed those gifts into being the kooky art-lady accountant that she is now. She currently resides in Hampden with two totally adorable cats and enjoys spending the weekends with her totally adorable life-partner, Andy.  She enjoys distractedly watching “things" with a book in one hand, usually with her glasses on top of her head. Her vision of a perfect film would be Bob Clark directing a Tarkovsky film or Tarkovsky directing a Bob Clark movie. She likes early mornings, rock n roll radio, reading in bed, going to sleep before 9, and driving with the windows open. She doesn’t sit in chairs properly and always falls asleep in the movie theater. She also really loves to swim.

Shipper
Lukas Armstrong-Laird was born and raised in the great state of Vermont. He then went west, earning a degree in film and photography from Montana State University. After a year-long stint back in Vermont working in the camera business, he left once again and moved to Baltimore on a whim in 2019. He found employment first at the Inner Harbor Barnes & Noble (RIP), and then the historic Charles Theatre (long live), where he spent six very memorable years. He joined Royal Books in 2025, and his main duties include shipping and receiving, scanning new inventory, and ordering supplies. In his free time, he makes short films, writes freelance, and tries his best to play the guitar. His other interests include drinking English breakfast tea, eating Mexican food, going to Orioles games, browsing Beyond Video, ransacking the $1 CD bins at record stores, and finding the perfect pair of pants.