TODAY'S NEWS

DC’s Olsson’s Books Closes
by Calvin Reid
Olsson’s Books and Records has filed for liquidation under the chapter 7 bankruptcy laws and has closed its doors after 36 years selling books in the Washington D.C. area. All five of its current Washington D.C.-area stores have been closed. The firm applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July with plans to reorganize and cut costs by closing some of its stores. But a combination of low sales and rising rent was more than the DC metro-area indie chain could overcome. Read on »

Tartt Moves to Little, Brown
by Matthew Thornton
Little, Brown publisher Michael Pietsch has acquired the next book by Donna Tartt; Amanda Urban at ICM sold North American rights. The focus of the new novel, as yet untitled, is a young man, guilt-stricken and damaged after the death of his mother, who is drawn into an underworld of theft and corruption by a stolen piece of art that exercises an increasing power over him. Publication is scheduled for 2012.

Tartt’s defection is the second major loss for Knopf, and for editor Gary Fisketjon, this year, after Richard Ford’s move to Ecco in February. Urban is also Ford's agent. Fisketjon edited Tartt’s debut, The Secret History, which has sold more than 5 million copies, as well as 2002’s The Little Friend. In a release, Tartt said, “I am delighted to be at Little, Brown, home of Salinger and Evelyn Waugh, one of the most creative and forceful publishing companies today.”

Amazon Bookstore to Be Renamed True Colors
by Claire Kirch
Three months after a transfer in ownership from Barb Wieser and a group of eight co-owners to Ruta Skujins, Amazon Bookstore Coop is changing its name. The 38-year-old feminist bookstore will now be known as True Colors Bookstore. The name change should occur within 30 days, according to Jess Chandler, the store’s manager.

Chandler explained that the store needed to switch its name because under the terms of an out-of-court settlement reached in a 1999 trademark infringement lawsuit brought against online giant Amazon.com by the feminist bookstore, rights to the Amazon name reverted to the Internet retailer if ownership of the 2,800-square-foot bricks-and-mortar store in south Minneapolis changed hands. “We’re changing the name to True Colors in keeping with the spirit of the store,” Chandler said, explaining that the store will continue to specialize in books by feminist and lesbian authors.

New Owners for Harvard Book Store
by Judith Rosen
Four months after Frank Kramer put Harvard Book Store in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass., up for sale, the two-generation independent founded by his father in 1932 was purchased by Jeff Mayersohn and Linda Seamonson of Wellesley, Mass. “We wanted someone who would treasure what we built,” said Kramer, who attended last month’s NEIBA convention with Mayersohn, who will serve as store president. Mayersohn told PW that he intends to retain general manager Carole Horne, who has been with Harvard for more than 35 years, and the rest of the management team. Kramer will stay on as a consultant for several months and will continue to work with Cambridge Local First, which he cofounded in 2005. Read on »

Penguin Merges Gotham and Avery
By Rachel Deahl
In a move to bring two nonfiction imprints under the same roof, Penguin is putting Gotham Books and Avery Books under a single management team. Through the move, which will seek to keep the two brands distinctive, Gotham Books president William Shinker will oversee both imprints as president and publisher. Also, Lisa Johnson will now be head of publicity for both imprints as v-p and associate publisher of Gotham Books and Avery Books. Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Borders Issues Warrant to Pershing
In keeping with its April agreement signed with Pershing Square Capital that provided Borders with an infusion of funds, the retailer has issued warrants to the hedge fund to purchase an additional 5.15 million shares of the company’s stock at $7.00 per share. The warrants are exercisable until October 9, 2014. Under the original agreement, Borders was required to issue the warrants if it had not found a new buyer by September 30. The warrants will increase Pershing’s stake in the company, which already controls about 29% of Borders’s stock.

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Oprah is Sailing Home; Delilah; Happy Birthday, OED!
Today, Oprah chats with Zen master and poet Norman Fischer, author of Sailing Home: Using Homer's Odyssey to Navigate Life's Perils and Pitfalls (Free Press, $25). After the jump: Diahann Carroll, Salman Rushdie and Peggy Noonan. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Gridiron Chatter
Chuck Burgess, coauthor with Jim Baker of A View from the Booth: Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti 25 Years of Broadcasting the New England Patriots (Rounder Books) was interviewed on the Patriots pre-game show September 21 on WBCN. Pictured here (l. to r.) are: Burgess; Gary Tanguay, WBCN pre-game show host; and Howie Sylvester, executive producer of the WBCN Patriots Network. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

To access the latest issue of Publishers Weekly no matter where you are, be sure to take a look at PW's Virtual Edition -- available online anytime. If you're not already a subscriber, take a look at a sample issue here.