A bookstore opens in a country store in Massachusetts; an indie returns to Missouri; new stores prep for opening in New Jersey and Oklahoma early next year; and more.
B&N and Rutgers to Open in Downtown Newark in February: Newark, N.J., is the latest community to get a boost to its downtown revitalization plans from the opening of a Barnes & Noble Education bookstore in conjunction with a local university, Rutgers-Newark. The 10,000 sq. ft. bookstore will be part of a mixed-use redevelopment, which includes a Whole Foods Market and a Marcus Samuelsson restaurant. Earlier this month Monroe College and Barnes & Noble Education opened a downtown store in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Magic City Books Opening in Tulsa: Tulsa Literary Coalition (TLC), a not-for-profit organization started by former Tulsa City librarian Cindy Hulsey and Jeff Martin, founder of Booksmart Tulsa, will open the for-profit Magic City Books early next year. Hulsey told Bookselling This Week that income from the 3,700 sq. ft. bookstore will be used to enable the coalition to become self-sustaining. The store will have a café, a meeting space, and offices for TLC.
Soft Opening for Reader’s World in Missouri: Cowley Distributing, which previously owned Warrensburg Books and Toys in Warrensburg, Mo., returned to the city following the closing of a Hastings store. The new, general interest bookstore, called Reader’s World, had a soft opening in the Midtown Connection Shopping Center earlier this month.
Veteran’s Voice Bookstore Opens Inside the “Postie”: Bob Neson and his partner, Marsha Robitaille, recently held a grand opening for Veteran’s Voice Bookstore, which they opened inside Egypt Country Store (aka the “Postie”) in Scituate, Mass. The bookstore is intended to promote veteran-authored books and DVDs. In the new year Robitaille plans to host monthly book readings and invite book clubs to meet authors.
Author and Bookseller Crystal Wilkinson Named a Southerner of the Year: Crystal Wilkinson, who co-owns The Wild Fig Books in North Lexington with her partner, Ron Davis, was one of Southern Living magazine’s Southerners of the Year. “At first glance,” wrote the magazine, “author Crystal Wilkinson’s shop, The Wild Fig, might just look like any other small, independent bookstore, but inside it’s become something of a town hall where just as many discussions are had over a new bestseller as about gentrification, race relations, and city issues.” Wilkinson received the Ernest J. Gaines Award for her debut novel, Birds of Opulence.
