In Brief: June 10

Black Is Back (from Tour)

Holly Black recently finished an 11-city tour for her latest novel, White Cat (S&S/McElderry, May), the first in her new Curse Workers fantasy series. Black visited bookstores, schools, and libraries—as well as the Rochester Book Festival—and also joined up with other S&S authors including Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Lisa McMann. Seen here, Black (l.) meets with a fan during her event with Cassandra Clare at the Children's Store at the Vero Beach Book Center in Vero Beach, Fla.

HarperTeen’s online/offline Supernatural Summer promotion returned for its second year, as five YA authors did events in six U.S. cities last week. The joint events drew large crowds (300 at B&N in Alpharetta, Ga.); the Supernatural Summer Web site offers photos and blog posts from the tour, as well as other interactive offerings. Seen here, l. to r., at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego are writers Kim Harrison, Ellen Schreiber, Kimberly Derting, and Kelley Armstrong (Aprilynne Pike was the fifth participating author).

This past weekend marked the grand opening of the new flagship bookstore for independent children’s book publisher Barefoot Books in Concord, Mass. Seen here, Susan Reed, local songwriter and author of Up, Up, Up! (Barefoot, Mar.), performed for a standing-room-only crowd at the opening event. The new 2,300-square-foot space is more than 35% larger than Barefoot’s previous location in Cambridge, and will enable the store to hold more workshops, parenting classes, and yoga classes for kids.

Australian author Richard Harland recently visited the U.S. to promote his new book Worldshaker (S&S, May), a steampunk novel about a boy being groomed to command a city-sized ship who learns unsettling truths about his world. Harland visited bookstores in San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati, and New York City. In keeping with the book’s theme, Harland (r.) dressed in steampunk garb, and at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., he teamed up with the steampunk group The Brose Brothers, who also appeared in costume.

Last Saturday, author Mary Nethery celebrated the release of her picture book, The Famous Nini: A Mostly True Story of How a Plain White Cat Became a Star (Clarion, June), illustrated by John Manders, at an event at Eureka Books in Eureka, Calif. Based on the life of an actual feline, the picture book is about a homeless cat that’s taken in by a Venetian café owner in the 1890s and becomes a celebrity. A furry “ambassador” from the Humboldt County Humane Society also attended the launch (seen here with Nethery). Throughout June, which is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, anyone who adopts a cat from the Humboldt County Humane Society will receive a copy of Nethery’s book, courtesy of Eureka Books. Photo: Esparza Photography.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, Ct., owner Roxanne Coady will donate more than 15,000 books for students in kindergarten through eighth grade at all the schools in New Haven. Three major publishers all donated books to the cause, but Coady still needs some help sorting books, loading trucks, and distributing books, as well as the use of a couple more trucks. To volunteer, email Stephanie Roth or call 203-245-3959.