New stores are opening in Tulsa and Cleveland, while a store in Rhode Island is celebrating its fifth anniversary as an indie this weekend. It was formerly a Waldenbooks.
Events
Festival Neue Literatur (Feb. 25-27): This annual festival features authors from Germany, Austria, and the U.S., and takes place in a variety of venues in New York City, including Book Court in Brooklyn and McNally Jackson in Manhattan.
Search for Meaning Book Fest in Seattle (Feb. 27): This year’s festival features more than 50 authors, including keynoter Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond Mountains.
Openings
Magic City Books to Open in Tulsa: The newly formed non-profit Tulsa Literary Coalition is planning to open a for-profit indie bookstore in the Brady Arts District early next year. Cindy Hulsey, executive director of the coalition, will take on the role of general manager of the bookstore, which will include a cafe, meeting room, and newsstand.
Visible Voice Books Could Reopen in Cleveland: A former funeral home might seem like an unlikely spot for a restaurant and a bookstore. But bookstore owner Dave Ferrante, who recently purchased the building, thinks it might work for the bookstore he closed in 2014. He still has 60,000 books in storage and would like to reopen the bookstore alongside former neighbor Crust restaurant.
Other News
Wakefield Books Celebrates Its 5th: Wakefield Books in Wakefield, R.I., is marking its fifth anniversary this weekend with a storewide sale. This is one of the few indies to rise from the ashes of a Waldenbooks.
Inklings Staff Raise Money for Coworker’s Heart Transplant: Mimi Applebaum, a bookseller at Inklings in Yakima, Wash., was diagnosed with carcinoid syndrome cancer of the liver 16 years ago. Because of the disease, she needs a heart transplant. A newly formed committee of past and former Inklings booksellers is trying to raise $85,000 to cover Applebaum and her husband’s expenses; they will have to relocate 200 miles from their home. Tax-deductible donations can be made for Applebaum at the National Foundation for Transplants website.
ABFE Joins Protest Over Cancelled Play in Miami: American Booksellers for Free Expression joined the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, and Arts Integrity Initiative in signing a statement protesting the North Miami Beach JCC’s decision to cancel Crossing Jerusalem after four performances because its message was “inappropriate and troublesome.”
Book Exchange in Kokomo Struggles: “Trying whatever I can brainstorm to keep this bad boy open,” owner Monica Pratt posted on Facebook last week. When she bought it a couple years ago, business was down. But she hasn’t been able to turn it around and is looking for the community to support it.
Closings
St. Mark’s Last Day Sunday: After nearly 40 years, the iconic New York City bookstore in the East Village will close for good at the end of the day on February 28.
