- 2020 Oct 01
Powell's Hires a New CEO
Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., has hired Patrick Bassett as CEO, replacing Emily Powell, who remains president.
Florida Bookstore Expands
Writer's Block in Winter Park is opening a second location.
Connecticut Loses a Bookstore
That Book Store in Wethersfield is closing permanently. It had been open since 2018.
Los Angeles Bookstore Gets New Owners
The Pop-Hop bookstore in Los Angeles will undergo changes, say new owners.
- 2020 Sep 30
Minnesota Indies Promote Early Shopping
Minnesota bookstores are offering patrons a chance of winning gift cards by visiting multiple stores in the next three months.
- 2020 Sep 29
Vroman's in Pasadena Needs More Sales
The 126-year-old California bookstore says sales are down 40% for the year, and that they need a strong fall and holiday season to survive.
Colorado Loses a Bookstore
The Innisfree Poetry Bookstore & Cafe has closed in Boulder. It had been open for 10 years.
U.K. Bookseller Covers His VIP Customers
A manager at Waterstones Canterbury reflects on his long career and several of the most important customers he has served.
- 2020 Sep 28
From NPR
New Groups Aim to Get More Latinx Stories to Young Readers.
Kansas Bookstore Is Moving Next Year
The Raven Bookstore in Lawrence will move to a new, larger location downtown.
From Deadline
Joey King to Star and Exec Produce Netflix’s Adaptation of Uglies.
Massachusetts Stores Create Community
A trio of bookstores in Worcester is striving to put the city on the map as a literary hub.
From Deseret News
How a breakup led to winning a Newbery Honor for Utah author Christian McKay Heidicker.
Maldives Resort Hiring Bookseller
The Soneva Fushi eco-resort has reopened and is hiring a "barefoot bookseller" for a six-month gig.
From NPR
Nic Stone Discusses Her New Children's Novel, Dear Justyce.
From Romper
Children's Books That Were Scarier Than Parents Actually Realized.
From Book Riot
“6 YA Books That I Needed as an Anxious Queer Teen.”
- 2020 Sep 25
Manhattan Culinary Store Raises Cash
Kitchen Arts & Letters raised $101,000 on GoFundMe to stay open after stars rallied to the cause.
Atlanta Black Bookstore Expands
Book Boutique, a Black-owned multicultural bookstore, is opening a new, 10,000 sq.-ft. store in Atlanta this October.
- 2020 Sep 24
Long Island Store Hits Milestone
Canio's Books in Sag Harbor is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Our Civic Duty to Shop at Bookstores
An editorial at 'SFGate' argues that people have a societal responsibility to buy from bookstores and namechecks several in San Francisco.
Used Bookstore Blooms in Manhattan
A new used bookstore is opening at 47 Orchard Street in Little Italy in New York City.
Montana Gets a New Bookstore
Book Therapy and Moore in Three Forks opened this week.
- 2020 Sep 23
From Time Magazine
YA author Tomi Adeyemi has been named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
From the Guardian
Elmer creator David McKee, announced as winner of the U.K.'s BookTrust lifetime achievement award, reflects on his career.
From the Paris Review
“I returned to Ramona Quimby for nostalgia. What I found was even better: a mystery.”
From Book Riot
#WorldKidLit Month: Why We Need Translated Lit for Kids.
From AJC
Authors hope 2020 turns the page in push for diverse children’s books.
From Charlotte Magazine
A Teen’s Picture Book Reflects Immigrant Experience While Raising $100,000 for Preschool.
From the New York Public Library
125 Books We Love for Teens.
Arizona Bookstore In the Spotlight
'Inc.' profiles Tempe's Changing Hands Bookstore, calling it "part bookstore, part retail theater."
From Brightly
Author-illustrator Mika Song on why “Graphic Novels Can Turn Reluctant Readers into Lifelong Book Lovers.”
Colorado Bookstore Is So Much More
Denver's Matter bookstore is also a graphic design consultancy, a print shop, and a cultural touchstone.
From Book Riot
Horror Books for Middle School: 15 Spooky Titles for Middle Grade Readers.
Chicago Store Saved by Social Media
Semicolon, a black-owned bookstore, was saved from closing by its 67,000 Instagram followers.
From Insider
20 young adult books that are perfect for fans of romantic comedies.
From Outside Magazine
The Best Books Featuring Black Children in the Outdoors.
From the New York Times
8 Picture Books About Ordinary Kids’ Everyday Activism.
- 2020 Sep 21
From Variety
Apple TV Plus unveils its newest children’s programs, including Stillwater, an animated series based on the Zen Shorts picture books by Jon J Muth.
Ohio Gets a New Bookstore
Elizabeth’s Bookshop and Writing Center, a new pop-up and online bookstore, has opened in Akron.
From Kidscreen
HBO Max picks up rights to Squish, based on the series by Jennifer and Matthew Holm.
From Book Riot
California School District Considers Classic Book Ban.
Waterstones Sheds Main Office Staff
The U.K. bookseller has eliminated 16 jobs in its main office, citing a "challenging trading climate."
From Book Riot
The Futura Is Now: Why YA Cover Design Looks the Way It Does.
From HuffPost
Mo Willems on Parenting and Inspiring Kids in 2020.
From Book Riot
9 of the Best Children’s Books About Libraries and Librarians.
- 2020 Sep 18
Amazon Books Opens in Houston
Amazon has opened a new bricks-and-mortar books outlet, making it the 23rd such location in the country.
Book Culture May Return to the UWS
An outpost of Book Culture, which shuttered a beloved store last year, may reopen on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
- 2020 Sep 17
Oregon Bookstore Destroyed by Fires
The Hermeticus Bookshop in Talent, Ore., was destroyed by wildfires and is raising money to rebuild.
Florida Bookstore On the Move
Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Fla., is relocating to a smaller location in October.
Kiwi Bookstore Opens in Pandemic
Page and Post Booksellers in Geraldine faced challenges in opening this past April, but has persisted.
New Zealand's Bookshop of the Year
Wardini Books in Hawke's Bay won the New Zealand Bookshop of the Year Award.
- 2020 Sep 16
From Oprah Magazine
The September YA pick from Reese's Book Club is Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez.
From CNN
Black lives matter in children's books, too. That's why this couple started a nonprofit.
From Entertainment Weekly
Becky Albertalli's Kate in Waiting goes deep inside the world of high-stakes high school theater.
From She Knows
Long After Sesame Street, Sonia Manzano Is Still Teaching Children About Racial Equity.
From Deadline
Brandon Victor Dixon, Broadway & Beyond Theatricals Developing Adaptation to The Magic in Changing Your Stars Book.
From NPR
The House by the Lake Is a Story of Reconciliation—and the Meaning of Home.
Dallas's New Black Bookstore
'D' magazine celebrates the opening of Enda's Booktique, a new Black bookstore in Dallas.
From Book Riot
Reading the Baby-Sitters Club for the First Time as a Twentysomething.
Milwaukee's New Black Book Bike
Niche Book Bar is a new mobile Black bookstore in Milwaukee. The owner is searching for a bricks-and-mortar location.
From Forbes
9 Children’s Books Recommended by Children’s Bookstores for Fall 2020.
Malaysians Inspired by Indie Bookstores
Six indie bookstores around Kuala Lumpur have created a 'library card' to entice customers to visit all stores and win prizes.
From Brightly
Kids Like Me: 18 Books with Diverse Main Characters.
From Romper
7 Classic Feminist Books "For Girls" That Are Subtly, Perfectly Subversive.
From Book Riot
9 Classics of Queer YA Literature.
- 2020 Sep 15
Medal of Honor: Mary Walker
The nonprofit Association of the U.S. Army has released Medal of Honor: Mary Walker by writer Chuck Dixon with art by Karl Moline and Peter Pantazis, the latest in a series of graphic biographies of Medal of Honor recipients. The comic is available for free download. Born in Oswego, N.Y., Walker is the first woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S. (Syracuse University in 1855) in addition to serving as a surgeon in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. She crossed enemy lines to treat civilians, was eventually captured and held as prisoner of war and is credited with treating her fellow prisoners and saving hundreds of lives. She is the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration that may awarded to a member of the U.S. military.
You’re Welcome: 4,094 Black Authors
The African American Literature Book Club, an online resource center, book retailer and editorial services site devoted to books by authors of African descent, has compiled more than 4,094 profiles of Black authors from around the world. The site offers capsule profiles of Black authors “from Achebe to Zora” with interviews, reviews, videos and more.
Totally Clueless?
Comics writer Anthony Del Col and artist Josh Adams have just released Totally Under Control: How The Trump Administration Ignored Every Warning About Covid-19 Until It Was Too Late, a nonfiction webcomic published by Insider.com. The methodically researched account marks the establishment of a strategic U.S. pandemic plan under the George W. Bush administration, the plan’s enhancement under Obama, and its dismantlement by the Trump administration, and the meandering national pathway from January to April 2020 leading to the country’s current situation under the pandemic: more than 182,000 Americans dead from Covid-19. This is the third nonfiction webcomic Del Col and Adams have done for Insider.com. Del Col says the duo are likely to do more such webcomics for Insider.com in addition to collecting the past series in print.
Cory Doctorow Sounds Off
Science-fiction novelist and technology activist Cory Doctorow has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the audiobook version of his new novel, Attack Surface, the third book in his acclaimed Little Brother series, and it has already raised the extraordinary sum of more than $195,000 (the goal was $7,000) with 21 days still to go in the campaign. The campaign is also a protest against DRM, digital rights management software, which prevents the sharing of digital files (“I really hate DRM. A Lot. It’s kind of my thing,” he says). It’s also a protest against audiobook retailer Audible, the audiobook division of Amazon, and what Doctorow calls its monopoly over the audiobook marketplace.
Captain Dystopia
The Millions’s Zoë Ruiz interviews novelist, political journalist, and McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers, about his new novel, The Captain and The Glory, a dystopian political satire focused on the Trump Administration that portrays the president as the cruel captain of cruise ship. Looking towards the presidential election, Eggers says, “I think that the dignity of the office will humble the next person in the way it’s supposed to.”
- 2020 Sep 14
Texas Is Getting a New Bookstore
A building in Killeen has been rezoned to allow for the development of a new bookstore.
Book Celebrates West Virginia Bookstores
'Bookstore Explorer: West Virginia' by Matt Browning documents independent bookstores across the state.
From Deadline
Rick Riordan Developing Feature Adaptations of The Kane Chronicles at Netflix.
From Entertainment Weekly
Laurie Halse Anderson and Tiffany Jackson discuss YA and the Me Too movement.
From NPR
Jacqueline Woodson Wants Kids to Know the Beauty—and the Danger —of Football.
Nova Scotia Bookstore Burned in Fire
NovelTea Bookstore and Cafe in Truro was partially destroyed in a fire early Monday morning.
From USA Today
Neil Patrick Harris on why reading is the escape kids need right now.
Saskatchewan Gets a New Store
The Penny University Bookstore opened in Regina this past Saturday.
From Entertainment Weekly
Arvin Ahmadi on how an Italian getaway inspired his new novel How It All Blew Up.
From the New Yorker
Daily Shouts: Chapter Books Rewritten to Reflect the Catastrophic Effects of Climate Change.
From Brightly
Children’s and YA Books by Latinx Authors.
From HuffPost
17 Children's Books to Help Kids Navigate Life During a Pandemic.
- 2020 Sep 11
Michigan Gets a New Black Bookstore
The Comma Bookstore and Social Hub has opened in Flint.
Fundraiser Helps Chicago Bookstore
A GoFundMe campaign aims to help keep Heirloom Books in Chicago open after the owner died suddenly last month.
California Children's Bookstore Moves
Multicultural Children's Bookstore in Richmond closed earlier this year, but is reopening in a new location.
British Columbia's Newest Bookstore Open
Kinder Books, which specializes in children's books, opened earlier this summer in New Westminster.
- 2020 Sep 10
Minnesota Store Rallies Local Businesses
Excelsior Bay Books in Excelsior is working with other local businesses to help them weather the pandemic.
Texas Bookstore Adds a Radio Station
The Novel Blend bookstore in Kingsville has made room to house a new community radio station for southeast Texas.
Chicagoland Store Expanding
Bookends and Beginnings bookstore in Evanston is opening a second location.
New Award Honors U.K. Bookstores
Eight stores are up for the inaugural Sceptre Bookshop Award, created by the Booksellers Association and Hachette to honor stores for community engagement.
Popular Indian Bookstore to Close
Wayword & Wise bookstore, opened in 2015 and perhaps the most popular store in Mumbai, is closing permanently.
- 2020 Sep 09
From the Guardian
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé: the 21-year-old British student with a million-dollar book deal.
From Variety
Westing Game Series Adaptation in the Works at HBO Max.
From NPR
Family, Identity and a Hot Ghost: Questions for Cemetery Boys Author Aiden Thomas.
From the Washington Post
Their son wanted to see more Black book characters, so they created a business to provide them.
From the Sacramento Bee
Berkeley home where famous author Ursula K. Le Guin lived hits market at $4.1 million.
From Literary Hub
Five Years Later: On the Enduring Legacy of All American Boys.
From Folks
“A Mermaid Saved My Brain”: how a fairy tale helped author Susann Cokal cope with a brain injury.
From 100 Scope Notes
Carrying the Torch: When a Character Continues with New Creators.
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