- 2020 Jul 02
Illinois Gets a New Indie Bookstore
The Wise Owl Bookstore opened in Streator this week.
Alabama Store Gets New Owners, Name
The Book Rack in Anniston, open for 44 years, has new owners and is being renamed Jo's Book Rack.
The Strand to Open New Store This Month
The Strand has announced it will open a new store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan this month.
Massachusetts Bookstore to Close
Booksmith Musicsmith in Orleans is closing after more than 25 years in business.
New York State's Newest Indie Opens
Odyssey Bookstore in Ithaca has opened after delays due to the pandemic.
- 2020 Jul 01
From the New York Times
The Baby-Sitters Club Netflix adaptation defies and exceeds expectations.
From Forbes
Why a Retired Cincinnati Teacher Started the Book Bus, a Mobile “Bookstore on Wheels.”
North Carolina's Newest Mobile Bookstore
After closing their storefront due to the pandemic, the owners of the Cultivator Bookstore in Murfreesboro created a bookmobile.
From Kare11
A Walk to the Store: nine-year-old girl who witnessed George Floyd death is writing a book.
Ohio Mobile Bookstore Offers U.K. Books
The Book Bus, a mobile bookstore, is still roaming the streets of Cincinnati and offering some books otherwise unavailable in the U.S.
From Variety
Team Behind YA Book Devastation Class Reveals How Animated Cover Came Together.
Texas Bookstore Still to Come
Jenny Lawson talks about the delayed opening of Nowhere Bookshop in San Antonio.
From A Mighty Girl
A Mighty Girl's 2020 Summer Reading List for Children, Teens, and Adults.
From Romper
Fourth of July Children's Books That Go Beyond Fireworks.
West Virginia Gets a New Bookstore
WordPlay, a new bookstore, is opening in Wardensville later this summer.
U.K. Booksellers Focus on Safe Shopping
The owner of Rossiter Books in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, discusses the government's guidance for safe shopping.
From Yahoo
50 Kindergarten Books to Help Foster a Love of Reading.
- 2020 Jun 30
Tennessee Gets a New Bookstore
The Light Trap Bookstore has opened in Jackson, Tenn., after the owner raised $11,000 on Kickstarter.
New Jersey Bookstore Offers Training
Kicks Mix Bookstore in Newark provides vocational job training in addition to selling books.
Upstate New York Store for Kids Adapts
Children's bookstore Treehouse Reading and Arts Center in New York Mills is adjusting to the new normal.
Maine Store Helps LGBTQ+ Community
Briar Patch Books & Toys in Bangor is helping distribute more than 100 free LGBTQ+ books to a local healthcare provider.
Many Malaysian Bookstores May Close
The future and fate of many Malaysian independent bookstores is uncertain.
Medal of Honor Comics
The Association of the United States Army is releasing the latest volume in its ongoing Medal of Honor graphic novel series. Medal of Honor: Henry Johnson by Chuck Dixon with art by P.J. Holden is a new full color graphic biography of Johnson, who served in WWI in the famed 369th Infantry Regiment, better known as the Harlem Hellfighters, and documents his heroic actions on the battlefield. The titles in the series are free to read and download.
Online Covid Comics Honor Medical Staff
The NBC News Think website has teamed with Upshot Studios, an imprint of the Artists, Writers, & Artisans comics publishing house, to produce an engrossing series of starkly rendered online comics that tell the true and inspirational stories of frontline medical workers battling the disease around the world.
Making Comics with The Believer
The Believer magazine has accumulated an impressive video archive of highly regarded comics artists offering workshops via the site about how to create original comics. Among the archived workshops are Bianca Xunise (Six Chix) on comics as resistance, Ebony Flowers (Hot Comb) on making a comics journal, Mira Jacob (Good Talk) on how to make a family comic, and the list goes on with workshops by such comics artists as Leslie Stein and Malaka Gharib.
Monumental Response
Controversy has broken out about the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park in Washington DC, a statue erected in 1876 that depicts Lincoln freeing the slaves, who are represented by a kneeling (or perhaps crouched and about to rise) Black man holding broken chains. Opposing groups want to either take it down or protect it. In the meantime, the Smithsonian magazine has discovered a letter written by Frederick Douglass who offered his contemporaneous thoughts on the statue.
Coronavirus: The Coming Book Infestation
The Millions’ Bill Morris implores a nation of authors and potential authors frantically preparing a coronavirus-driven book of some sort to just hold off for a bit. “Don’t rush, take your time, let the current horrors seep in deep before you try to make art out of this nightmare we’re all living through.”
- 2020 Jun 29
From the Washington Post
“Children’s books should celebrate diversity—not sameness.”
From Bustle
The To All the Boys Table Read for Black Lives Matter Will Tease TATB 3.
Michigan Bookstore Renamed, Reopens
That Used Book in Tecumseh has reopened as ReRead Tecumseh.
From Brightly
Julián Is a Mermaid: A Heartwarming Lesson in Identity and Unconditional Love.
Massachusetts Gets a New Comics Shop
The Laughing Shield is a new comics shop opening in North Attleboro on July 1.
From Romper
The Children's Books Beloved by Some of Our Fave LGBTQ+ Authors.
Ohio Store Thrives Despite Pandemic
Browse Awhile Books in Tipp City has long focused on online sales, which has helped it cope with the coronavirus shutdown.
From NPR
Mermaids, Werewolves and Witches: Welcome Summer with These 6 New YA Novels.
New Orleans Bookstore Relocates
Tubby and Coo's in New Orleans is moving to a location about five minutes away from its current home.
From the BBC
Winnie the Pooh apology note fetches £12,500 at auction.
Canada Needs Its Bookstores
The publisher of Cormorant Books argues that Canada cannot afford to lose any more bookstores.
- 2020 Jun 26
Maine Loses a Bookstore
Dooryard Books in Rockland is closing at the end of July, and the owner is giving away all remaining stock for free.
A Pop-Up for Black Children's Books
Cultured Books has been running a pop-up store in Tampa Bay, Fla., focused on Black children's books, since 2017.
Mississippi Welcomes a New Bookstore
The Author Shoppe has soft-opened in Hattiesburg. It offers a podcast studio and sells local art.
Franchise Expands in Georgia
A new outpost of Walls of Books is opening in Milledgeville in July. It will offer 43,000 new and used books.
Alabama Gets a New Bookstore
Red Coffee, Books & Wine has opened in Auburn.
- 2020 Jun 25
Who Controls Access to BIPOC Books?
Booksellers are the gatekeepers when it comes to readers reaching books by BIPOC authors, argues the publisher of Jacaranda Books in the U.K.
Summer Reading from Black Booksellers
Black bookstores recommend 14 books for summer reading.
Texas Loses a Bookstore
Phoenix Bookstore in Laredo is closing permanently after six months in business.
Canada Gets a New Indie Bookstore
Upstart & Crow, a new literary venue and bookstore, will open on Vancouver’s Granville Island.
- 2020 Jun 24
From the Guardian
Unfinished story by Little Women author Louisa May Alcott published for first time.
From Deadline
Film Adaptation of Timely YA Novel I’m Not Dying with You Tonight in the Works.
From Variety
Elizabeth Banks to Play Ms. Frizzle in Magic School Bus Live-Action Movie.
From Entertainment Weekly
Becky Albertalli and Katie Cotugno talk YA fandoms and uncomfortable political conversations.
From Playbill
Agent Ted Malawer Illuminates the Queer Roots of Children’s Books with New Play Everything Beautiful Happens at Night.
From the New York Times
Why I Created a Book Club for Fifth Graders: "Reading is contagious, especially in a pandemic."
From Literary Hub
21 Writers on Their Favorite Children’s Books.
From Book Riot
“Why YA Books Still Appeal to Me as an Adult.”
From Book Riot
Six Free Children’s Ebooks on the Coronavirus.
B&N Closes Upper East Side Store
Barnes & Noble plans to close its 12-year-old Manhattan location on the Upper East Side. 64 booksellers will be laid off.
Two Tahoe Bookstores to Reopen
Word After Word in Truckee, Calif., and Cuppa Tahoe in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., are both opening for in-store customers in the popular resort region.
From Mental Floss
The Choose Your Own Adventure Books You Loved as a Kid Have Now Inspired Board Games.
The Bookstore Roots of Capital Pride
A profile of Capital Pride tells the story of how one bookstore gave rise to Washington, D.C.'s annual pride celebration.
From Book Riot
Reading Pathways: Books by Francesca Lia Block.
From Brightly
Summer Reading: Book Lists and Tips for Every Age.
- 2020 Jun 23
46-Year-Old Berkeley Bookstore Closes
University Press Books, a Berkeley, Calif., mainstay, has closed after 46 years in business.
Midtown Reader Debuts Bookmobile
Tallahassee, Tenn.-based Midtown Reader has debuted an electric smart car bookmobile for book deliveries.
Indigo Closing 20 Smaller Stores
Indigo Books & Music CEO Heather Reisman said "seismic" losses have led the company to shutter 20 of its small-format Coles locations.
- 2020 Jun 22
From Madison.com
Kevin Henkes honored for his contributions to children's literature.
From the Guardian
Authors quit J.K. Rowling’s agency over transgender rights.
From USA Today
Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi to be released as a picture book due to high demand.
From the Guardian
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Spanish novelist of books for young readers and adults, dies at age 55.
- 2020 Jun 18
San Francisco's City Lights Reopens
City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco reopened this week after raising $365,000 in a single day.
San Diego Loses a Bookstore
Run for Cover Bookstore is closing on July 1.
South Carolina Store Marks Anniversary
Stonewall Books in Lancaster is celebrating one year in business.
U.K. Store Owner Urges Inclusivity
The co-owner of Max Minerva's Books in Bristol urges fellow booksellers to prioritize diversity in hiring and buying.
Crashing at Paris's Shakespeare & Co.
A writer for Lonely Planet describes how she came to camp at the iconic bookstore.
- 2020 Jun 17
From Book Riot
Children's illustrator Kadir Nelson graces two magazines, paying homage to Black Lives Matter protests.
From the New York Times
Why More Children's Books Are Tackling Sexual Harassment and Abuse.
From the Guardian
Shaun Tan becomes first person of color to win Kate Greenaway Medal.
From the Guardian
Shaun Tan: 'We're not being mean to animals—but there is evil in obliviousness.'
From the Hollywood Reporter
Animorphs Movie in the Works.
From Electric Literature
There Has Never Been a Better Time to Read Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Books.
From the Guardian
Tashi: 25 years on and more than 1 million copies sold but still an 'enchanted' delight.
From Mental Floss
Browsing Through the History of School Book Fairs.
From 100 Scope Notes
Please Accept Your (Virtual) Newbery.
From New York
The Best Children's Books for LGBTQ+ Families, According to Experts.
From GPB
Six Picture Books That Celebrate Juneteenth.
From Babygaga
The Best LGBTQ+ Books for Toddlers.
From Book Riot
14 Read-Alouds I Missed Reading with My Preschoolers.
From Book Riot
Eight Great Picture Books Written by Librarians.
Black-Owned S.C. Bookstore Gets Boost
Turning Page in Goose Creek has seen a boost in sales of anti-racist books in recent weeks.
B&N Closes Manhattan Store
Barnes & Noble has permanently closed its store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan after 12 years in that location.
Customers Return to London Bookstores
Readers returned to bookstores in London as they reopened this week.
- 2020 Jun 16
Books on Race Are Hot in Missouri
Bookstores in St. Louis are seeing a surge in demand for books about race.
Miami Chain Closes Miami Beach Shop
Books & Books is closing its location on Lincoln Road after 30 years due to high rents.
B&N Opens New Store in Florida
The new Barnes & Noble store in Sarasota has implemented the company's pandemic safety protocols.
U.K. Bookstores Have Strong First Day
U.K. bookstores were allowed to reopen on Monday and reported robust sales.
Touring Melbourne's Bookstores
Australia's cultural capital has numerous iconic independent bookstores worth exploring, even now.
Support for Black Game Developers
Humble Bundle, the pay what you wish platform offering bundles of DRM-free digital content to raise funds for charity, has launched the Fight for Racial Justice Bundle, which is offering indie games, books and comics from such publishers as Image, Paizo, Open Road Media and No Starch Press. All funds from the bundle will go to such charities as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and to the Black Game Development Fund. The bundle will end on June 23.
Bookteenth
Author L.L. McKinney is partnering with book publicist Saraciea Fennell, founder the Bronx is Reading Book Festival, to launch the Juneteenth Book Fest, a virtual book festival that will celebrate Black American writing and the Black book professionals who deliver those books to the market. The event will feature more than 30 authors among them, Angie Thomas, Eve Ewing, and Kwame Mbalia. The online event will be held on June 19, 2020.
More Good Trouble
The throngs of people marching in the streets demanding justice for the George Floyd is just the kind of effort that Congressman John Lewis would describe as “good trouble.” Indeed John Lewis: Good Trouble, is the name of a new documentary on Lewis that is directed by Dawn Porter and will debut on July 3. Much like Lewis’ National Book Award winning graphic memoir March, the documentary will look back over his life, the Civil Rights Movement and his 65 years of heroic social activism and public service to America.
Belly Up to the Virtual Bar
This Thursday, June 18, please join this reporter for the first program on Books on Tap Live, PW’s new online author interview program. To kick off the series I’ll be talking with middle grade graphic novel artist Svetlana Chmakova, author of such popular graphic novel series as Nightschool and Awkward. We’ll discuss the first book in her new series, The Weirn Books: Be Wary of the Silent Woods, which will be published this week. We’ll be live on Facebook and YouTube and we’ll be taking your questions.
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