Around Indies

Books & Books to Open New Location

Books & Books is moving into the historic former Sears Tower on the campus of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, reported the Miami Herald. The bookstore will have a café, which will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. The menu will range from snacks to burgers to big plates. The new Books & Books, which will have 2,500 square feet of indoor space and 6,000 square feet of outdoor space, will have greater focus on the café portion of the business than at the bookstore’s other locations in Coral Gables, Miami Beach, and Bal Harbour. Owner Mitchell Kaplan said that he is excited about the new venture, which ideally they will open in late November.

Arsht Center representatives had approached Kaplan about opening a Books & Books at the center. “The idea here is to develop a concept for the Café at Books & Books that would be a destination in and of itself on our campus,” John Richard, president and CEO of the Arsht Center, told the Miami Herald.

Books & Books also has locations at Miami international Airport, Grand Cayman, and Westhampton Beach, New York.

Maple Street Book Shop Turns 50

Maple Street Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana, marked its 50th anniversary with two days of festivities last weekend. On Friday there was a party in the store with Rebecca Snedeker, the local editor of Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas (University of California Press), which is also the Young Leadership Council’s One Book One New Orleans pick for 2014, reported Gambit. On Saturday, to honor their young readers, the store hosted a children’s day, which included readings, signings, crafts, prizes, and treats.

The business is donating 10 percent of the weekend’s profits to Big Class, a local literary nonprofit.

Broadside Bookshop Celebrates 40 Years

Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, Massachusetts, is celebrating 40 years in business. The store has planned two days of festivities, which will kick off this Friday with local radio personality Bill Newman, who will broadcast his morning show from the bookstore. He will interview local writers such as Cathi Hanauer, Barry Werth, Suzanne Strempek Shea, and Andrea Ayvazian whose books are displayed in the store. On Saturday, children’s book authors will read their favorite stories, and later that day there will be free ice cream and a party held in the bookstore. Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz and former mayors Mary Ford and Clare Higgins will also join in the weekend’s festivities to reflect on the last 40 years, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The bookshop was founded in 1974 by Bruce MacMillan who passed away in 2001. Broadside Bookshop is now co-owned by his widow, Lisa d’Errico, along with Bill Clements, Roxie Mack, and Nancy Felton, all previous employees of MacMillan.

DIESEL Celebrates 25 Years

DIESEL, A Bookstore is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Oakland store with a 25-hour celebration (during store hours) beginning Friday, September 26. The party will begin with pie and drinks, and all new books will be 15 percent off. In the evening, there will be a performance of bluegrass music. On Saturday, the sales continue with all children’s books 15 percent off. There will be more food, drinks, games, and prizes, and live music. Saturday will end with a night of Literary Karaoke. On Sunday, all used books will be 15 percent off, and local author Siobhan Adcock will be present to discuss and sign her novel, The Barter.

DIESEL, which is owned by John Evans and Alison Reid, also has locations in Brentwood and Larkspur, California.

Gibson’s Wins Independent Spirit Award

Gibson’s Bookstore of Concord, New Hampshire, won the 2014 Spirit Award, which recognizes excellence in a bookstore member of the New England Independent Booksellers Association. The award, sponsored by the Book Publishers Representatives of New England, will be given at the NEIBA fall trade show this month in Providence, Rhode Island.

Store owner Michael Hermann won two nights of lodging and meal tickets at the trade show for a store employee who otherwise may not have been able to attend, according to the Concord Monitor. Hermann named employee Ryan Foley as the recipient.

Politics & Prose Will Offer Writer Retreats

Politics & Prose bookstore has teamed up with Phyllis Theroux, owner of Writers’ Cottage in Ashland, Virginia, to offer customers a chance to participate in writing retreats. Susan Coll, the bookstore’s events and programs director, plans on using the cottage for small group seminars consisting of eight writers, each led by a different author. The first five-day workshop will take place from November 7 to 11 and will cost $1,250. The class will be taught by Washington writer Howard Norman, a professor at the University of Maryland and the author of Next Life Might Be Kinder, according to The Republic.

“The cottage might be a good place for book groups to meet for a retreat, or one of our regular Politics & Prose classes could spend a week there,” Coll said to The Republic. “We plan to offer a variety of options with different writers focusing on different themes, like poetry, nonfiction, or mystery.”

New Bookstore Opens With a Focus on Global Books

Daybreak International Bookstore, a new business in St. Paul, Minnesota, is celebrating its grand opening this Friday from 6:00 to-9:00 p.m. with live music and refreshments.

The nonprofit store, founded by Tamara Gray, will focus on global books with themes like social justice, religion/spirituality, women’s issues, travel, language, children’s books, and literature. Preopening events included a News Night on Wednesday, where customers were invited to check out and discuss news in languages from across the globe, and a Poetry Share on Thursday, according to the Pioneer Press.