Around Indies

Here’s what’s happening in the world of indie bookstores this week:

In California, President Michael Tucker and vice president, marketing and human resources Margie Scott Tucker will retire from the Books Inc. group of bookstores in October. Andy Perham, current director of operations, will succeed Tucker as president and CEO when he retires on October 31.

Round Table Bookstore in Topeka, Kansas, will host a grand opening on July 5.

The new owner of the Curious George Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will be Astra Titus.

Half Price Books will re-open its Concord, California, location later this year.

Partners Village Store in Westport, Massachusetts, will celebrate its 40th anniversary on May 25.

The Green Arcade in San Francisco, California, is celebrating 10 years of business.

Loyalty Books in Washington, D.C., is looking to expand.

At Community Bookstore, in Brooklyn, New York, Hal Hlavinka has rejoined as events director, off-site programming. Helen Zuckerman has been promoted to event coordinator, in-store programming, focusing on in-store events and marketing and social media efforts.

At Greenlight Bookstores in Brooklyn, New York, Matt Stowe has joined at frontlist buyer, adult, effective with the fall sales season.

Doylestown Mayor Ron Strouse with Doylestown Bookshop staff and family at the Bourough's Council meeting. Photo credit: Colleen Dunn.

Chapters Books & Gifts in Seward, Nebraska, hosted former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Ted Kooser’s book release party for his new picture book Mr. Posey’s New Glasses (Candlewick) on the author’s 80th birthday in April. “Ted lives a few miles from us and has been a great supporter of Chapters since we opened 15 years ago,” said owner Carla Ketner. “In fact, he was named U.S. Poet Laureate only days before our grand opening celebration, for which I’d already booked him, so our grand opening was a much bigger event than I’d anticipated! For our 15^th anniversary, we’re hosting 15 events this summer, and his birthday party kicked off the celebration. The new book’s main character bears a striking resemblance to Ted. We haven’t asked the illustrator Daniel Duncan whether that’s coincidence.”

Reader’s Digest published a list of the most-loved bookstore in every U.S. state, which included many member stores.

The Mayor of Doylestown Ron Strouse announced a public declaration during the Borough's Council meeting upon The Doylestown Bookshop’s selection as "Best Loved Bookstore in Pennsylvania" by Reader's Digest. Owner Glenda Childs, along with her husband, daughter, and granddaughter were in attendance along with Bookshop staff and customers. 

Game of Thrones actor Kit Harrington stopped by R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut.

Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will host the 15th Annual Festival of Books and Authors on September 5 - 8.

Booksellers from Brookline Booksmith, Harvard Book Store, Porter Square Books, and Trident Booksellers and Cafe recommended 22 books to read this summer.

Manager Julia Kudravetz and Assistant Manager Sarah Valencia of New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville, Virginia, sat down with C-ville Weekly to talk about bridging the gap between the University of Virginia and the town in an effort to foster connections between the university and the community at large.

Point Reyes Books, Green Apple, DIESEL, East Bay Booksellers, and Dog Eared Books, were mentioned in a Publishers Weekly article titled “Who said indie bookstores are dying? Not in the Bay Area, thank you.”

R&B Used Books in Grand Blanc, Michigan, was featured by NBC25 News in a segment titled “Bookstore offers sale to help increase literacy.”

BookBar in Denver, Colorado, is giving free copies of Mueller Report to customers who ask.

A Book Riot contributor wrote about moving away from their favorite bookstore, Unabridged Books in Chicago, Illinois.

The Last Bookstore was included in a list of six literary gems in California.

Share your news in Around Indies! E-mail [email protected] with photos and details of what’s new at your store, whether it’s opening for business, moving to a new location, expanding, changing ownership, hosting a special event, or celebrating a milestone anniversary.