R.J. Julia Featured on ABC

To celebrate Tuesday’s release of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Gray in paperback, R.J. Julia Booksellers [5] in Madison, Connecticut, held a party in the store, complete with afternoon martinis. WTNH, a Connecticut affiliate of ABC, covered the celebration with a video clip of customer reactions [6]. The store sold about 50 copies in 20 minutes, WTNH reported.

Bookmans Named a Retail Finalist

The National Retail Federation has announced the 20 finalists in its “This is Retail” [7] video contest, and among them is Bookmans Entertainment Exchange [8], which has several Arizona locations.

The contest was created to remind consumers that retail lies at the heart of every community. The finalists are in pairs of “match-ups” and voting is now open to the public [9] to choose their favorite videos. Contest finalists range from small businesses to national retail chains, and from wine shops to sporting goods retailers. Visit the NRF website to vote for Bookmans [9].

Queen Anne Books Finds a Buyer

Yesterday, Queen Anne Books [10] in Seattle, Washington, tweeted that the store has been sold to Katharine Hershey, a regular customer of the store.

The news that owner Patti McCall was selling was announced last month [11], when she emailed her customers, saying she was looking for a buyer “who will bring fresh energy and ideas to a business undergoing a radical and exciting transformation.”

Cash Mob Raids Longfellow Books

On Thursday night, Local Thunder, an organization in Portland, Maine, organized a cash mob of 50 people to raid Longfellow Books [12] with $20 in hand. Co-owner Stuart Gersen told the Bangor Daily News [13] that he hadn’t seen this many people in the store at once since Christmas.

“I only recognize a few of these people,” Gersen said. “So this could be a lot of new customers, which is probably as important as the $20 they’re carrying. … You know how much effort businesses go through to get people through the door? I don’t know how much this is worth in advertising.”

La Casa Azul to Open its Doors

After six years of campaigning, Aurora Anaya-Cerda will be opening La Casa Azul, a bricks-and-mortar bookstore specializing in Latino culture.

“I feel like this bookstore is a perfect fit for this neighborhood, because it will have those traditional (Latino) components and those elements in terms of design,” Anaya-Cerda told the NY Daily News [14]. She has plans to make the store into a “community place” that combines her passions and culture.

Anaya-Cerda started a traveling bookstore six years ago, and launched a website in 2008. With the funds she raised through an IndieGoGo campaign last fall, [15] and the contributions of an anonymous “angel investor,” Anaya-Cerda will be able to open her store in the Spring.