The latest independent bookstore added to former President Bill Clinton's My Life (Knopf) book tour schedule is Book Revue, Long Island's largest independent bookstore, in Huntington, New York.
That Bookstore in Blytheville's Mary Gay Shipley had been courting former President Bill Clinton, hoping to convince him to stop by the store, "since he signed the contract" for My Life (Knopf). Her perseverance has paid off: Clinton will be visiting That Bookstore in Blytheville, Arkansas, on Thursday, July 29, at 12:30 p.m.
From May 8 to June 3, 2004, the Lonely Planet Independent Bookstore Tour traveled to 26 states, visiting more than 100 independent bookstores. During the trip, which began in New York and ended in Chicago at this year's BookExpo America, the Lonely Planet crew amassed hundreds of great photos of the interiors and exteriors of stores situated up and down the east coast, in the southeast and central U.S. The photos, which were part of Lonely Planet's exhibit at BEA, were a big draw, as independents took in what other booksellers were doing in other regions.
In an effort to take advantage of Denver's burgeoning suburban market, Tattered Cover Book Store will be opening a third location, in Highlands Ranch, a southwestern Denver suburb. "We're expanding into a really growing market there," said Cathy Langer, buyer for Tattered Cover and an ABA Board member. "We've been looking long and hard for just the right location, and we're really excited this has worked out."
Anchorage, Alaska's Cook Inlet Book Company recently partnered with Kraft Foods to donate $50,000 worth of books to public and private school libraries throughout Anchorage. Schools that participated in the "Shop for Literacy" program by gathering Kraft proof-of-purchase labels won a percentage of the $50,000 book credit redeemable at Cook Inlet.
Liberty Bay Books' Suzanne Droppert said she didn't have "a lick" of experience when she bought her bookstore in 1996. But she quickly learned the skills needed to develop a bookstore to suit the interests of the diverse city of Poulsbo, Washington, a suburb of Seattle with large Scandinavian and Native American communities.
Peter Bobeck, retail real estate developer and owner of Mitchell Books, which opened on July 19 at the Covington Plaza mall in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is serious about making his 22,300-square-foot store an experience like no other.
After several months of failed negotiations with her landlord to lower her store's rent -- and a near eviction -- Susan Danner, owner of Danner's Books in Muncie, Indiana, announced that the store would be reduced in size from 6,000 to around 4,000 square feet to make way for a Subway restaurant franchise, which is expected to move into the space in the next few months.
After last year's shakeup at the Concord Bookshop in Concord, Massachusetts, which resulted in the store's three longtime managers being relieved of their managerial duties, they and many of the remaining staff resigned in frustration.
The downloadable PDF flier of August "We Also Recommend" titles, which includes bibliographic information, jacket images, and booksellers' quotations, is now available (click here).
Titles on the August Book Sense Picks fliers, which were sent to stores with Book Sense in the July Red Box, can be reviewed at news.bookweb.org/read/2687.
The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.
Independent bookstores act as community anchors; they serve a unique role in promoting the open exchange of ideas, enriching the cultural life of communities, and creating economically vibrant neighborhoods.
Liberty Bay Books' Suzanne Droppert said she didn't have "a lick" of experience when she bought her bookstore in 1996. But she quickly learned the skills needed to develop a bookstore to suit the interests of the diverse city of Poulsbo, Washington, a suburb of Seattle with large Scandinavian and Native American communities.
After several months of failed negotiations with her landlord to lower her store's rent -- and a near eviction -- Susan Danner, owner of Danner's Books in Muncie, Indiana, announced that the store would be reduced in size from 6,000 to around 4,000 square feet to make way for a Subway restaurant franchise, which is expected to move into the space in the next few months.