Around Indies

Anderson's & Naperville READS Bring Gaiman to 8,000

Naperville READS, a community reading project co-sponsored by Anderson's Bookshops, brought Neil Gaiman to town for a series of readings and events on February 23 and 24. Organizers estimated that 8,000 people saw the author in classrooms, auditoriums, and the bookstore.

"We were just delighted to host Neil," said Anderson's Bookshop owner and ABA Vice President Becky Anderson. "With the extent of his readership, I don't know how much better one author could fit the true meaning of our Naperville READS goals."

Gaiman summed up the event marathon on his blog: "I want to thank all at Anderson's, the staff and principals of the various establishments of education I turned up at, and everybody who came to hear me read and talk, who braved wild microphones and asked questions anyway."

Naperville READS, now in its ninth year, encourages the community to celebrate the work of one author each February. In addition to Anderson's Bookshop, the program is co-sponsored by the Naperville Public Library, Naperville School District 203, and Indian Prairie School District 204.

Harvard Book Store Publishes "Short Short Story" Collection

In honor of the shortest month of the year, Harvard Book Store held a short short fiction contest - for stories under 500 words - that drew entries from their customers in Cambridge, around the country, and around the world. 

While the store has held writing contests before, this is the first time winning entries have been compiled into a book. "It's heartening to see participation sky-rocket when we announced that winning entries would be turned into a physical book," said marketing manager Heather Gain. "The inevitable e-book takeover doesn't seem so inevitable, does it?" 

The book, Microchondria, made its debut Wednesday night at Harvard Book Store. Each of the 42 authors whose stories were featured received a copy, courtesy of the store's print-on-demand machine, dubbed Paige M. Gutenborg. 

"This is what you read about in memoirs and author bios; the first thing I’m getting published," wrote Melanie Yarbrough, one of the featured authors, on her blog. "So yeah, support local bookstores because someday they just might support you right back."