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Printer-friendly versionPannell Award Winners Celebrated at BEA
The winners of the 2015 Women’s National Book Association’s Pannell Awards were honored at BookExpo America’s Children’s Book & Author Breakfast on Friday, May 29.
Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois, received the award in the general bookstore category and Once Upon a Time in Montrose, California, in the children’s specialty category.
Each bookstore received a $1,000 check and a piece of original artwork from a children’s book illustrator.
Battle Creek Books Opens for Business
Battle Creek Books opened on May 1 in Battle Creek, Michigan, under the ownership of longtime resident Jim Donahue, reported Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave. Donahue’s wife, Ginny, is serving as the buyer for Battle Creek Books.
Donahue, who came out of retirement after practicing medicine for three decades, has lived in the town for 25 years. “I wanted to do something to help Battle Creek and its downtown and not compete with other businesses in any way,” said Donahue.
The bookstore, which was made possible by a retail incubator program, is 2,000 square feet and carries books, magazines, greeting cards, and posters. Events programming will include book signings and author talks. The store will also accept gently used books for in-store credit and offers $1.49 shipping anywhere in the U.S. “We aren’t reinventing the wheel. We are trying to give people what they want,” said Donahue.
An Unlikely Story Opens in Massachusetts
Children’s book author Jeff Kinney hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of his Plainville, Massachusetts, bookstore, An Unlikely Story, on May 29, the Boston Globe reported.
Shaelyn Germain, the store’s program director, said the environment is “very cozy, welcoming, and inviting. You create a new story when you are here.”
Kinney, who discussed the process of opening An Unlikely Story at Children’s Institute in Pasadena earlier this year, is the author of the New York Times bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, signed copies of which are on the shelves in the special Wimpy Kid section of the store.
Phoenix Books Rutland Welcomes Minority Co-owner
Phoenix Books, which has locations in Essex and Burlington, Vermont, is welcoming Tricia Huebner as manager and part-owner of the bookstore’s Rutland location, which will open in August, the Rutland Herald reported. Huebner’s husband, Thomas, will also be part-owner.
This is the first time that Phoenix Books owner Mike DeSanto, who lives in Milton, nearly 100 miles north of Rutland, has brought in a minority owner for any of the bookstores. “It made sense to me that we seek out someone local who has a love of books to be a part owner in Rutland,” he told the Rutland Herald. “It’s really critical that we have local involvement and a local owner in this store for me. It’s a template for what could be done in other communities in Vermont.”
Huebner, who worked for nine years as the coordinator of the Everybody Wins program at Rutland Intermediate School, said, “Being in Rutland and living in Rutland as long as I have, I will definitely have some suggestions for what will work in Rutland.” Huebner recently attended an orientation at the bookstore to learn about inventory and layout, as this is her first foray into bookselling.
Literary Bookpost Extends Offerings, Hours
In a move to bring more customers into the store and to create a social gathering place, Literary Bookpost in Salisbury, North Carolina, began serving wine, craft beer, and soft drinks on June 2 and is opening the back patio, complete with tables, chairs, and benches.
The bookstore has also revised its schedule to extend its hours on Thursdays and Fridays and to be closed Sundays and Mondays, the Salisbury Post reported. Manager Leslie Cataldo commented, “We’ve heard more than anything that people want later hours. Thursday and Friday are perfect for that.”
Cataldo is planning new events for the store, with an eye on using the downstairs space that is currently serving as a storage room. In addition to hosting social events, such as a Wizard of Oz-themed “Drinks with Dorothy” during Salisbury Pride and release parties for the new Dr. Seuss and Harper Lee books, Cataldo said, “We want to work with different organizations in town to give them a place to meet.”
Purple Tree Books Adds Coffee Shop
Cheboygan, Michigan’s Purple Tree Books has opened Purple Tree Coffee in the space adjacent to the bookstore, Cheboygan News reported. “Everyone loves it so far. They say it looks so great. We are very pleased with how much people like it,” said owner Emily Clare.
Offering smoothies, coffee, bottled beverages, baked goods, ice cream, and chips, the coffee shop is a space for customers to read, socialize, or take advantage of free Internet. Once the store secures a commercial kitchen license, salads and sandwiches will be on the menu.
Clare said plans had been in place to open a coffee shop since she opened store in 2013, and when the owner of the neighboring used book store retired, the time came to build it. Clare and her parents, Mark and Kim Clare, who are partners in the coffee shop, renovated the space to bring out the original wood floors and decorated it with antique furniture and cabinetry, as well as some family artwork.
The bookstore’s purple theme, a nod to Clare’s niece who suffers from cystic fibrosis, was carried over to the coffee shop, which will have a collection jar to raise funds for cystic fibrosis research.
Explore Booksellers Ramps Up Programming
Aspen, Colorado’s Explore Booksellers, which changed ownership earlier this year, is looking to host more authors and speakers this summer, as many as three events each week, reported the Aspen Times. Participants from the Aspen Ideas Festival and touring authors will be included in the lineup.
“That’ll be the main change that people see,” said Doug Phelps, principal of 1543 LLC, the investment group for several nonprofit organizations under the Public Interest Network that purchased the bookstore in January.
As part of the purchase, Explore planned to maintain operations without major changes under the management of John Edwards. This fall, the store will be assessed for changes to improve revenue and cut expenses.
A celebration to meet Phelps and the members of his team will be held on Friday, June 5, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.