Around Indies

Belmont Books to Open in Massachusetts

Husband-and-wife team Chris Abouzeid and Kathy Crowley are planning to open Belmont Books in Belmont, Massachusetts, next spring, reported the Belmontonian. The bookstore will be on two floors covering 4,000 square feet in the Belmont Center building, which formerly housed a Macy’s. The site will also be home to Foodies Urban Market, which is expected to open before Thanksgiving.

Abouzeid is a young adult author and a bookseller at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Crowley, a short-story writer and novelist, is a physician at Boston Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine.

The general-interest bookstore will feature books for adults and children, games, gifts, cards, mugs, and T-shirts, as well as a café serving coffee, tea, pastries, and lunch.

Successful Start for Ohio’s Gathering Volumes

On June 26, Brian and Denise Phillips held a grand opening celebration for Gathering Volumes bookstore in Perrysburg, Ohio, reported the Sentinel-Tribune.

After frequent visits to independent bookstores in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the couple decided that, rather than shop at big box stores closer to home, they would open their own independent shop in Perrysburg. “It’s a more intimate experience. The people tend to be more personable,” said Brian Phillips of smaller, independent shops.

Customers have been very positive about the new store, said Denise Phillips, and have also provided feedback about the stock of 8,000 titles. “That’s what sets an independent bookstore apart, right? We want to have the books that the community is looking for,” she said.

The store also hosts popular events, such as book clubs, author readings and signings, story times, and a recent open house for teachers.

Bookshop Santa Cruz Debuts Artful Reading Bench

In celebration of its 50th anniversary this fall, Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, unveiled its first artful reading bench, painted by artist Bruce Harman, at the Grant Street Park playground on August 11.

In addition to Harman and Bookshop Santa Cruz owner Casey Coonerty Protti, the ribbon-cutting was attended by bench designer Tom Ralston and city officials, including Mayor Cynthia Matthews and Councilmember David Terrazas.

Bookshop Santa Cruz is donating three benches to the city to create reading spots for kids and families in public playgrounds. This fall, Garfield Park playground will receive a bench decorated by artist Denise Davidson, and San Lorenzo Park’s bench will be illustrated by Terra Dawson.

“We are thrilled that there will now be spots in local playgrounds for families to read together,” said Coonerty Protti. “One of the main reasons we are able to make it to 50 years is because we are located in a community that cares about books. We hope this gift will continue that tradition by having the art inspire the next generation of readers.”

Norwich Bookstore Wins Independent Spirit Award

Norwich, Vermont’s Norwich Bookstore is the winner of the Book Publishers Representatives of New England Independent Spirit Award, reported Vermont Business Magazine.

The annual award, recognizing excellence in a bookstore member of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA), will be presented at NEIBA’s fall conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Norwich Bookstore will also receive two nights’ lodging for the September 20–22 trade show, as well as a ticket for free meals for a bookseller selected by the store who may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend the show.

Previous winners of the award include Phoenix Books in Essex, Burlington, and Rutland, Vermont; Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire; and Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, and Saratoga Springs, New York.

Norwich Bookstore was nominated by Nikki Mutch of Scholastic, who recognized the hard work of bookstore owner Liza Bernard and the rest of the store’s staff, calling them “passionate guardians of our books and authors.”