- Categories:About Bookstores [1]New Booksellers [2]
Around Indies [3]
Here’s what’s happening in the world of indie bookstores this week:
In May, Antigone Books [4] in Tucson, Arizona, will be sold to three employees [5], Morgan Miller, Kate Stern, and Melissa Negelspach, who raised more than $34,000 and won a loan from the Small Business Administration to purchase the store. “Honestly, this has completely blown away my expectations,” said Negelspach. “We are overwhelmed with gratitude.”
Watermark Book Company [6] in Anacortes, Washington, has been sold to Brandy and Ben Bowen [7]. “The Bowens will bring fresh energy, ideas, and events to Watermark, and I am confident that it will flourish in their hands,” said bookstore co-founder Patti Pattee.
After posting on social media about slow sales, Common Language Bookstore [8] in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which specializes in queer and feminist books, received a wave of support [9] (more than 700 online orders) when a Tumblr user’s post went viral: “I saw a sad Facebook post from the gay bookstore back in Ann Arbor where I used to live about how they hadn’t sold any books that day so I went on their online store and bought a couple, and while you don’t get #deals like elsewhere online, I’d love it if y’all would consider buying your next gay book from them instead of like, Amazon.”
Janet Geddis, owner of Avid Bookshop [10], which has two locations in Athens, Georgia, delivered a TEDx Talk [11] about the opening of her bookstore to an audience of 1,500 people.
Cleveland-area bookstores got a shout-out by the local newspaper, which highlighted “16 great independent bookstores [12],” including ABA members Loganberry Books [13], Mac’s Backs - Books On Coventry [14], Appletree Books [15], Learned Owl Book Shop [16], Fireside Book Shop [17], and MindFair [18].
Hour Detroit listed “9 Independent Book Stores Worth a Visit in Metro Detroit [19],” such as Book Nook [20], Bookbound [21], Literati Bookstore [22], The Book Beat [23], Source Booksellers [24], and Pages Bookshop [25].
Milwaukee Magazine featured five great Milwaukee bookstores [26], among them Boswell Book Company [27].
The Albuquerque Journal highlighted thriving New Mexico booksellers [28], including Albuquerque stores Page 1 Books [29], Title Wave Books [30], and Bookworks [31], which is also planning an expansion.
The numerous bookstores in the book village of Hobart, New York, were featured in a segment on the Today show [32].
Share your news in Around Indies! E-mail [email protected] [33] with photos and details of what’s new at your store, whether it’s opening for business, moving to a new location, expanding, changing ownership, hosting a special event, or celebrating a milestone anniversary.