Around Indies

East End Book Exchange to Become White Whale Bookstore

Adlai and Jill Yeomans, former Hachette Book Group staffers who purchased the East End Book Exchange in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood in June, are relaunching the shop as White Whale Bookstore on October 14, reported the Tribune-Review.

“The people who have been the most loyal customers were worried and concerned it would shut down,” Jill Yeomans said. “They were really happy it was continuing in some form and relieved when we told them about our plans.”

The couple is making some changes to the store, including new paint and signage, some minor remodeling, and a shift from mostly used books to many more new releases. Live events will remain a priority for the store.

“The city has a wealth of used bookstores, but, in terms of places that offer new books, it’s really limited for a city this size,” Adlai Yeomans said. “We saw that as an area to grow, but aside from that it’s where our passion lies. We love searching for emerging writers and our favorite contemporary writers who are putting out new stuff.”

BookPeople of Moscow Wins Orchid Award

BookPeople of Moscow in Moscow, Idaho, was one of six recipients of 2016 Orchid Awards from the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission on October 6.

BookPeople of Moscow owner Carol Spurling with the Orchid Award

The award, delivered by the mayor of Moscow, acknowledged the work the bookstore completed on the front of its building last year, which included repairing and preserving tile on a roofette and removing an old sign that obscured the arched entrance.

“Both the arch and the tile roofette are integral to the Mission style of our 1926 building, which is a listed contributing property in our downtown Moscow national historic district,” explained BookPeople owner Carol Spurling.

Turn of the Corkscrew Fundraising to Offset Sales Slump

Sales at Turn of the Corkscrew Books & Wine, a year-old bookstore located in Rockville Centre, New York, are being affected by village roadwork that has prevented customers from visiting the store, owners Carol Hoenig and Peggy Zieran told Rockville Centre Patch.

In May, the Village of Rockville Centre began extensive roadwork to replace underground pipes along one of the downtown’s main streets, preventing customers from getting to the store or finding parking. “We lost so much money in the last five months,” Zieran said. “Instead of our sales building, they were declining.”

The owners have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $75,000 for merchandise, bills, and other costs.