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Books Inc. to Open New Branch

Northern California’s Books Inc., which has 11 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, is planning to open a new store in Silicon Valley, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

The bookstore, to be located in the Pruneyard Center in Campbell, is projected to open in the summer of 2018. Last summer, Books Inc. opened a new store in nearby Santa Clara.

For its new store in Campbell, Books Inc. signed a lease with Ellis Partners, the developer for Palo Alto’s Town & Country Center, where another Books Inc. branch is located. “Ellis Partners has a long history of supporting independent businesses and creates a great tenant mix,” Books Inc. said in a statement.

Books Are Magic Secures Location

Author Emma Straub and her husband, Michael Fusco-Straub, are opening Books Are Magic in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, this spring. The couple signed a lease for a space at 225 Smith Street on Thursday.

“Dear Brooklyn, we’ve planted our flag,” Straub wrote on Instagram. “We can’t wait to sell you books.”

Straub is a former employee of BookCourt, the Cobble Hill neighborhood bookstore that closed in December.

Second Flight Books Opens in Indiana

Following the closure of Earl Plaza Books, Justin and Laura Kendall have opened Second Flight Books at the Market Square Shopping Center in Lafayette, Indiana, reported the Lafayette Leader.

The Kendalls took on much of Earl Plaza Books’ inventory, as well as its fixtures, to launch Second Flight Books, which opened in the former space of the Dell Brothers men’s clothing store in November. “It was very lucky,” said Laura Kendall.

Since its opening, the Kendalls have grown the layout of the store and have brought in new titles and trade-ins alongside Earl Plaza’s inventory.

Main Street Books to Celebrate 20 Years

Mansfield, Ohio’s Main Street Books will hold a 20th anniversary celebration on March 3, reported the Richland Source. Customers attending the party will be treated to cake, drinks, a 20 percent discount on new book purchases, and a special reveal.

“It’s pretty impressive for any independent bookstore to reach 20 years, so we thought it was definitely worth a celebration,” said Llalan Fowler, manager of Main Street Books. “We have a dedicated, loyal customer base, a group of people I will see every week. At this party, we will be revealing something that is giving back to them for supporting us for so long.”

John Fernyack purchased the store’s building, which housed a Little Professor bookstore, in 1997, renaming the store Main Street Books.

Square Books’ Richard Howorth to Serve as Chair of TVA Board

Richard Howorth, owner of Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, has been selected as the chair-elect of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors, reported the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Howorth will serve as chair for two years, effective May 19.

Howorth, a former president of the American Booksellers Association and the former mayor of Oxford, joined the TVA board in 2011; he is currently serving his second term on the TVA board, which will expire in 2020. Since joining the board, Howorth has served on all five board committees: External Relations; People and Performance; Nuclear Oversight; Finance, Rates and Portfolio; and Audit, Risk and Regulation.

“I greatly appreciate this board’s confidence, and I will do everything that I possibly can to provide good leadership and to make good decisions in the best interest of the professional TVA staff that we support, the customers we serve, and all the people in the Valley,” said Howorth.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal corporation formed in 1933, provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors as well as flood control, navigation, and land management for the Tennessee River system.