About Bookstores

The Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle and City Lights Books in San Francisco –– iconic bookstores known for their well-curated inventory, numerous events, exceptional service, and welcoming ambiance –– will mark milestone anniversaries next week. With celebration preparations well underway, Elliott Bay owner Peter Aaron and City Lights publicity director Stacey Lewis reflected on their respective store’s longevity.

At ABA’s education session “How to Plan for a Second Location” at BEA, a panel of experienced booksellers shared their experiences of starting a new venture, including determining when to expand, arranging startup capital, finding a location, coordinating staff, managing inventory, and handling POS and store logistics. 

La Casa Azul owner honored by the White House; Water Street Bookstore receives accolade; Mysterious Galaxy kicks off movie club

On Wednesday morning at last week’s BEA, Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore and Mary Magers of Magers & Quinn shared their best practices for remainder buying. Offering remainders can help bookstores provide “great books at great prices in a great atmosphere that keeps readers reading longer,” Shanks said.

Just in time for summer reading, on Tuesday, June 4, NPR’s Morning Edition featured summer picks by three independent booksellers.

Porter Square pre-sells 4,500 copies of new Gaiman title; Peregrine Book Company receives historic preservation award; Harvard Book Store partners on Recovering the Classics project; Gibson’s purchase assets of Imagination Village; New England bookstores explored; Powell’s to undergo renovations

Last week, Seattle’s University Book Store partnered with local author Mary Jane Beaufrand to hold an in-store fundraiser for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Next month, Community Bookstore, located in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, will be opening a new store in the former Babbo’s Books. Terrace Books will function primarily as a used bookshop and will serve the neighborhood of Windsor Terrace.

Books of Wonder and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators invite all ABA member booksellers to an Open House at Books of Wonder on Tuesday, May 28, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

John Evans and Alison Reid, the owners of DIESEL, A Bookstore, will open their fourth store next month in Larkspur, California. The 2,800-square-foot bookstore, featuring knotty pine walls, a wood ceiling, a reddish cork floor, and floor-to-ceiling bookcases, will join local boutiques and artisanal cafés in the renovated Marin Country Mart open-air mall.

St. Louis community rallies around The Book House; Mysterious Galaxy celebrates 20 years; McNally Jackson’s Goods for the Study opens; Horizon Books credits success to past expansion; Vero Beach Book Center consolidates; Five Stone Bookstore marks first anniversary; Bookstore to open in Cincinnati; BookCourt launches campaign to open upstate location

The events calendar at Pomegranate Books, a general bookstore in Wilmington, North Carolina, is consistently filled with author readings, children’s events, lectures and workshops, community gatherings, and more. And while the bookstore stocks a wide selection of inventory, owner Kathleen Jewell is especially interested in health and healing and finding ways to promote the store’s ability to sell e-books.

Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire, is moving into a larger location on Main Street and has plans to open in July with added inventory and a coffee shop. The new storefront has triple the amount of space (more than 10,000 square feet) for expanding popular sections, including crafts, antiques, and cookbooks.

Michelle Obama to appear at Politics and Prose; Jabberwocky owner to be honored; The Book House forced to relocate; Powell’s names Sontz as CEO

Barbara's seeks to reopen at Boston's South Station; The river's end celebrates 15 years; Page & Palette appeals to community; Boswell owner profiled