About Bookstores

December brought double-digit sales improvements to some indie booksellers, increased online sales to others, and the reversal of a negative trend to another.

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, now features an array of photovoltaic panels on its roof. The 16-kilowatt PV system, slated to be online by the end of the year, will supply approximately 10 percent of Northshire’s electric needs.

La Casa Azul owner picks up front-door keys; Indies recognized for effective Facebook marketing; Author elves stop at Anderson’s

Here’s a roundup of some of the reaction from booksellers, authors, and the media to last weekend’s promotion for the Amazon price comparison app.

Last week, former President Bill Clinton expressed his support for indie bookstores while promoting his new book, Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy (Knopf).

Last week, Flyleaf Books was caught in the middle of a controversy when several members of the community expressed strong opposition to an upcoming event on oil, gas, and energy supplies that was part of a series of talks presented in conjunction with UNC–Chapel Hill.

Common Good Books to move to Macalester College; The Galaxy Bookshop heads to Main Street; Former story-hour kids return as river’s end booksellers; 4 Kids holds successful Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day; Accent on Books thanks customers; The Clintons shop (and sign) local; Boswell’s Stacie Michelle Williams rocks

At this year’s National Book Awards ceremony, fiction winner Jesmyn Ward thanked Mississippi independent booksellers for helping Salvage the Bones find its readership. Here, Ward talks about the role of indies in advocating for her work, her Mississippi background, and her upcoming memoir.

This Saturday, December 3, hundreds of booksellers around the country will be marking the second annual Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day.

Next fall, Coffee House Press, distributed to the trade by Consortium, will publish Our Favorite Books, a compilation of 25 lists of independent booksellers’ favorite titles that began as a project of Micawber’s Bookstore owner Hans Weyandt for the store blog.

Otto celebrates 170^th anniversary; Namaste is one; Bartleby’s reopens; Parnassus’ Patchett thanks community

Cynthia Compton of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Indiana, was one of about 40 retailers taking part in a November 16 sales tax advocacy day in Washington, D.C., organized by the Alliance for Main Street Fairness.

At the 62^nd annual National Book Awards ceremony, held yesterday in New York City, stories of struggle were honored and the award winners, who included three women of color, gave voice to them. Also honored with lifetime achievement awards were Books & Books’ Mitchell Kaplan and poet John Ashbery.

Phoenix Books to open second location; Anderson’s gears up for Small Business Saturday; St. Louis indies hold book drive for the homeless; Here’s a Bookstore named “Best of”; Outwrite searches for new location; Parnassus opening draws media spotlight

 With the movement to pass a national sales tax fairness bill gaining momentum in Congress, BTW asked three booksellers who participated in ABA’s recent Sales Tax Fairness Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., about their experiences and the importance of meeting with legislators.