Around Indie Bookstores

Philly Liars Club to Help Womrath's Celebrate 60 Years

The Philly Liars Club

Womrath's Book Store of Tenafly, New Jersey, will celebrate its 60th anniversary on Saturday, November 7, with the help of the Philly Liars Club, a group of professional writers who basically lie for a living. The Womrath's bash will be part of the group's "Truth Tour," a series of parties celebrating independent bookstores.

Womrath's is owned by Sheila and Bob Kutik. Bob's father, Harry, who was left a paraplegic from wounds suffered in World War II, opened Womrath's (then a franchise) in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1949 with the help of the 52 Week Club, a disabled veterans group. Harry Kutik operated the business successfully for many years. He passed away 12 years ago, and, in 2001, his family relocated the business to another former Womrath's franchise in Tenafly.

The free anniversary party will include munchies, trivia games, a host of authors, and prizes and giveaways including signed books and book bags. Liars Club members scheduled to appear include Bram Stoker award-winner Jonathan Maberry (Patient Zero, St. Martin's), fantasy author Gregory Frost (Shadowbridge and Lord Tophet, Del Rey/Random House), young adult novelist Marie Lamba (What I Meant..., Random House), crime author Dennis Tafoya (Dope Thief, St. Martin's), mystery writer Jon McGoran who writes as D.H. Dublin (Freezer Burn, Berkley), historical author Keith Strunk (Prallsville Mills and Stockton, Arcadia Publishing Images of America Series), novelist Kelly Simmons (Standing Still, Washington Square Press/Simon and Schuster), mystery author Merry Jones (The Borrowed and Blue Murders, Minotaur Books), Poe scholar Ed Pettit, and social media marketing consultant, writer, and lecturer Don Lafferty.

Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore Turns 20

Blue Manatee Bookstore Children's Bookstore and Decafe in Cincinnati, Ohio, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with an all-day party on Saturday, October 24. The store, owned by John Hutton and Sandra Gross, "is just perfectly designed to engage children in all things reading," according to a blog posting on Family Friendly Cincinnati.

The store, which caters to children through their teen years, even carries titles for adults, as well as toys, games, puzzles, and gift items. A full calendar of events includes storytimes, music programs, books clubs, craft activities, and author signings.

Saturday's anniversary event offers T-shirt making, storytimes, a concert, and a book signing by Loren Long, author of Otis (Philomel).

Powell's Celebrates 15 Years of Online Bookselling

This month, Powell's in Portland, Oregon, celebrates its 15th year as an online bookseller. Launched in 1994, by owner Michael Powell with the help of his senior staff, Powells.com now drives 25 percent of Powell's Books' overall business.

And, Powell's noted, "85 percent of [its] online orders ship to customers outside the Pacific Northwest, most of whom have never visited Powell's 38-year-old brick-and-mortar City of Books location. "

Emily Powell, who will be taking over the reins of the family business next summer, is currently focused on developing the Powells.com business.

Michael Powell attributed Powells.com's success to "the vast selection of new and used books, the agility of an in-house computer programming team, smart, original author interviews and content, and excellent customer service." Online shoppers can also speak with a Powell's employee when they need help to place an order.

To celebrate, Powells.com is throwing a 15-day party, including a sweepstakes with a grand prize of $1,500 in Powells.com credit. Daily prizes are being awarded from October 15 to 30.

Powell's, Tattered Cover, Harvard Bookstore at Top of Twitter

NFI Research has ranked the "top independent bookstores in the U.S. on Twitter who 1) regularly update their page and communicate with their followers; 2) use Twitter to advance/promote communication with their community; 3) have a proportionate number of followers to following; and 4) are active on Twitter as of October 19, 2009."

The research firm puts Portland, Oregon's Powell's at the top of the heap ... with 10,000-plus followers, with Denver's Tattered Cover and Cambridge, Massachusetts' Harvard Bookstore in second and third place, respectively, with 3,000-plus followers. The next three slots, all with 2,000-plus followers, are filled by California icons -- Skylight Books in Los Angeles, Vroman's in Pasadena, and Book Soup in West Hollywood. Rounding out the top 10 are Word in Brooklyn, New York; Book Culture in New York City; BookPeople in Austin, Texas; and Metropolis Books in Los Angeles.

The complete NFI list of twittering indies can be found at www.nfiresearch.com.