Around Indies

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Here’s what’s happening in the world of indie bookstores this week:

That Book Store in Wethersfield, Connecticut, will open for business on July 15, with a grand opening celebration to follow in August.

Skylark Bookshop
Skylark Bookshop

Skylark Bookshop is opening this summer in Columbia, Missouri. To keep passers-by from seeing inside, they papered the windows with pages from old, falling-apart Harry Potter books.

Itinerant Literate, which has been operating as a bookmobile in the greater Charleston, South Carolina, area since early 2015, is opening a storefront.

Narrow Gauge Books in Alamosa, Colorado, has raised enough funds to reopen the store later this month as a cooperative comprised of 69 owners and 27 members.

Dan McDougall of Bookbrokers and Ian Kramer of Kramer’s Cafe opened Bookbrokers & Kramers Café in Traverse City, Michigan, on June 1.

Little Bookworm, a new children’s bookstore, opened in Metairie, Louisiana, in June.

Montana Book and Toy Company in Helena, Montana, welcomed a new owner, Chelsia Rice, on July 1.

The Book Table in Oak Park, Illinois, is planning to expand into an adjacent space to grow its current 5,600-square-foot location.

Little Village magazine profiled the Haunted Bookshop in Iowa City, Iowa, which is turning 40.

The Sly Fox Bookstore in Virden, Illinois, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer. “When I first opened, I didn’t know how long I would be here,” said owner George Rishel. “But here I am 20 years later still going.”

Zenith Bookstore in Duluth, Minnesota, celebrated one year in business on July 1. “People are looking for a place where they can see people, talk to people, get a friendly smile, and talk to people who have expertise in being able to recommend books,” said owner Bob Dobrow. “They can be part of a greater community, so I think the importance of our store goes way beyond just books.”

Bookmarks bookstore in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is celebrating its first year in business.

Miriam Sontz, CEO of Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon, is retiring in 2019.

Angela Maria Spring, owner of Duende District Bookstore in Washington, D.C., talked with the Washington Post about her idea of a perfect day.

The Chicago Sun Times explored the city’s Printers Row neighborhood, including Sandmeyer’s Bookstore.

In an article on the “second edition of independent bookstores,” the Utica Observer-Dispatch talked with Joanna Robertson, owner of the Treehouse Reading and Arts Center in New York Mills, New York.

The Jackson Hole Book Trader in Jackson, Wyoming, was featured in the Jackson Hole News & Guide.

The Valley Advocate detailed a number of thriving independent bookstores in New England, including Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Mystery on Main Street in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Waldo at Carmichael's Books

After 20 years, Books on First continues to be an integral part of the downtown Dixon, Illinois, community, said owner Larry Dunphy.

After more than 42 years, Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, continues to serve as a literary landmark. “What’s been crucial for our longevity are the partnerships we have,” said co-owner Elaine Petrocelli. “We nurture our customers, and they nurture us.”

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News chatted with Carol Price, owner of BookPeople of Moscow in Moscow, Idaho.

Waldo was spotted at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky, this week as part of Find Waldo Local.

Porter Square Books in Boston, Massachusetts, launched a writers-in-residence program.

Tubby & Coo’s Publishing Company will release its first three books, two children’s picture books and a young adult fantasy novel, on August 14. Last summer, the New Orleans indie bookstore announced plans to launch a publishing venture.

Andrew Lawler and Downtown Books owner Jamie Hope Anderson
Andrew Lawler and Downtown Books owner Jamie Hope Anderson

Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, announced that Maxim Loskutoff is the winner of the store’s 2018 Writing Residency at The Wellstone Center. He is currently working on a novel, Spirits, to be published by W.W. Norton in 2020.

New Zealand booksellers Pene Whitty, manager of University Book Shop Canterbury, and Ruth Bruhin, manager of Poppies New Plymouth, will attend the 2019 Winter Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of the Booksellers NZ Winter Institute Scholarship, sponsored by Book Tokens Ltd.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez visited Words Bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey, last week to talk about the reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act.

Downtown Books in Manteo and Duck’s Cottage in Duck, North Carolina, hosted packed events over the weekend with Andrew Lawler, author of The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke (Doubleday).


Share your news in Around Indies! E-mail [email protected] with photos and details of what’s new at your store, whether it’s opening for business, moving to a new location, expanding, changing ownership, hosting a special event, or celebrating a milestone anniversary.