Around Indies
- By Emily Behnke
Here’s what’s happening in the world of indie bookstores this week:
On her tour for Becoming (Crown), the best-selling book of 2018, Michelle Obama visited Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado, and The Seminary Co-op in Chicago. “Happy tears and smiles all around! Thank you Michelle Obama for visiting Tattered Cover. #IAmBecoming,” Tattered Cover posted on Facebook following the event. Seminary Co-Op shared on Facebook: “We are so grateful to our incredible community and Michelle Obama for bringing us together on this cold day for an event of tremendous warmth.”
At The Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, owner Kelly Justice tweeted her displeasure about the number of shoppers “showrooming” at the store over the weekend, a tweet that went viral and inspired a story in The Guardian.
Bill Fletcher and Don Moss have opened Jake’s Place Books in Oak Park, Illinois.
A Freethinker’s Corner opened in Dover, New Hampshire, in August. Foster’s Daily Democrat cited the store as being part of a “small bookstore revival.”
Bermuda Book Store opened a small branch location at the Bermuda Arts Centre in Sandys.
Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Porter Square Books has launched a pop-up shop in the Porter Square Shopping Center.
Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café opened a pop-up store in the Center for Arts & Inspiration in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Philadelphia magazine interviewed the owners of the new Pennsylvania bookstore A Novel Idea on Passyunk, newlyweds Christina Rosso-Schneider and Alexander Schneider. The store will hold its grand opening on Friday, January 4.
Quartzy featured Eso Won Books in Los Angeles, California, in an article titled, “How One of America’s Oldest Black-Owned Bookstores has Endured in the Amazon Age.”
The Story House, a bookmobile that travels around Montgomery County, Maryland, was featured in local news.
VOA News identified Washington, D.C., bookstore Politics and Prose as a place where literary and political worlds meet.
WhatcomTalk featured Washington State’s Village Books and its partnership with audiobook provider Libro.fm.
Powell’s Books Events Coordinator Jeremy Garber was interviewed by Oregon Public Broadcasting, and JustLuxe included the store on a list of 10 things to do in Portland, Oregon.
New Hampshire’s Union Leader talked to Gibson’s Bookstore owner Michael Herrmann about the importance of shopping local during the holidays.
Northshire Bookstore owner Chris Morrow talked with Upstate New York’s Daily Gazette about bridging the online and brick-and-mortar worlds.
Mclean & Eakin Booksellers offered up a list of the top 10 Michigan-based books for 2018 and was profiled by Petoskey News.
Fast Company listed 61 indies to shop at this holiday season.
Ohio.org listed the top 10 cozy Ohio bookshops to visit this winter.
TroyMedia and the Times Colonist encouraged consumers to shop at local bookstores.
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.