Around Indies

Community Support Bolsters Iconoclast Books

This year’s Beaver Creek Fire drove people out of Idaho’s Wood River Valley during the peak summer tourist season, and with them went the sales of local businesses. Iconoclast Books and Café in Ketchum, Idaho, has suffered immeasurable losses, owner Sarah Hendricks told the Times-News. Despite this, support from the community, as well as hope for the upcoming winter season, is keeping Hendricks’ spirits high.

“It’s a town that really doesn’t want to see anybody sink,” she told the paper. “They really care for each other. They really look out for one another…You look at places where there were fires four or five years ago, the growth is beautiful. I don’t feel that doomsday-ish. Winters after fires are some of the best. We’re poised for one of the best ski seasons ever. It might be our best September on record, with everything rescheduling and everyone so determined to come and support this area.”

Edgewater Books Opens

Edgewater Books, a new children’s bookstore in Edgewater, Maryland, held a grand opening celebration to welcome the community. The event featured a bounce house, as well as other activities for children.

Owner Ken Kennedy, a former computer salesman, sought a more fun and interesting job, reported Edgewater Patch, and thus, the bookstore was born.

Edgewater features a story corner that will host a Spanish story time for English-speaking children every Tuesday and Thursday. Murals by local artists adorn the walls, and an art room in the back currently displays the works of children from a local elementary school.

Bookbound to Host Grand Opening Celebration

On September 7, owners Peter and Megan Blackshear will host a grand opening celebration for Bookbound - An Independent Community Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The event will feature refreshments, a free tote bag for customers who spend $20 or more, and 10 percent off purchases for customers who bring in canned goods for the local food bank.

The couple decided to open the 2,400-square-foot, general bookstore when Borders went out business. Peter Blackshear was a longtime employee of the chain.

DIESEL, Larkspur, to Celebrate Grand Opening

The grand opening celebration of DIESEL, a bookstore’s fourth location, in Larkspur, California, is set to take place on Sunday, September 29. Festivities include food and drink, in addition to a reading and signing by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and essayist Gary Snyder.

DIESEL’s other locations are in Oakland, Malibu, and Brentwood, California.

In May, store co-owner and ABA Board member John Evans spoke to BTW about plans for the 2,800-square-foot bookstore, which was then preparing for a soft opening in June.

Indies Featured in the American Conservative

In a recent piece in the American Conservative, Portland’s Powell’s Books and Seattle’s Elliot Bay Book Company were cited as two of the many independent bookstores across the nation whose sales went up last year, despite growing competition from online retailers.

“Powell’s and Elliott Bay are classic examples of why independent bookstores thrive: on a mixture of old and new, serendipity and eccentricity, customer service and community,” the article concluded.