Around Indies

St. Mark’s Finds New Space

Last week, the owners of New York City’s St. Mark’s Bookshop signed a lease on a new space at 136 East Third Street, near Avenue A, and expect to move in the fall, co-owner Bob Contant told the New York Times.

The new location is about half the size of the store’s current space and has a significantly lower rent. The owners are considering a transition to nonprofit status.

“So we’re still going to be one of few Manhattan independent book stores, and the oldest with the original owners,” said Contant. “I don’t have any retirement plans. This is my life. I feel pretty good about the fact that we’re still alive.”

Jack & Allie’s Opens in Connecticut

Earlier this month, Jack & Allie’s, a children’s bookstore, celebrated its grand opening in Vernon, Connecticut. Owner Barbara Haggerty Khan has experience in retail, working with children, and business management.

“Opening this store feels like I’m taking everything I’ve done in my life and putting it all together, Haggerty Khan told Shelf Awareness.

The 2,400-square-foot store is focused on new and emerging readers, with some middle grade and YA titles, as well as a selection of parenting and teaching resources. Haggerty Khan plans to host a full schedule of events for young readers, including several storytimes each week, book clubs for boys and girls, author events, and more.

“I think that getting children to read is one of the most important things we can do in terms of overall education,” Haggerty Khan said.

Feminist Bookstores Featured

This week, Paste Magazine featured the last 13 self-described feminist bookstores in the U.S. and Canada and noted that their number has dropped from more than 120 in the mid-1990s.

Included on the list are Tucson, Arizona’s Antigone Books, which is the oldest feminist bookstore in the country; Bluestockings, New York City’s collectively owned and volunteer-run bookstore and café; Austin’s BookWoman, which is readying to celebrate its 40th anniversary; A Room of One’s Own, in Madison, Wisconsin, which specializes in women’s studies and LGBT interests; Chicago’s Women and Children First, which has large children’s and LGBT sections; Common Language Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan, whose bestsellers are lesbian fiction, gay studies, trans studies, women’s studies, and children’s books; and Wild Iris Books in Gainesville, Florida, which carries a wide selection of non-book items. See the full list here.