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Books Inc. Announces New Location

Books Inc., with 11 locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, will open its 12th branch location next year in Santa Clara, California. The new bookstore will be 4,000 square feet and will offer general interest titles, book clubs, author events, and a children’s story time.

The store is slated to open in July 2016 in the mixed workplace community Santa Clara Square, under construction by developer Irvine Company Office Properties. Bordered by Highway 101 and Great America Parkway in the heart of Silicon Valley, the development will house retail, office, and condo spaces.

Books Inc. closed its San Jose bookstore in the mid-1990s, following the opening of a nearby Barnes & Noble.

“We are excited to return to the community we served for so many years. It will be exciting to bring our customer expertise and events programming to a new generation of readers,” said Books Inc. co-owner and CEO Michael Tucker.

BookPeople Promotes Texas Teen Book Festival Writing Contest

As programming partners for the Texas Teen Book Festival, Austin’s BookPeople is inviting writers aged 11 to 18 to participate in the Texas Teen Book Festival Writing Contest, sponsored by Delacorte Press, a division of Random House. BookPeople’s young adult specialist, Ta’Necia Cannon, will serve as one of a dozen judges.

Three winners will be selected from the pool of submissions. Winners will each receive $150 and an in-depth critique by a Delacorte editor via letter, phone, or Skype, depending on the winner’s preferences.

Submissions are due by July 1 and must include a story outline with a 20 to 30 page writing sample. See full details here.

Eight Stores Take Part in Simultaneous Book Launch

On May 23, 15 contributors to the new anthology Every Father’s Daughter: Twenty-four Women Writers Remember Their Fathers participated in a simultaneous, interactive book launch at eight independent bookstores and writers’ centers. The event was organized by independent literary press McPherson & Company, the book’s publisher.

Participating venues were Brookline Booksmtih in Brookline, Massachusetts; New Dominion in Charlottesville, Virginia; River House Books in Carmel, California; Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Carmichael’s in Louisville, Kentucky; The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, New York; Indy Reads Books in Indianapolis, Indiana; and The General Society Library in New York City.

Among the authors taking part were Jane Smiley, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Antonya Nelson. At each location, the first hour was devoted to readings, signings, and a Q&A. For the next 30 minutes, the eight venues were connected via Skype, with the resulting discussions between audiences and authors moderated by the book’s editor, Margaret McMullan.

Audiences ranged from groups of 10 or 15 to crowds of 60 or more, with overall attendance of about 220. Book sales of the hardcover book were strong, tallying more than 100 copies, according to the publisher.

“The problem faced when undertaking this anthology was that a book tour was impossible: the authors are scattered all about. But it was clear that the contributors wanted to participate in the launch of this book, especially at independent bookstores,” said publisher Bruce McPherson. “The solution was to stage an event in multiple locations on the same day and time, and to connect them. In effect, we constructed a network of independent bookstores (and one writers’ center) to bring together as many of the authors as possible. So far as we know, no one had ever attempted such an event, and despite some glitches with the tech, it was judged unanimously a success.”