This week marks the launch of a new literary festival in New Jersey, two new bookstores—King City Books in Mt. Vernon, Ill., and Vallejo Bookstore in Vallejo, Calif.—along with news that Literati in Ann Arbor will open its second floor, which will become an events space and coffee shop.
But newly announced fundraising efforts by 25-year-old DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland, Calif., which closed its Malibu store in July, is one indication of how precarious the book business remains. Still, some like St. Mark's Bookshop in New York City have found new strength with new lower-priced quarters. And communities continue to hunger for bookstores. In Madison, N.J., townspeople pitched in to build bookshelves to get Barb Short's Short Stories bookstore up and running.
This Weekend
Morristown Festival of Books: The Bookworm and [words] are among the sponsors of a new book festival, which is being held today and tomorrow in Morristown, N.J.
Porter Square Books’s 10th: The Cambridge, Mass., bookseller marks its first decade with festivities at the store on Sunday afternoon.
Fundraising
DIESEL, A Bookstore Launches 25th Anniversary Fundraiser: On the eve of its first quarter century, the beloved Oakland, Calif., bookstore launched an Indiegogo campaign for $84,000 to keep on going for another 25.
Openings & Expansions
King City Books Opens for Business: Kendra Peterson’s Mt. Vernon, Ill.-based community bookstore opened its doors earlier this week.
Literati to Partner with Espresso Bar: The Ann Arbor, Mich., bookstore is expanding into the second floor, which it will use for events and to add a coffee shop run by another local business.
Vallejo Bookstore Opens Saturday: After being open for a year, Koham Press in Vallejo, Calif., was sold to the owner of Vallejo Yoga, who will re-open the store under the Vallejo Bookstore name this weekend.
Residents Pitch in for Short Stories: The Madison, N.J., community has not only helped Short Stories more than meet its $15,000 goal for its Kickstarter campaign, but is helping build shelves to get the store ready to open.
Kudos
Getting Books to Migrant Kids: After a successful fundraising campaign to pay for shipping books, La Casa Azul in East Harlem, N.Y., has begun getting 1,500 books to unaccompanied migrant children in New York state.
St. Mark’s Turns Page: After moving to new less expensive digs this summer, the long-time bookstore in New York City’s Village is finding its way.
Left Bank, the Best: River Front Times named Left Bank Books the Best Bookstore in St. Louis 2014.
Book on Seminary Co-op: Two University of Chicago graduates, Megan Doherty and Jasmine Kwong, who have been documenting in words, photographs, and audio Chicago’s Seminary Co-op semcoop-project.org, are working toward publishing a book about the historic store.
Farewell Books, Austin’s Alternative Bookstore: Two former Domy Books booksellers have made a go of the store that they opened in the space once occupied by Domy.
Changing Hands
New Owners for Scuppernong Books
Scuppernong Books, a bookstore, coffee bar, and wine shop, which was launched late last year by Brian Lampkin, Gregory Grieve, and Steve Mitchell in Greensboro, N.C., has added three new partners: Dave and Deb White and staffer Kira Larson.
