Several regional book festivals will kick off this weekend, including the Texas Teen Book Festival and the Boston Book Festival. Additionally, several bookstores are holding celebrations, including Greenlight Books in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Oblong Jr. in Millerton, N.Y.; and Lighthouse Gifts & Books in Hardy, Va.
This week Books Inc. announced that it is shifting the location of its North Berkeley, Calif., store and moving into the space previously occupied by Black Oak Books. In Los Gatos, Calif., year-old Village House of Books has done so well that it added a second, larger store. California is also the latest site for the itinerant Spanish-language used bookstore, Librería Doceles, which will return to the East Coast next month.
Events
Texas Teen Book Festival: On Saturday the Lone Star state will celebrate YA and middle grade books with talks and panels, including a closing keynote by Lauren Oliver (Panic).
Boston Book Festival Buzzweek: Although the six-year-old citywide festival doesn’t officially begin until October 23, its partners are offering a dozen buzzworthy events during the runup.
Happy Fifth Birthday, Greenlight Books: The Brooklyn, N.Y., indie celebrates its first five years with a kids party followed by one for grownups on Saturday.
Happy 20th, Oblong Jr.: The Millerton, N.Y., store is all grown up and is celebrating with donuts, cider, and 20% off purchases on Saturday.
Booktoberfest at Back Pages Books: The Waltham, Mass., bookstore offers a twist on Oktoberfest with a combination of author events and brews on Sunday.
Openings & Reopenings
Books Inc. Moving into Black Oak Space: The ten-store regional chain is swapping its Fourth Street location in Berkeley, Calif., for a long vacant one, last occupied by Black Oak Books, on Shattuck.
Grand Opening for Lighthouse Gifts & Books: The book and gift store in Hardy, Va., held its grand opening earlier this week with a 30% off sale that was so popular that the store extended it.
Second Store for Village House of Books: The year-old bookstore in Los Gatos, Calif., added a larger second location, where it’s planning to hold more events, including a Hello Kitty Reading Day.
Other News
Women & Children First: On Wednesday Chicago’s feminist bookstore launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $35,000 to renovate the store. Two days in and it has reached over 25% of its goal.
SubText Accepting Donations: The Minneapolis bookstore was just short of its $15,000 goal when its Indiegogo campaign https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/subtext-bookstore-independence-day ended yesterday. But owner Sue Zumberge is still collecting donations.
Storyteller at Andover Bookstore Retires: Susan Lenoe, age 77, is retiring after telling stories to preschoolers at one of the country’s oldest bookstores in Andover, Mass., for the past 25 years.
Malaprop’s Named Bibb Winner: Malaprop’s Bookstore & Café in Asheville, N.C., is the recipient of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance’s inaugural Bibb award for being warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable.
Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) Launches Upstream: In a letter to authors, including members of Authors United, and indies Handler encourages writers to support their local independent by signing books for them on a regular basis.
ABA & NAIBA Urge Veto of N.J. Bill: The American Booksellers Association and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association are asking Gov. Chris Christie to veto a bill that discriminates against independent bookstores that mistakenly disclose customer information to the police and other third parties.
Itinerant Bookstore, Librería Donceles, in SF: Inspired by bookstore-lined Donceles Street of Mexico City, this used Spanish-language bookstore, a project by Pablo Helguera, gathers donated books. It will be in San Francisco through the end of the month before heading to Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Closings
Iconic B&N in Downtown Rochester, N.Y., to Close: After more than 15 years, the Barnes & Noble in Peace Plaza will close when its lease expires at the end of January.
