Even before the snow picked up on Monday, bookstores in the Northeast began to feel the effects of the first big storm of the season, which is expected to dump three feet of snow from New Jersey to Maine.
Travel and parking bans forced the cancellation of events, including an appearance by Norman Rush for Subtle Bodies and a launch party to celebrate the publication of a lost manuscript by cartoonist Art Young, Types of the Old Home Town.
Concern for staff and customers led stores like Bank Square Books in Mystic, Ct., Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Mass., Newtonville Books in Newtonville, Mass., and Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck and Millerton, N.Y., to close early on Monday, and stay shuttered on Tuesday.
New York and New Jersey stores closed early, too, from BookTowne in Manasquan, N.J., to the Strand Bookstore in the East Village and Greenlight and WORD in Brooklyn.
Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass., where the blizzard is expected to continue until early Wednesday morning, was one of several retailers to take advantage of the forced closure by offering a Snowday coupon, good for a 20% discount on item purchased via the bookseller's website.
Binc Foundation sent a note to the executive directors of the affected regions, and to ABA, reminding booksellers that disaster relief is available. To apply for assistance, e-mail info@bincfoundation.org.
