April marks the opening of two bookstores with a children’s connection, Island Tales Bookshop, a children’s only bookstore in Newport Beach, Calif., and Gulf Coast Bookstore in Fort Meyers, Fla. The latter, launched to promote works by indie authors, was cofounded by a self-published children’s author/illustrator.
Literary Hub, a project of Grove Atlantic publisher Morgan Entrekin and digital publisher Electric Literature, debuted this week. Editor-in-chief Jonny Diamond’s “welcome letter” to the online journal of literary content offers a paean to bookstores. “Bookstores have always been central to my life,” he writes, “and remain so: for the pleasures they afford, the opportunities they provide.”
Events
Tenth Annual Alabama Book Festival: More than 50 authors and 60 vendors will gather on Saturday in downtown Montgomery.
Openings & Closings
A Bookstore Just for Self-Published Authors: Local children’s author/illustrator Patti Bressard Jefferson and history writer Timothy Jacobs opened Gulf Coast Bookstore in Fort Meyers, Fla., earlier this month.
Newport Beach, Calif., Gets a Children’s Bookstore: Late last week Island Tales Bookshop opened on Balboa Island on the site where Martha’s Bookstore had been.
Bob’s Bookstore Opens in Charleston, Ill.: On Monday Joe Judd, the former owner of Myopic Books in Chicago, is opening a new store, which he named for his father.
Barrington Books to Open in Garden City: The East Bay, R.I., bookstore is expanding this fall with a second location in Cranston, R.I.
Rizzoli to Reopen in NYC Next Month: After closing its flagship bookstore a year ago last April, Rizzoli is about to have a soft at its new digs at 1133 Broadway.
Winter Green Mall Losing B&N: Despite an online petition that got 4,000 names in one day, Barnes & Noble is closing this Florida store when its lease expires in July.
Other News
Rediscoverd Books Expanding: The ten-year-old Idaho bookstore is celebrating by taking over a neighboring space and combining it with its current location in July.
Movie by Former DDG Bookseller to be Featured at Tribeca Premier: Tumbledown, a comedic love story set in Farmington, Maine, debuts later this month. And the bookstore that inspired the film, which is owned by PW blogger Kenny Brechner, is featured.
Written Words Bookstore to Move: The Shelton, Ct., bookstore is moving for a second time to a new space later this month.
Live Radio Show at Kepler’s: Earlier this week the Menlo Park, Calif., bookstore began hosting a live weekly radio talk show, “In Deep” with Angie Coiro.
