For the past few years indie bookstore openings have more than balanced out closings. And that statistic seems to be on track again in 2015 with the announcement of several new stores. Two indie bookstores are about to open in the D.C. area, including a pop-up outpost of Carpe Diem and Scrawl Books. And, after a year-long delay, South Carolina's M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers is expected to open in the next few months.
Events
RT Booklovers Convention (May 12-17): Romance fans will gather in Dallas on Tuesday for workshops, free books, and a chance to mingle with 800 authors.
Openings & Closings
Scrawl Books to Open in Reston, Va.: Librarian and long-time resident Rachel Wood is scouting possible locations for a general bookstore to open later this year.
Pop-Up Used Bookstore Opening in D.C.: Carpe Diem, a nonprofit used bookstore in Washington, is opening a temporary 3,000 sq. ft. location on Monday near the NoMa-Gallaudet University Metro station. No closing date has been named.
Greenville, S.C., Bookstore Sets Summer Opening: After a few delays M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers, which was expected to open last spring, is getting ready to open on the main floor of the Greenville County Courthouse and has launched a Founders fundraising campaign.
Penn Books Closing: Rising rent forced the 53-year-old bookstore in New York City’s Penn Station to close.
Commonwealth Books Consolidating into One Space: Recently named Buzzfeed’s #1 indie bookstore in the U.S., www.buzzfeed.com/sarahgalo/books-books-books-books#.stwDgBoKP the store will close its Milk Street location later this month and operate a single store in downtown Boston.
Revolution Books Loses Its Lease: As this New York City institution prepares to vacate its space by May 30, it is launching a fundraising campaign http://revolutionbooksnyc.org/Donate-sustain.htm to pay for a new lease in another location.
Final Weeks for Bound to Be Read Books: After an unsuccessful search for a buyer, Jeff McCord is getting ready to close his decade-old Atlanta store.
Other News
Transgender Employee Sues B&N Over Discrimination: After undergoing a gender shift, Victoria Ramirez, who worked for six years at two Barnes & Noble stores in Orange County, Calif., claims that she was prohibited from working as a woman. When she protested, she was fired.
P.S. Bookshop Crowdfunding to Stay Alive: The decade old second-hand bookstore in the Dumbo area of Brooklyn, N.Y., launched an Indiegogo campaign for $80,000 to pay off back taxes and to catch up with other expenses.
Modern Times’s Straightened Times: San Francisco’s Modern Times Bookstore, which was forced to move last year, was named SF Weekly’s “Best Bookstore We’re Rooting for to Survive” because of its continued precarious finances.
