The long-anticipated ribbon cutting for Anderson Bookshop’s third Chicagoland store will take place this weekend. Also on tap for the weekend is the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival, which has been held every other year for the past decade. And new stores continue to get ready to open next month, including two in Kentucky: Dog-Eared Books in Campbellsville and Wild Fig in Lexington.
Events
Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival (August 1-2): Held every other year on the first weekend of August starting in 2005, this year’s festival opens this evening with a panel and reception featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me.
La Grange, Ill., Anderson’s to Hold Grand Opening on August 1: Saturday’s festivities for the family-owned bookseller’s third Chicagoland store kick off with ribbon cutting at the remodeled 6,500-sq.-ft. space in the former PNC Bank, followed by a visit from the Cat in the Hat.
Openings & Closings
Dog-Eared Books to Open in Campbellsville, Ky.: Nineteen-year-old TJ Rayville, a student at Campbellsville University, will open a used bookstore in mid-August. He’s already begun selling new books online and offering online textbook rental on the bookstore website.
B&N to Open DC-Area Store in Spring 2017: The nation’s number one bookselling chain is planning an 18,000 sq. ft. store at the One Loudoun development in Ashburn, Va.
Wild Fig to Reopen in New Location Next Month: After closing their store three-and-a-half year-old bookstore on Valentine’s Day, artist Ronald Davis and author Crystal Wilkinson have found a new location for their Lexington, Ky., bookstore, which will reopen soon.
One Grand Opens at Whisper Editions in Seaport, N.Y.: This bookshop installation, featuring books to take to a desert island, opened at Whisper Editions, where it will be through September 2015. It will then move to a permanent home in Narrowsburg.
Athens Book Center in Athens, Ohio, to Close at End of August: After his wife passed away in 2012, Ray Stephens tried to make a go of the bookstore she owned and ran. But he couldn’t compete with discounting on new bestsellers by Amazon and Kroger.
Other News
Technology Staff Changes at ABA: Greg Galloway, currently ABA’s marketing and content technology manager, is being promoted to ABA technology director, a position formerly held by Neil Strandberg. Galloway will become a member of senior staff. Geetha Nathan, lead developer for IndieCommerce, will become manager of IndieCommerce.
Obituary: Stan Collins (1941-2015), Co-owner of Once Upon a Time: Stan Collins, co-owner of the Asheville, N.C., children’s bookstore, died at home last week. He was 73. His wife, Mary Collins, will continue to run the bookstore. She told the Citizen-Times that closing it is the last thing he would have wanted.
Memorial Service: Merritt Bookstore’s Scott Meyer: A memorial service will be held for bookstore owner Scott Meyer at the Millbrook School Chapel at 131 Millbrook School Road in Millbrook, N.Y., on Sunday (August 2) at 1p.m. A reception will follow at Charlotte's Restaurant at 4258 Route 44 in Millbrook.
