A new store opens in California; an online bookseller searches for an offline Maryland location; Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day returns; and more.
Kelly’s Books Opens in Watsonville, Calif.: After getting an eviction notice in March to make way for Kaiser Permanente, Kelly Pleskunas was forced to close Crossroads Books. Now thanks to a Binc grant and community support, she is opening a new bookstore on Saturday (December 3) in the Watsonville Square shopping center. “I’m just really happy to be back and have been so grateful for all the support,” Pleskunas told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Fundraising Campaign Begins for New Store in Baltimore: Earlier this week, Melissa Eisenmeier launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $5,000 to open a bricks-and-mortar bookstore in the Lauraville/Hamilton area in mid-February or March. She and her two cats currently operate an online bookstore from her home.
Concerns Grow Over Long-time Hayward, Calif., Bookstore: The Book Shop, a long-time tenant in the historic Green Shutter Hotel, may have to find a new home. The building’s developer plans to relocate the bookstore to another part of the building. But customers fear that the developer will displace the 56-year-old bookstore entirely. The store is currently operating on a month-to-month lease.
Firefly Bookstore to Relocate: In March, the Kutztown, Pa., bookstore is planning to move downtown into the space occupied by Jackie and Daughter Flowershop, which is closing at the end of the year. Bookstore owners Rebecca Laincz and Matthew Williams will expand the events area, provide more work space for staff, and grow a number of book sections.
The Regulator Bookshop Turns 40: The longtime Durham bookstore is planning to celebrate the big day on Saturday (December 3) by giving back to the community with a 10% donation of the day’s proceeds to Book Harvest and The Durham Literacy Center. And, of course, there will be cake.
Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day Returns on Saturday: Back for the sixth year in a row on December 3, the event, the brainchild of novelist Jenny Milchman, will be celebrated by more than 700 stores.
Obituary: Bookseller & Rep Sam Krussman (1935-2016): Colwyn Samuel Krussman died on November 26; he was 81. Krussman, a Fulbright Scholar, and his wife, Marilyn, owned and operated the Greenwood Book Shop in Wilmington, Del., for many years. He also worked as a publishers’ representative for Oxford University Press. In 1997, he and Chris Kerr launched Parson Weems Publisher Services. A public memorial is planned for Krussman at 11 a.m. on Saturday (December 3), at Old Swedes Church in Wilmington. It will be followed by a reception at the Christina Cultural Arts Center.
