- 2026 Feb 20
Romance Bookstore Lands in N.C.
Ever After Booksellers opened its doors in Greenville last weekend.
Florida Indie Expands
Dragon’s Den Books in Arcadia has quadrupled its footprint.
- 2026 Feb 19
Maine Bookstore Changes Hands
Following the death of its previous owner, Pro Libris in Bangor now has new stewardship.
Robert Kirsch Award Winner
Amy Tan will receive the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, presented by the Los Angeles Times alongside its annual Book Prizes.
New Bookshop to Land in Wisconsin
Tattooed Tree Books will open in Fort Atkinson this spring.
Spotlight on Black-Owned Bookstore
Kindred Thoughts Bookstore elevates BIPOC voices in Bridgeport, Conn.
- 2026 Feb 18
From Miami New Times
Opinion: Worse Than Before: Florida Eyes New Tactics for School Book Bans.
From Book Riot
Amid Lawsuit, Utah Bans Its 23rd Book from All Public Schools.
From the New York Times
Two Reboots of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
From SFGate
Dr. Seuss's California hilltop home is for sale.
From World Kid Lit
Exploring Brazil's Diversity: Three Children's Book Authors You Should Know.
From Book Riot
Books About Black Inventors and Scientists for Young Readers.
From Brightly
Dinosaur Books for Preschool Kids.
National Jewish Book Awards Winner
Eli Sharabi’s Hostage has won the Jewish Book of the Year, presented by the Jewish Book Council. Winners in other categories include Jack Fairweather, Julia Ioffe, and Pamela S. Nadell.
Kansas Feels the Love
Romantasy bookshop Ivy and Ink officially marked its soft opening in Topeka last week.
Audible’s New Hall of Famers
Amazon’s audiobook app has named 15 new members in its Narrator Hall of Fame, including Ray Porter and Julia Whelan.
Illinois Bookstore to Shutter
Harfield Book Co. in Monticello will close this May after seven years in business.
Michigan Bookshop Relocates
The Folded Leaf has moved from Cedar to Traverse City.
- 2026 Feb 17
Robert A. Heinlein Award Winner
Andy Weir has won this year’s Robert A. Heinlein Award, presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society.
Binc Awards ComicsPRO Scholarships
The Book Industry Charitable Foundation has awarded seven comic retailers $1,500 scholarships to the ComicsPRO industry meeting in Glendale, Calif., from February 18-21.
Spotlight on Las Vegas Bookshop
R.D. Talley Books, the Strip’s first Black-owned bookstore, opened last fall.
Skin Care and Books Unite in Maine
Skin Serenity by Stephanie has merged with Bogan Books, offering facials and literature in Fort Kent.
Children’s Bookstore Lands in California
Stop & Grow has opened in Coronado.
- 2026 Feb 13
Inaugural Freudenheim Prize Winner
Peter Filkins’s translation of The Book Against Death by Elias Canetti has won the inaugural Freudenheim Translation Prize, presented by the Jewish Literary Foundation.
Indiana Bookshop to Relocate
Your Brother’s Bookstore is moving from Evansville’s Main Street due to rising rents.
Boulder’s First Romance-Only Bookshop
Sugar and Spice Books opened its doors last weekend in the city’s Mapleton Hill neighborhood.
Chicago’s Newest Bookstore
Partners in Crime will offer mystery and romance books when it opens in North Center later this month.
Wisconsin’s Happily Ever After
The Well Red Damsel opened in Wauwatosa last summer and has since found success as the state’s first romance-only bookstore.
- 2026 Feb 12
A New Children’s Bookshop in Ohio
The Wandering Lantern opened its doors late last year in Lakewood.
Women’s Nonfiction Prize Longlist
Barbara Demick and Arundhati Roy are among the 16 authors shortlisted for the U.K.-based Women’s Prize for Nonfiction.
Books and Cocktails Unite in Louisiana
Hemingway House of Stories and Spirits has opened in Pineville.
Virginia Bookshop Gets Historical
Bards Alley Bookshop is set to move into a historic property in downtown Vienna.
North Carolina Store Offers Books, Music
Echo + Page will sell coffee, books, and vinyl in Durham when it opens later this month.
- 2026 Feb 11
From WJTV
Mississippi school district appeals ruling to reinstate educator fired for reading I Need a New Butt!
From BuzzFeed
Quiz: Was It a Lemony Snicket Quote Or a '90s/2000s Emo Lyric?
From Deadline
Finding Her Edge renewed by Netflix for second season.
From Book Riot
Picture Books Featuring Neurodivergent Characters.
Montana Gets a New Indie
Romantasy bookstore Late Night Chapters has opened in Billings.
CLMP Constellation Award Winner
Host Publications in Austin, Tex., is this year’s recipient of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses’ $10,000 prize for an independent literary press that champions the writing of people of color.
- 2026 Feb 10
Golden Kite Award Winners
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has announced this year’s Golden Kite Award winners across eight categories.
Waterstones Children’s Prize Shortlist
The British bookstore chain has announced 12 shortlisted titles across three categories for this year’s Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
- 2026 Feb 09
From the Bookseller
Hachette UK restructures its children's division with the launch of three new imprints.
From Arts Hub
Andy Griffiths has been appointed as the Australian Children's Laureate for 2026 and 2027.
From the Bookseller
See the shortlist for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2026.
From the Guardian
"Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay": new story to be released in September.
From the Guardian
Magic Beach by Alison Lester named Australia's best children’s picture book.
From the New York Times
My Kids Love Raina Telgemeier Books. What Should They Read Next?
From 100 Scope Notes
7 Upcoming Graphic Novel Adaptations of Beloved Books.
Wisconsin Bookshop’s New Life
The Paper Crane Bookstore in Two Rivers will reopen as Uncorked Book Lounge this spring.
Wisconsin’s Winter Blooms
Flora Shelves recently opened in Appleton, offering books and flowers.
New Indies to Land in Florida
Novel in the Neighborhood and Inchstone Books will both open in New Port Richey this spring.
Amazon Layoffs Impact Comixology
The tech giant announced 16,000 layoffs recently, and most of the remaining Comixology staff may have been among them, per the Beat.
- 2026 Feb 08
TokyoPop Forays Into Audiobooks
The manga publisher is debuting its first-ever audiobook line, featuring select titles based on its catalog of light novels, published under the brand’s LoveLove imprint. RBMedia will distribute via its Dreamscape Media audio brand.
O’Neil to Lead Mad Cave Marketing
Cara O’Neil has joined Mad Cave Studios as its new director of marketing. She most recently served as VP of marketing at Dark Horse Comics.
DSTLRY Hits the Pause Button
DSTLRY said it is putting its publishing program on pause. This follows over a year of distributor disarray in which the publisher went from Lunar to Diamond to PRH, per the Beat.
Will Eisner Week to Return This March
The annual series, will return from March 1-7, with more than 200 organizations signing up to celebrate the pioneering cartoonist with events at libraries, schools, bookshops, and other venues around the world.
- 2026 Feb 06
Atlanta’s Hearse Bookstore Settles Down
The Grim Reader will open its brick-and-mortar location next week on Friday the 13th.
Poetry in Translation Prize Winner
Osdany Morales’s Security Questions, translated by Harry Bauld, is the inaugural winner of the Poetry in Translation Prize, jointly presented by New Directions, Fitzcarraldo Editions, and Giramondo Publishing.
Chicago Bookshop Reopens
Pilsen Community Books, a worker-owned bookstore, has opened its new storefront.
- 2026 Feb 05
Chicago Bookstore to Shutter
Open Books will close its doors after less than three years in the city’s Logan Square neighborhood, citing financial challenges.
Indiana’s First Mobile Bookshop
Black Worldschoolers Mobile Bookstore has hit the road in and around Indianapolis in celebration of Black History Month.
French Bookstore Lands in New Orleans
Nous has opened in the city’s French Quarter.
- 2026 Feb 04
From Publishing Perspectives
The Power of Reading to Children.
From Deadline
Gossip Girl Author Cecily Von Ziegesar to Pen Blair Waldorf Standalone Sequel Novel for Alloy.
From KCRA3
Black History spotlight: Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood inspires young readers, one story at a time.
From the BBC
Letters from Winnie-the-Pooh author to be auctioned.
From the Kelly Clarkson Show
Jeff Kinney Reveals Next Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cover.
From the Guardian
"I was so, so stupid": how Animalia and The Eleventh Hour made Graeme Base an unlikely bestseller.
From ABC7
11 must-read children's books by Black authors in honor of Black History Month.
From Literary Hub
Ten New Children's Books That Embrace Joy and Celebrate Community.
From Book Riot
7 Must-Read YA Books by Latine Authors.
Indie Bookstore Lands in Minnesota
Acorn Bookshop has opened in St. Paul.
Libby Book Award Finalists
Sophie Elmhirst, Allegra Goodman, and Patrick Ryan are among the finalists for this year’s Libby Book Awards, presented by Libby Life.
Nebraska Bookshop Weathers the Storm
Chapters Books and Gifts in Seward reopened after storm damage forced a temporary relocation this past summer.
Bookstore-Bar to Open in Kentucky
Yer Mom’s will offer books, wine, and small bites once it opens in Louisville this spring.
Colorado Feels the Love
Romance bookstore Cherry On Top will open in Fort Collins next week.
- 2026 Feb 03
Minnesota Bookshop Changes Hands
The manager of Zenith Bookstore in West Duluth will take over the business as its new owner.
PEN/Faulkner Award Longlist
S.A. Cosby’s King of Ashes and Lily King’s Heart the Lover are among the 10 longlisted titles for this year’s PEN/Faulkner Award.
Ukrainian Awards Proceed Amid Blackout
The third edition of the Chytomo Awards, which honor the best in Ukrainian publishing, took place January 29 in Kyiv, despite frigid temperatures and a blackout resulting from Russian drone attacks.
Queer Bookstore to Expand in S.C.
Queer Haven Books in Columbia is slated to move to a bigger location.
Idaho Bookshop Also Expands
Shared Stories in Caldwell recently increased its footprint amid strong community support.
Minnesota Bookstore’s Community Mission
Garden Party Books in Rochester donated a day’s worth of earnings to rent relief for immigrant families, in support of last week’s National Shutdown strike.
Pittsburgh’s First Romance Bookshop
Passionate Pages opened in the city’s Lawrenceville neighborhood last week.
- 2026 Feb 02
From Legacy.com
Longtime children's bookseller Ellen Mager, former owner of Booktender's Secret Garden Children's Bookstore in Doylestown, Pa., died on January 28.
From the New York Times
Poet and educator X.J. Kennedy, author of two dozen books of verse for children, has died at age 96.
From CBS News
Activists Gloria Steinem and Leymah Gbowee on their new children's book and inspiring the next generation.
From NPR
The author and illustrator of the kids' book The One About the Blackbird are big Beatles fans.
From the Guardian
"People were starving for it": Mem Fox on the incredible, surprising success of Possum Magic.
From Book Riot
Romantic YA Dystopian Books That Prove Love at the End of the World Is Possible.
Maryland Bookshop Supports Refugees
The Novel Refuge in Laurel is raising funds for local refugee and immigrant services.
- 2026 Jan 30
Texas Bookstore to Bid Farewell
Ante Books in McAllen will close its doors next month due to economic uncertainty.
PEN America Literary Awards Finalists
The free speech organization has announced 50 finalists for this year’s Literary Awards, including Siddharth Kara, Yiyun Li, and Joy Williams.
N.Y. Bookstore-Bar Temporarily Shutters
Rough Draft Bar & Books in Kingston closed this week after burst pipes flooded the building.
Hans Christian Andersen Award Shortlist
The International Board on Books for Young People has announced the award’s shortlisted authors and illustrators, with winners to be revealed at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Spotlight on California Bookshop
Scribble, Scrawl & Smirch Books opened in Gustine this past summer.
- 2026 Jan 29
Audie Award Finalists
The Audio Publishers Association has announced the finalists for its annual prizes across 28 categories, including Audiobook of the Year.
Omaha Bookshop Deals with Construction
The reconstruction of a nearby bridge has caused foot traffic to decline at the family-owned Next Chapter Books and Gifts.
New Canadian Award to Recognize Editors
Former Greystone Books associate publisher Nancy Flight has teamed with the Writers’ Trust of Canada to launch a $25,000 prize for nonfiction editing, endowed by Flight.
Oregon Bookstore Gets Historic
Heppner’s Flood Town Books has teamed with antiques store One Suitcase to open a joint storefront.
Georgia’s ‘Purrfect’ Bookstore
Second Thoughts Bookstore in Tifton has partnered with a local animal shelter to introduce its readers to adoptable cats.
