Literary Labryinth in Los Angeles

Well, I know what I'm doing when I visit LA in November: going to the Last Bookstore to explore the Labyrinth.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Voted as one of the top 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world by Flavorwire, the independent bookstore in downtown LA is known for its spectacular space (it was a former bank!), selection of rare books, and memorable past events. And now, it will be known for its Labyrinth, a large structure containing 100,000 books, each priced at $1.

Mike, a blogger over at Franklin Avenue, shares some more details (and photos!):

The best bookstore in Los Angeles just got bigger -- and better. Downtown's amazing Last Bookstore, which we wrote about last year, has expanded dramatically into a new 6,100 square foot upstairs space that it calls the "Labyrinth."

The "Labyrinth" includes 100,000 books that are all $1 each. That's right. It's a bit of a treasure hunt, as the books aren't necessarily shelved in any particular order (although kids books seem to be grouped together in places). But that's perhaps part of the fun. If you want order, the books downstairs in the Last Bookstore's normal floor space are indeed cataloged. Upstairs, it's the wild west.

 

 See Mike's full article and images HERE

How cool! :)

Two New Indy Bookstores in Astoria, NY Neighborhood

Just about nine months after the news that Astoria's only independent bookstore was closing, there is now word of TWO new bookshops in the hood: one specifically for kid-lit--and already open--and one coming soon for more mainstream adult titles.

According to the Daily News, The Story Nook opened this past February to offer children's literature to local kiddies. While I'm very excited that this occurred, it's surprising that this is the first I've heard of it. Sounds like The Story Nook needs some publicity help---so GO TO THE STORY NOOK.

Now that that's been dealt with, here's more from the Daily News on the upcoming Book Shop:

The borough’s only independent bookstore that sells mainstream titles is slated to open in Astoria early next year, much to the delight of local book lovers.

Despite a tough economy and a bruising market for book sellers, Lexi Beach said she plans to go ahead with plans for the Astoria Bookshop.

Beach, 31, who manages accounts for a website that sells digital audio books, is already arranging author events in the community to build awareness — and anticipation — for the shop.

“I’m confident that a good portion of the community will be very excited about having a place to buy books locally,” said Beach, who is raising funds for the shop.

“Obviously, anyone with a computer or smartphone can buy books online,” said Beach, who plans to host community events in the space. “But there’s something about a bookstore, a physical place to go and browse books, that is special.”

She began mulling the venture after hearing from friends of the need in the neighborhood following the closing of Seaburn Bookstore in December.

The longtime Astoria store hadn’t turned a profit in years, owner Sam Chekwas previously told the Daily News. A much smaller version of the shop was relocated to a Long Island City warehouse where he has a book publishing business.

Tim Fredrick, editor of the Newtown Literary, a journal that will feature the words of borough authors, said Beach’s store will be a boon to local authors.

Beach “is very interested in promoting Queens authors and Queens writing,” he said. “It’s really a shame to have to go to another borough to buy books.”

Mackenzi Farquer, owner of SITE NYC, an Astoria boutique, said most of the 100 participants of a survey she recently conducted said they wanted to see a bookstore in the neighborhood.

“Astoria’s rapidly gentrifying,” she said. “There’s this pocket of Astorians who really want bookstores.”

The community may soon also have a children’s bookstore.

Faye Skandalakis opened The Story Nook in February in a small section of babyNOIR, a kids boutique, on 23rd Ave.

“I’m hoping within a year or so to open a brick and mortar children’s bookstore,” she said.

Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, said he’s starting to see “modest growth” in the number of bookstores nationally “after many years of decline.”

The demand is a product of the closure of the chain book retailer Borders, consumers desire to shop locally and lower technology costs, he said.

But small bookstores still face a host of challenges — including the rise of e-book readers and online retailers, such as amazon.com, that can offer rock-bottom prices.

“Being able to compete in a market where anyone can sit at their computer screen and have access to any title in print, that certainly represents a challenge,” Teicher said.

See the original post HERE

 

I'm excited to hear about these new shops and my fingers are crossed that they are able to survive the brutal market that has flooded the publishing world. I too have considered opening my bookstore again--a dream of mine since I was a kid--but the market scares me away. But I guess it's true that it's all about location, location, location. And if Astorians want their bookstores, give 'em some!

I, for one, can't wait. Thanks for being brave Lexi and Faye!

My Old College Spot--Trident Booksellers & Cafe--Expanding

When I went to college in Boston, you could often find me in one of three places: Boston Billiards, Jamba Juice in the student union, or Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Newbury Street.

My friend Jasmine and I would sit in the back corner of the cafe with our books, studying and chatting, chowing down on homemade pasta dishes and berry cobbler and sipping delicious herbal teas. There was also a teeny tiny little mouse we'd spot occasionally. He wasn't a gross mouse, surprisingly--not like the one that lives behind my kitchen cabinet and won't fall for my traps *shudder*--he was actually quite cute. I named him Hermon. Anyway, when I needed a break from my studies (or from writing an angry email to an ex/boyfriend, which happened twice at that back booth) I would comb the stacks of the bookstore, looking for  nothing in particular, just enjoying the shelves and the bindings they held.

So, when I saw Trident in a headline on Publishers Marketplace today (catching up on my publishing news!), I was terrified that the shop was closing its doors. I was ready to cry. But upon reading the entire headline, I was happy to find that it is, in fact, doing the opposite--the store is expanding, according to the Boston Herald:

Boston’s last independent new bookseller is growing at a time when other neighborhood bookstores and even large chains have succumbed to online book sales and e-readers.

Trident Booksellers & Cafe, an eclectic fixture on Newbury Street since 1984, will be 50 percent larger when it spreads out into the second floor of its Back Bay building by September.

“We just want to expand seating, expand retail — just make everything bigger here,” said manager Courtney Flynn, daughter of founders Bernie and Gail Flynn. “We’re going to be moving sections around, expanding some book sections and also adding a lot of gifts and games.”

The Flynns settled on a bookstore-cafe back in ’84 because there were few places to sit down with a cup of coffee or linger over a conversation or book. And that combination has helped Trident withstand industry changes that have forced the likes of Borders out of business.

Trident’s expansion, which will add 1,500 square feet to its 3,000-square-foot operation, is fueled by a brisk weekend brunch business in its 80-seat cafe. New seats with a Newbury Street view, and a bar with beer and wine taps, will be added upstairs.

“Brunch, especially when the students are here, is very busy,” Courtney Flynn said. “We have long waits, and the whole store is packed, so we’re kind of aiming to relieve that.”

There’s a symbiotic relationship between the bookstore and cafe parts of Trident’s business. “We wouldn’t have one without the other. Books really create the atmosphere here ... and we do sell a fair amount,” Flynn said.

“It’s definitely a dying industry in a certain way, but there’s still a lot of people who enjoy reading real books instead of e-readers, and people who like to browse and discover something new,” she said. “Just touching new books and experiencing that is something we have to offer.”

Bookstores that serve as a broader destination seem to be faring well, said Steve Fischer, executive director of the New England Independent Booksellers Association in Cambridge.

“There’s a lot of stores ... across the country that would kill for room or a license to have a cafe or have a wine bar,” he said.

Still, Fischer views Trident more as a cafe that sells books. “If you go in, you don’t go, ‘Aha, what a great bookstore,’ ” he said.

James Hill, chairman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, called Trident a “wonderful” neighborhood resource. “It’s great to see they’re surviving in the bookstore world,” he said.

Read the original article HERE

Next time I visit my old stomping ground, you know where to find me.

Only Bookstore in Astoria Closing Its Doors

Not only is Seaburn Books the only independent bookstore in Astoria, Queens, but it's the only bookstore in Astoria PERIOD. (I should know; I live there!) I walk by Seaburn on a regular basis and, I'm ashamed to say it, but I have never gone in. I keep meaning to--I've heard great things about the store (and their coffee!)--and I was bummed to hear this morning via The Daily News that it'll soon be closing:

The only independent book store in Astoria selling mainstream titles is slated to close its doors for good this month.

Seaburn Bookstore has been losing money for years and its owner tried to shutter the shop last year.

But an outpouring of community support at the time — and a jump in sales — prompted the owner, Sam Chekwas, to keep the beloved store open. He even remodelled and added an Internet cafe to appeal to new customers.

But after sales began to slip again in June and he faced a five-year lease renewal and rent hike, Chekwas decided it was time to close the final chapter on his 16-year-old business.

He said he plans to open a small book shop in his Long Island City warehouse used for his independent book publishing and online sales business next year.

“I feel quite awful about it,” Chekwas said of the closing. “We gave it all we had. ... The sales were just not there to justify it.”

More and more customers were coming in asking for digital books for their NOOKs and Kindles, he said, and he simply couldn’t compete.

“Where we are is a high-rent area where you really have to sell a lot of books,” said Chekwas, who has had a hard time competing with online merchants such as Amazon.com, which sell books at a fraction of their cover price.

“In 10 years from now, kids that are born today may not have a need for paper books,” he said.

Matthew Flamm, a Crain’s New York Business reporter who covers media, said New York City booksellers also have to contend with high rents and a lousy economy.

“This transition to e-books is just an added blow,” Flamm said. “You may have survived Amazon as a book retailer, but the question is can you survive Amazon and Barnes & Noble as e-book sellers?”

Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, which represents 1,600 merchants, said independent shops can and do survive.

“There are more independent book stores in the United States today than there were a few years ago,” he said, citing member data. “Nothing beats browsing for books in a physical store — despite all the quantum leaps forward in technology.”

Seaburn customer Danielle Rhodes, of Astoria, said she wished the shop would stay open.

“I’m sad it’s closing because it’s the only book store in Astoria,” Rhodes said. “It’s nice to walk in here and look for books.”

Read the original post HERE

Heartbreaking, to say the least. =(

A Rough Week for the Book Biz

The week started off to a depressing start in book publishing with the death of editor Ruth Cavin, and today is no different. Another perennial publishing guru, Manie Baron, has passed as well, according to GalleyCat this morning:

Literary agent, editor, and bookseller Manie Barron (pictured) passed away on Saturday.

His friends sent this obituary: “Manie began his nearly three-decade career in publishing as a bookseller at the Doubleday bookstore at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. He became a buyer for Golden Lee book distributors, from where he was recruited as a founding member of the Random House telephone sales team. He transitioned from sales to editorial, laying the foundation for what would become the Striver’s Row imprint at Random House, before moving on to HarperCollins, where he was publishing manager of the Amistad imprint. He then spent three years as a literary agent with the William Morris Agency before partnering with Claudia Menza in the Menza Barron Agency.”

See the original post for memorial information and donations HERE

I didn't know Manie personally, but I've heard a great many things about him. My thoughts are with his loved ones during this time. RIP Manie...

To continue the sad trend further, these less-than-lovely headlines grace today's Publishers Lunch Automat:

Nigerian Novelist Okey Nidbe Arrested, Passport Seized at Nigerian Airport

Paulo Coelho Says Iran Has Banned His Books

Orson Scott Card Suffers Mild Stroke

Gulliver's Travels Books In Portsmouth, NH to Close

Hopefully Wednesday will get us over this sad hump and bring some good book news for a change...

Best Friends, Bookstores, and Beating the Odds

With more and more independent bookstores closing monthly, this article caught my eye instantly when I headed over to the Huffington Post today...and, I'll admit, it made me a little teary:

Richmond, Va. -- After years of buying books at Narnia Children's Books in Richmond's Museum District, best friends Jill Stefanovich and Jenesse Evertson have bought the entire store.

"I just couldn't imagine living in Richmond without this store," Stefanovich said.

The two took over the store on Kensington Avenue at North Belmont Avenue this month and have renamed it BBGB.

It will essentially remain the same, though the partners are expanding the store's reach and selection.

Among those changes are a website, a social-media presence and an increased number of titles, particularly from overseas.

They also plan on holding readings, workshops and author events at the store, as well as planning to host sales and other events at temporary locations elsewhere.

"We'd like to get our books out to the places where you wouldn't expect to see them," Stefanovich said.

They also are working on programs to get books to children who don't have access to them, including getting books as gifts for children with special needs through Greater Richmond ARC.

Stefanovich and Evertson took over ownership of the store from Kelly Kyle, who opened the store in 1984. Narnia, which originally opened in Carytown, moved to its current location in 2002.

This year, a retiring Kyle put the store up for sale. Without a buyer, she would have closed the store.

The partners were told in the early part of the summer that Kyle had found a buyer. But on Sept. 21, Stefanovich and Evertson found out that the sale had fallen through.

"We knew we had to do it," Evertson said. "We couldn't lose this store."

Keeping the Narnia name was not an option, the partners said. In 2006, copyright holders of the Narnia series of books tried to stop Kyle from using the name. The dispute was settled -- Kyle was allowed to use the name as long as she owned the store.

The new name BBGB is purposefully cryptic, the partners say.

Officially, the initials stand for Bring Back Great Books, but "it can be anything. We want people to come up with their own interpretation," Stefanovich said.

While the two decided they wanted to buy the store, there was one fairly substantial obstacle: Evertson doesn't live in the U.S.

Evertson had lived in Richmond for several years before her husband was transferred to Europe. She lives in London now, though she plans to eventually return.

The partners talk -- and Evertson attends meetings with designers and lawyers -- via online video chat service Skype.

The separation won't hurt the business, the partners say. In fact, it allows them to focus on what they are good at individually.

"It works because we have different strengths," Evertson said while sitting at the store recently during her first visit since they took over the shop.

Stefanovich, along with two employees who worked at Narnia for years, will run BBGB and create outreach programs. Evertson, who has a doctorate in literacy and a master's degree in children's literature, will work with publishers to unearth new titles and will write the store's blog.

Both are avid readers.

"The real test is going to be what happens when we're together," Evertson said, laughing.

Read the article HERE

You go, Stefanovich and Evertson!

It makes me smile that despite all the changes in the publishing industry, there are still people out there who are fighting to save the indies, to get back to the beauty of hand-selling and recreating the feeling of comfort and homeyness of a good, personally driven bookstore.

Stories like this are wonderful reminders of why the industry--and printed books--will never truly die, as some cynics have claimed in the past.

Gotta love it.