Around Indies

RiverRun Launches Piscataqua Press

RiverRun Bookstore, in a new location in Portsmouth, Maine, has launched Piscataqua Press, for authors looking for a local publishing option. Owner Tom Holbrook told the Union Leader that, instead of using an in-store POD machine, RiverRun offers authors a publishing package for $1,500 that includes one-on-one customer service and acquisition of an ISBN number, barcode, Library of Congress Control Number, and U.S. copyright registration. Piscataqua Press will assist authors in creating a custom color cover and interior design, and RiverRun will host a publicized author event at the bookstore. Authors receive 10 free copies of their book and quarterly royalties on print copies sold.

Piscatuaqua will only accept material that has been professionally edited, and will not edit for content, Holbrook said.

“We want to help people get their books published. We are not trying to be the arbiters of taste,” Holbrook said. “But we don't want books that are badly typed up and riddled with errors because it reflects badly on us.”

Page One Bookstore Moves Forward

Page One Bookstore owner Steven Morado Stout told the Albuquerque Journal that reorganization after a bankruptcy filing last year has given the bookstore new life.

Under the plan approved by the court, the company has set up payments to publishers on a quarterly basis over the next five years and to Bank of the West on a monthly basis over 15 years.

“The community rose to the occasion and gave us their support in more than words,” said Stout. “Folks who hadn’t been to the store in years came by in droves to let us know they felt we were important enough in the community to support.”