Around Indies

Reading Frenzy to Open New Store

On April 3, Reading Frenzy BookShop in Zimmerman, Minnesota, will be opening a branch store. The second, smaller location will be in Elk River at the Elk River Area Arts Alliance building, which showcases local artists and hosts many community art events.

The store will carry new and used books by Minnesota authors and publishers, as well as an assortment of art books, kids’ books, and other hand-selected books and gifts. The store will also host events and activities for all ages.

Queen Anne Readies for Grand Opening

This weekend, Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, Washington, is opening its doors with a full roster of local author events and activities for the community, including readings and signings by Maria Semple, Sherman Alexie, and Jonathan Evison. The store has been updating the weekend’s schedule on its Facebook Page.

The Queen Anne neighborhood has been without an independent bookstore since Queen Anne Books closed in October of last year, and the community has been rallying to  reopen a store ever since.

Owners Judy and Krjin de Jonge and Janis Segress are longtime residents of the community. Segress was formerly head buyer for Eagle Harbor Book Company. Segress will also serve as Queen Anne Book Company’s manager.

North Carolina Bookstores Featured

Quail Ridge Books & Music, Flyleaf Books, and The Regulator Bookshop – all located in North Carolina – are thriving businesses that have taken steps to make sure that they remain so, according to the Duke Chronicle.

At its 28^th anniversary last week, Quail Ridge was praised by its community for being a “democratic space,” a “sanctuary” and “the heartbeat of the community.”

To remain competitive, The Regulator Bookshop in Durham has consolidated books in the upstairs portion of the store (arranging the same inventory with more books spine out than face out) and rented out part of its basement to a clothing store. Flyleaf has added a used books section and is selling more non-book items, like jewelry.

“All the independents are trying to figure out what they can do, focus more on events, focus more on what makes them a community space,” said Land Arnold, a co-owner of Flyleaf.