Around Indies

Malaprop’s Live-Streams Author Event

With the help of HarperCollins, last week Asheville, North Carolina’s Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café live-streamed an in-store event featuring authors Jeaniene Frost, Melissa Marr, and Kelley Armstrong. The feed was hosted by Avon Romance Live. A bookseller, who was logged into the site, chose questions coming in from the Internet audience via a live chat and Twitter. Another Malaprop’s staffer stood by to process web orders that came in from fans around the country who asked that their books be inscribed and shipped.

BookPeople’s Bercu Blogs From Russia

Steve Bercu, co-owner of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, and ABA’s vice president, is in Russia to attend the Moscow International Book Fair as an invited member of the Read Russia 2012 Advisory Board. The advisory board is charged with promoting modern Russian literature in translation in the U.S. Bercu is sharing entries from his travel log on the BookPeople blog.

“Just before getting into the restaurant a woman on the street saw my BookPeople cap and asked if I had ever been to Austin,” he writes. “It turned out that she was from Austin but now lives in Moscow. She filled us up with tips for restaurants and promised to come by the store next time she is in town. She said she shopped at BookPeople every time she was back. It was good to know that people in Moscow have heard of us.”

That Bookstore in Blytheville Turns 35

On Wednesday, September 7, seventy-five customers joined That Bookstore in Blytheville’s staff to celebrate the Arkansas store’s 35^th birthday.

The birthday cake sported images of some of TBIB’s many visitors over the past 35 years, including President Bill Clinton and first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

Other prominent figures also made an edible appearance, including John Grisham, Helen Oxenbury, and Carmen Deedy. At the end of the festivities, there was a drawing for a 3.5-minute shopping spree.

Northshire Readies for a Big Birthday

Congratulations to Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, which is celebrating its 35^th anniversary next Thursday with cake, light refreshments, and series of giveaways over the next four weeks. The first giveaways include copies of The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai, and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

Northshire was also recently named the Best of New England Travel Bookstore in Vermont by New England Travel Magazine. “For literati who find themselves lost amid Manchester’s upscale outlet shopping, this eclectic independent bookstore is a welcome retreat -- and a refreshing alternative to the big-box joints that dominate the market,” New England Travel wrote, as reported by the Bennington Banner.

Village Books to Open Holiday Store

Village Books in Bellingham, Washington, will be operating a holiday store in the Bellis Fair Mall beginning October 1. The temporary store will offer a combination of books, calendars, holiday decorations, and a wide selection of gift items.

“We know that a lot of our customers shop at the mall during the holiday season,” said Dee Robinson, co-owner of Village Books. “We thought it was time we offered them some added convenience.” Paul Hanson, the company’s community outreach director, will manage the store, which will operate during all mall hours through the end of January.

Books of Wonder to Become Wonderstruck

In a fun celebration of the launch of Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck, the iconic Manhattan bookstore Books of Wonder will become “Books of Wonderstruck” for one week. Selznick will be present at Books of Wonderstruck on Tuesday, September 13, for a launch party and book signing. The store will be giving away Wonderstruck tote bags and pens to all who purchase a copy of the new book.