About Bookstores

On February 16, a crowd of approximately 650 people gathered at the First Congregational Church in Manchester, Vermont, to attend a poetry reading held to "honor the right to protest and dissent." The event, which was organized by Northshire Bookstore of Manchester Center, not only attracted a massive turnout and an impressive array of poetry talent, but also media from around the country.

Other groups present the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Pulitzers … now readers in Red Lodge, Montana, population 2,000, can boast their own awards, the Lodgies. The awards are the brainchild of author and bookstore owner Gary Robson. The "First Annual Top Authors of Red Lodge Awards Ceremony" was held in January at the Elks Club in downtown Red Lodge.

The Women's National Book Association (WNBA) has announced the nominees for this year's Lucile Micheels Pannell Award. This year, six stores were nominated in the children's bookstore category, and 11 stores were nominated in the general bookstore category. The nominees in the children's specialty store category are:

New York City's independent bookselling landscape continues to change. On the heels of news that Oscar Wilde Bookshop was sold and Bluestockings Women's Bookstore may close, New York City's Coliseum Books announced that it is set to reopen in a new location directly across from the main branch of the New York Public Library. The store signed a lease with Tishman Speyer last Friday. Coliseum owner George Leibson told BTW, "I'm euphoric in signing a new lease, but also terrified. I'll probably be running on adrenaline for quite awhile."

Another well-known New York City independent bookstore is looking for a last-minute reprieve. Just two weeks after announcing that her store was up for sale, Bluestockings Women's Bookstore owner Kathryn Welsh told BTW that the store would close at the end of February unless a buyer materializes before then. The news comes less than a week after Deacon Maccubbin announced he had purchased the landmark gay and lesbian bookstore Oscar Wilde Bookshop, just prior to the store's scheduled closing.

Coleen Harty of Madison, Wisconsin, has spent years perusing the vast category of personal growth books and tapes. Beginning March 1, she will be putting her knowledge into practice and helping others navigate the self-help arena in her own bookstore, Invest in Yourself. Harty, a long-time employee of the Middletown, Wisconsin-based Pleasant Company, founder of the American Girl dynasty, is opening the 1,500-square-foot store, also in Middletown.

One key element to successful bookstore succession planning is to know your ideal buyer and terms. Experts attest that the process of selling a store is complicated enough without having to negotiate with a buyer who is, at best, an unknown quantity.

Sometimes there's more to an investment than just profits. That was certainly the case when Deacon Maccubbin, owner of Lambda Rising, decided to take over operations of the New York City independent Oscar Wilde Bookshop.

Skylight Books, the six-year-old bookstore in the art-steeped La Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, will host an unusual photography exhibit from February 2 to March 1, titled Memorial for the Skylight Diaspora by Rebecca Tuynman. Artist and art educator Tuynman is a neighbor and frequent customer of Skylight Books. The exhibit will include a series of her portraits and responses to postcards distributed inside of books sold at the store.

The old adage, "When one door closes, another one opens," certainly rang true this month for Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California.