A Personal Catalogue of the World’s Most Storied Bookstores

Two decades ago, I wrote my very first novel while working at The Community Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. That job enabled me to complete my book, not just because of the flexible hours, but because the other staffers were all aspiring writers, and many of our regulars were famous writers, and […] Continue reading at 'Literrary Hub'

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-12 09:50:45 UTC ]

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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

Pandemic Dispatches Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has made... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

Cultural Cross Sections Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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Running an Independent Bookstore in a Conservative City

Running an independent bookstore in a conservative city is a unique challenge and an opportunity. Jenny Kinne runs Books and Mortar in West Michigan. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-03 10:40:37 UTC ]
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This year’s Desmond Elliott shortlist features all black writers.

The Desmond Elliott Prize is awarded annually to a writer whose first novel is written in English and published in the UK. Since 2007, it has supported and heralded new writers; the honor comes with a £10,000 prize. It’s heartening to see, especially right now, that this year the Desmond Elliott... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-02 17:58:53 UTC ]
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What Happens to Powell’s Books When You Can’t Browse the Aisles?

The enormous independent bookstore in Portland, Ore., became an unlikely tourist attraction. Now that it’s shut, Emily Powell, the chief executive, is having to rethink the books business. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-05-29 17:31:21 UTC ]
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The Path Not Taken

Stephanie Danler’s memoir Stray invites us to look closely at our own life: our family dynamics, our loss, our trauma, and the moments of happiness that still exist within that fragile frame. With deep introspection and stunning prose, Danler tells us about the years she spent after writing her... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-05-19 11:00:55 UTC ]
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A Virtual Evening with Emma Straub and Judy Blume

Emma Straub and her husband own Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Four years ago, Judy Blume and her husband, George Cooper, longing for a bookstore in Key West where they live, founded the independent, non-profit Books & Books @ The Studios. Tonight, the two... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-18 21:00:58 UTC ]
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Adam wins Authors' Club Best First Novel Award

Claire Adam has scooped the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award for her “outstanding” novel Golden Child (Faber). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-17 13:26:01 UTC ]
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Letter From a Bookstore Turning Five During a Pandemic

May 2nd, 2020 Happy birthday to us. Little City Books opened May 2nd, 2015, a stunning spring day [click here for an account of that day, on this website]. It was Independent Bookstore Day. It was our city’s annual art and music festival. And it was the Kentucky Derby (I only remember that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-12 08:48:42 UTC ]
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This new database shows the reading habits of major 20th-century authors.

When Sylvia Beach, the New Jersey native who published Ulysses and opened Paris’ Shakespeare and Co. (“the most famous bookstore in the world”), died in 1962, Princeton University purchased and catalogued her papers. This trove of materials reveals, among other things, the reading preferences of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-08 19:46:30 UTC ]
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What We're Reading - Lockdown Bank Holiday Edition

Whether delving into chunky historical narratives or listening to short story podcasts, we’ve all been approaching reading differently during lockdown. Our reading habits can take us back in time, allow us to examine our present, or give us hope for the future. In time for the May bank holiday... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-05-07 13:58:54 UTC ]
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Two Novels, Two Global Catastrophes, Two Decades Apart

My first novel bombed spectacularly. This was about 20 years ago. Everything went wrong. First my editor quit after which my publishing house kinda-sorta forgot I existed. Orphaned was the word they used. Since nobody gave a damn, I at least got to choose my own book cover. The photograph I... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-27 08:49:54 UTC ]
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Literature on Lockdown 3: #CultureConnectsUs

Many lives are radically different right now. But birthdays, anniversaries, and public holidays come and go as before. The pink supermoon would have appeared whether we’d watched it from our windows or outdoors among a crowd of strangers. This week, Earth Day, Shakespeare’s birthday, and World... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2020-04-24 14:34:13 UTC ]
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Support Indie Bookstores Without Leaving Your Home

For the past six years, Independent Bookstore Day—billed as a “one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country”—has taken place on the last Saturday of April. (That’s tomorrow!) It’s usually a fun, light-hearted, occasionally raucous spring day where book lovers go... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-04-24 11:00:00 UTC ]
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As Bookshop Booms, Questions Arise

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ten Memoirs to Keep You Company in Isolation: A Reading List

Recently, I threw out the first 60 pages of the novel I am currently working on. I had been determined to challenge myself by writing in the third person—I had spent the last ten years working on my first novel in the first person and I thought I was ready for something new and difficult. […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-21 08:48:34 UTC ]
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Opportunity knocks: how lockdown is opening doors for new creative talent

Aspiring writers and directors now have a rare chance to impress producers and publishers with time on their handsCameras have stopped rolling, book launches are postponed and actors are all “resting”. It looks as if nothing is moving in the world of entertainment and storytelling, yet from... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-04-18 13:05:09 UTC ]
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Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and T Kira Madden on Craft, Candles, and Character

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-16 08:48:38 UTC ]
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Independent Bookstore Day to Host Virtual Party

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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First #Merky Books novel makes Desmond Elliott Prize longlist

The first novel to be published by Stormzy’s new imprint #Merky Books, That Reminds Me by poet and podcaster Derek Owusu, has been longlisted for the £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize for debuts. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 14:35:00 UTC ]
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