Big-Box Bookstores Don’t Have to Die

You could say I have a sentimental attachment to the chain bookstore. Growing up in an intellectually impoverished American suburb, I spent much of my free time in now-defunct locations of Borders and Barnes & Noble. I read garbage, mostly: popular history magazines, Star Trek novelizations, art tomes whose pages I scoured only for frank depictions of naked women. But I had an intuitive sense that all those “wordy” books sleeping on the shelves, whose spines I raced my finger along while traveling between the café and the restrooms, would some day be the building blocks of a real, adult mind, the cathedral-like dimensions of which I could almost picture emerging through the haze of my juvenile enthusiasms. Inside Barnes & Noble, the figures of great literature literally looked down on me. A large wallpapered mural assembled them all in some grand ahistorical café. It was through that mural that I had my first encounters with the brooding fop Oscar Wilde and the fabulously bearded Anthony Trollope. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2015-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #barnes noble #naked women #building blocks

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Big-Box Bookstores Don’t Have to Die'


Stevens‘ boarding school mysteries set for big screen

Robin Stevens’ children’s detective series Murder Most Unladylike has been optioned for television and film by independent production company Pilot Media. Pilot Media optioned the rights from Emily Hayward Whitlock, head of book to film at The Artists’ Partnership, who was acting on behalf of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #robin stevens #big screen #literary agent #gemma cooper #bent agency


Joel Fort dies at 86; iconoclastic psychiatrist testified in Patty Hearst case

Joel Fort, an iconoclastic psychiatrist who was an early advocate for decriminalizing marijuana and who gave expert testimony on drugs and brainwashing in the Patty Hearst case and more than 300 other criminal trials, has died. He was 86. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Big Bonuses for B&N Executives

Three high-ranking Barnes & Noble executives who have left the company or planned to exit the retailer earned hefty bonuses in fiscal 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Can an Asia Ambassador Boost a UK Bookstore’s Fortune?

Struggling Heywood Hill bookstore in London has come up with a novel approach to sell books - it has appointed its first bookseller-at-large in Asia. The post Can an Asia Ambassador Boost a UK Bookstore’s Fortune? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Soup’s On, For a Cause: Big Time Authors Unite for Syrian Refugee Food Relief

Anthony Bourdain, Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, and Yotam Ottolenghi are among the cookbook authors who contributed recipes to 'Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #anthony bourdain #alice waters #mark bittman #yotam ottolenghi #cookbook authors


'Pitch Perfect 2,' 'Pretty Little Liars,' One Direction win big at Teen Choice Awards

The 2015 Teen Choice Awards, held at the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles, drew more than 25 million voters online and to social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Voters chose their favorite teen icons in film, television, music, sports, fashion, comedy and on the Web. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Hitting bookstores soon: J.R.R. Tolkien's first fantasy story

'The Story of Kullervo,' a dark retelling of the 19th-century Finnish poem 'The Kalevala,' is the latest in a number of previously unpublished works by J.R.R. Tolkien. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hitting bookstores


Is WhatsApp the Next Big Content Distribution Platform?

A leading German magazine on digital business, t3n, will now deliver their newsletters via WhatsApp. Could this model work for book publishers as well? The post Is WhatsApp the Next Big Content Distribution Platform? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital business #book publishers


LBC boxed set from Penguin

Penguin is releasing a boxed set of its Little Black Classics set (3rd September, £80). The set will include all 80 of the titles that were released in February to celebrate Penguin’s 80th  anniversary, each priced at 80p and comprising of 64 pages. The list featured less well known titles by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #80th anniversary #jane austen


Why one bookstore is offering refunds on Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman'

Brilliant Books in Traverse City, Mich., is offering customers who bought the newly released Harper Lee novel 'Go Set a Watchman' refunds because it says marketing for the highly anticipated volume was misleading. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #offering refunds #harper lee #brilliant books #traverse city #offering customers


Jenny Bell dies

Jenny Simpson, formerly Jenny Bell, who was The Bookseller's deputy editor until 2004, died on 4th August. She had been suffering from cancer. Bell worked at Hudsons in Birmingham before joining The Bookseller in 1981. She covered bookshop news, before becoming features editor and, in 1996,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #deputy editor #features editor


Ebooks Sold at Independent Bookstores Garner Pitiful Profits

A survey of Colorado independent bookstores reveals ebooks sales are tiny and offer just a pittance of profit — often just 50 cents a book. The post Ebooks Sold at Independent Bookstores Garner Pitiful Profits appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebooks sold


Nat Geo Rolls Out Big Pope Book, Timed with U.S. Visit

In September, Pope Francis will make his first papal visit to the United States, stopping in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Philadelphia. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #papal visit #pope francis


Staff Recommender: Erica Boeke, Who Was Once *This Close* To The Big Leagues

The best things on the Internet this week, curated by Fast Company employees. Erica BoekePhoto: Celine Grouard for Fast Company Name: Erica Boeke Role at Fast Company: Associate publisher, Global Marketing. Among other things, I get to work with our partners on the fun stuff—like the Fast... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big leagues #celine grouard #fast company #associate publisher #global marketing


Why Nikkei Is Betting Big on Digital Growth at the Financial Times

Nikkei’s $1.3 billion deal to buy the Financial Times underscores the fact that the publishing industry’s fortunes lie in going digital, experts say. Continue reading at Knowledge@Wharton

[ Knowledge@Wharton | 2015-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital growth #betting big #publishing industry


In Japan, a New Bookstore Doubles as a Hotel

Operated by Shibuya Publishing Booksellers, the new Book & Bed capsule hotel in Tokyo 'invites bibliophiles to sleep in the stacks' of an actual bookstore. The post In Japan, a New Bookstore Doubles as a Hotel appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #actual bookstore


'True original' Doctorow dies

US novelist E L Doctorow has died at the age of 84. Doctorow, known for works including Ragtime (Penguin Modern Classics) and The March (Abacus), passed away yesterday in New York from complications from lung cancer, his son told the New York Times. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lung cancer


How New Dr. Seuss Book Was Discovered in a Box by His Widow

Twenty-four years after the death of classic children's author Dr. Seuss, his hidden manuscript was published today to the delight of fans of all ages. Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #seuss book #classic children #published today


Bookstore Sales Rose $7 Million in May

Bookstore sales rose by just less than 1% in May compared to May 2014, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #census bureau


Finally! Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman' hits bookstores around the globe

Harper Lee's hotly anticipated book, "Go Set a Watchman" hit bookstores Tuesday. From Los Angeles to New York to London to Mumbai, fans of Lee's beloved first book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," were snapping up copies. And many then took to social media to show off their purchases. (Because it... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harper lee