Barnes & Noble continues on a buying spree. After indicating early last week that it will acquire Joseph-Beth Booksellers, it announced on Friday that it has bought Levenger, known for fine writing instruments, premium paper and stationery, leather goods, desk accessories and furniture, as well as Circa, its customizable discbound notebook system.

Founded in 1987 by Steve and Lori Leveen, Levenger has been privately held. B&N said that Levenger, with headquarters in Delray Beach, Fla., "will continue to operate from South Florida, with its existing employees remaining in place." The Levenger.com website will continue to offer all Levenger's products, with "a curated assortment to be made available in select Barnes & Noble stores this fall. In due course, an assortment will be offered in most Barnes & Noble and Paper Source stores."

In 2022, B&N bought Paper Source, which sells stationery, cards, gifts, stickers, crafts, and more, from slightly more than 100 stores in the U.S. Paper Source was founded in 1983 and has headquarters in Chicago, Ill.

Levenger CEO Margaret Moraskie said, "Levenger has always been about more than the products we create. It is about a belief in the power of reading, writing and ideas, and the remarkable community that has grown around that belief. Steve and Lori Leveen built something truly special nearly 40 years ago, and our team has worked with tremendous care to carry that legacy forward. Joining Barnes & Noble is an exciting next chapter for Levenger, bringing together two brands with a shared love of books, the written word and lifelong learning. I could not be more proud of our team, nor more excited about the opportunity ahead to introduce Levenger to more people while preserving everything that makes this brand so distinctive."

B&N CEO James Daunt said, "Levenger has created something truly special. For nearly four decades, Steve and Lori Leveen and the Levenger team have established a distinctive brand created specifically for readers and writers. Levenger is an exceptional complement to Barnes & Noble and Paper Source and we look forward to introducing these wonderful products those of our customers who are not already their fans."

The New England Independent Booksellers Association Fall Conference in Newton, Mass., which ended last Thursday, was a lively, energetic show that attracted 235 booksellers, representing 100 bookstores, and 72 exhibitors, for total attendance of almost 600.

NEIBA's outgoing board with executive director Beth Ineson: (front row, l. to r.) Liz Whitelam, Whitelam Books, Reading, Mass.; Hannah Harlow, Bookshop of Beverly Farms, Beverly, Mass.; Ryan Clark, Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, N.H.; (back row, l. to r.) Ineson; David Sandberg, Porter Square Books, Cambridge and Boston, Mass.; Sam Kaas, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vt.; Steve Iwanski, Charter Books, Newport, R.I.; Lisa Dugan, Macmillan.

At the annual meeting on Thursday, executive director Beth Ineson noted that one of the best things about the fall conferences is that "an author speaker will say something that brings everything we do into focus." This year, she pointed out, Jill Lepore, Tuesday's keynote speaker, did that (more on her keynote tomorrow), when she said, "The artificial state unmakes citizens, but independent bookstores create citizens. What you [booksellers] do is the most important thing people can do."

She called Lepore's comments "this year's motivating" phrase, adding that "in this time when the world feels dark, it is useful to remember this. In the midst of what I am fond of calling the small and the real--in your case, paying invoices, the processing of returns, the managing of staff, and wrestling with the supply chain--it is wonderful to be reminded of the work that we do and how important it is."

The annual meeting featured a lot of good news for the association and members. Among the highlights:

In the past year, membership grew 20%, to 226 stores.

Despite rising costs and unexpected expenses, NEIBA was able to keep within its budget and had a deficit that was a third less than budgeted. Its endowment is stable; digital ad revenue is up 35%; catalogue income is steady; and the association is relying less on catalogue income and more on other areas, with revenue from the fall conference up because of NEIBA "finding more ways to engage with publisher partners. We have more authors at breakfasts, more breakfasts, more vendors," treasurer/clerk Sam Kaas of the Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vt., said. The association's goal is to have a balanced budget for the 2027/2028 fiscal year. This year's deficit came in part because of two unbudgeted expenses: for the new customer relations management (CRM) system and the NEIBA bookstore roadmap.

In January, NEIBA hired former bookseller and former NEIBA president Beth Wagner as operations manager, a move that Ineson happily said "has changed my professional life."

Among accomplishments:

NEIBA introduced a new website and the new CRM system that is much more efficient and can do much more than what it replaced.

The NEIBA bookstore roadmap, which Ineson called "the single best marketing thing we've done," is being expanded in 2027, with folded maps and posters, "and a puzzle in the works."

The Spring Forum included the first sidelines-only exhibit floor; it was such "a phenomenal success" that it will be repeated at the 2027 Spring Forum.

Income held steady for NEIBA summer reading and holiday catalogues, although down from its all-time highs, and this year's print run is almost a third more than last year.

The association offered many virtual and in-person events and meetings during the year and will continue to do so.

The recently held election results that included two new board members and new officers. The new board members are Benjamin Rybeck of House of Books, Kent, Conn., and Fred Rossero of Oblong Books, Millerton and Rhinebeck, N.Y. Board members whose terms ended at the conference were David Sandberg, Porter Square Books, Cambridge and Boston, Mass., and Ryan Clark, Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, N.H. Outgoing president Liz Whitelam of Whitelam Books, Reading, Mass., remains on the board as past president. NEIBA's new president is Sam Kaas of Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vt.; the new vice-president is Steve Iwanski of Charter Books, Newport, R.I.; and the new treasurer/secretary is Hannah Harlow of the Bookshop of Beverly Farms, Beverly, Mass.

Next year the NEIBA Fall Conference returns to Manchester, N.H., and the Spring Conference will be in Providence, R.I.

Earlier this month, Amelia's, described as "part café, part restaurant, part bookstore--without any one of them being an afterthought," hosted a ribbon cutting (Sun Sentinel photos) at 909-911 NE 20th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Owner Gina Cavendish, who opened Pulp & Press cafe and bookstore in the same location last February, has reimagined the business with what Secret Miami described as "a fresh new look and name." 
 
"We live in a time when we are more connected than ever, and yet real connection has become increasingly rare," she told Secret Miami before the reopening. "We built this as a place that invites people to slow down and simply be with one another, where stories begin and unfold, and where anyone can belong. This next chapter is our love letter to that idea, and to the community that has made this place its own."

Amelia's "is an independent café and bookstore built around the things we think make life a little better: excellent coffee, genuinely good food, brilliant books and plenty of reasons to come back," according to the website. 

After the relaunch event, Amelia's posted on Instagram: "In case you were out of town or spent the weekend doing lovelier things than scrolling, here's the headline: we changed our name. We're Amelia's now, and we've given the place a bit of a refresh while we were at it. 

"Thank you to our lovely community who showed up to support our relaunch! We are beyond grateful. Everything you loved is still here: the same people behind the counter, the books, and the corner you always disappear into for an afternoon. There's just a bit more of it now. A full new fall menu, proper brunch, and a limited drink we've called the Page Turner. Yes, we know what we did. Missed the whole reveal? It's all here."

Bitter Lemon Press has launched Labyrinth Press, an imprint dedicated to international literary fiction published mostly in translation. Labyrinth Press aims to build on Bitter Lemon Press's international approach while creating a home for literary voices beyond its crime list.

François von Hurter, publisher and co-founder of Bitter Lemon Press, said, "The labyrinth has always been a powerful literary symbol. It represents the pleasure of becoming immersed in a story and the excitement of discovering unexpected paths. That is the tradition we are claiming with this list: international fiction you enter at your own risk--fiction that gets under your skin before it lets you go. Every book we choose has to earn its way to the centre."

The first title, which will be published in March 2027 in the U.S., is Ósmann, Ferryman of the North by Joachim B. Schmidt, translated from the German by Jamie Lee Searle, a historical novel inspired by the life of Jón Magnússon Ósmann (1862-1914), a legendary ferryman from northern Iceland. Schmidt is the author of Kalmann and Kalmann and the Sleeping Mountain.

In early 2028, Labyrinth Press will publish Une forêt by art critic and essayist Jean-Yves Jouannais. A philosophical novella in the tradition of Franz Kafka and Thomas Bernhard, the book has been a major critical success in France.

British-American novelist, playwright, and commentator Bonnie Greer died September 15, the Guardian reported. She was 77. In a statement, her husband, David Hutchins, said Greer's "intelligence, courage and distinctive voice made an enduring contribution to British cultural and public life. To me, she was my partner, confidante and inspiration, and I feel profoundly privileged to have shared my life with her."

Bonnie Greer in 2017 (photo: RexxS)

Author Bernardine Evaristo posted on social media: "RIP Bonnie Greer. Very sad news. There was a period in the '90s/'00s when Bonnie was probably the most important and high profile black cultural commentator in the U.K. Other than her writing, she also sat on many important boards--representing."

Greer grew up on Chicago's South Side. She studied playwriting under David Mamet there before moving to New York to work in theater and then, in 1986, to the U.K., where she became a citizen in 1997.

Her first book, Hanging by Her Teeth (1994), was a novel about a Black American woman traveling through the U.S. and Europe in search of her father. Later books included Obama Music (2009), about her and the former U.S. president's connections to Chicago's South Side; Langston Hughes: The Value of Contradiction (2011), a biography of the Harlem Renaissance figure; and A Parallel Life (2014), her memoir. She also contributed to New Daughters of Africa (2019), an anthology edited by Margaret Busby. In 2022, she was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Greer's stage plays included Dancing on Blackwater, Jitterbug, and Munda Negra, for which she won the Soho Theatre Company Verity Bargate award for best play. In 2005, the BBC broadcast Marilyn and Ella Backstage at the Mocambo, Greer's radio play set in the 1950s that told the story of how Marilyn Monroe "persuaded a nightclub to book Fitzgerald amid racist reluctance, promising to sit in the front row every night," the Guardian noted. Greer later adapted the story into a musical drama for stage, Marilyn and Ella, which ran at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and the Apollo Theatre, London. She wrote many radio dramas for the BBC, as well as translating and dramatizing The Little Prince for a full-cast BBC radio adaptation.

Greer served on the boards of the Royal Opera House, the British Museum, and the London Film School, and was chancellor of Kingston University, London. In the 2010 Queen's birthday honors, she was given an OBE for contribution to the arts.

Many writers and politicians shared tributes to Greer on social media, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who wrote: "Bonnie's voice brought courage, humor and humanity to Britain's cultural conversation. She inspired and opened doors for so many others. And she was great fun too."

Former deputy prime minister David Lammy called Greer "a powerful wordsmith and artist, she was eloquent and exacting. A true life force."

Thunder Road Books in Spring Lake, N.J., had a sold-out crowd for Harlan Coben and his book Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing at the Spring Lake Theatre. Coben (l.) was in conversation with photographer and film director Danny Clinch of the Transparent Clinch Gallery of Asbury Park.  

"I love it when a couple comes in and from their conversation I can tell it's a first date. Someone's reading preferences are a much better way to get to know someone than dinner and a movie," Monarch Books in Arroyo Grande, Calif., posted.

"POV: You're a book in a bookstore." Nook & Press in San Angelo, Tex., offered a books-eye-view of the browsing experience, noting: "Ever thought what it would be like to be sitting on a Shelf in a Bookstore? No, just us?! Come and take a Sunday stroll among our shelves."

Between Chapters by Zibby Owens (Zibby Books).

Today:
Good Morning America: Seth Wickersham, author of Be on That Hill: Stories from the Summits of Sport (Hyperion Avenue, $21.99, 9781368099172).

Also on GMA: Ari Emanuel, author of Roll the Calls: A Memoir (Knopf, $35, 9798217209347).

The View: Gov. Andy Beshear, author of Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country (St. Martin's Press, $30, 9781250452719).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Dolph Lundgren, author of Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle (Harper Horizon, $29.99, 9781400255177). He will also appear on Live with Kelly and Mark.

Also on GMA: Kwame Onwuachi, co-author of All Hours: Crazy Good Food for Whatever, Whenever: A Cookbook (Knopf, $40, 9780593802588).

Drew Barrymore Show: Annie Meyers-Shyer, author of This Oak House: A Renovation Story with Interiors to Inspire Your Own Home (Chronicle, $45, 9781797239361).

Also on Drew Barrymore: Jaclyn Smith, author of I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie: A Memoir (Gallery, $30, 9781982116644).

Watch What Happens Live: Jessica Tarlov, author of I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends (Random House, $30, 9798217154135).

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Ke Huy Quan, author of Never Say Die: A Memoir (Grand Central, $32.50, 9781538776995).

In "Brick and mortar bookstores are back," American Public Media's Marketplace recently reported on the growth of indie bookstores and Barnes & Noble, focusing on Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore, Fresno, Calif., a BIPOC- and LGBTQ-centered store that stocks titles in English, Spanish, Punjabi, and Hmong. The store started in 2023 as a pop-up and online store, then opened in a storefront in 2024.

"One of our first pop-up events, we had an elder who said they've never seen themselves represented in books before, ever," Judging by the Cover co-owner Ashley Mireles-Guerrero, who is also a children's book author, said. "Growing up as a Latina, there weren't a lot of stories that represent us."

The Marketplace segment also featured comments from Shelf Awareness's own John Mutter.

Winners have been selected for the 2026 Dayton Literary Peace Prizes, which honor "writers whose work uses the power of the written word to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding." The two winners--in fiction and nonfiction--receive $10,000 each; runners-up receive $5,000 each. They will all be celebrated at an awards ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, the weekend of November 7-8.

In addition, author and bookseller Ann Patchett is receiving the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award.

Fiction winner: The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman (Harper)
Fiction runner-up: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron Books)

Nonfiction winner: Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack (Crown)
Nonfiction runner-up: Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve Ewing (One World)

Rebeca Lee Morales's first novel, Winter Song, is quietly astonishing.

In the deep, cold winter of 1986, in a small Minnesota town, police chief Gordon Trent sits alone in the cold house he shared with his late wife, pondering his approaching retirement, which he intends to delay as long as possible. He shares cold toast with the dog, attends the scene of a death by apparent suicide, and visits with an old friend, a retired fellow officer. Then the narrative shifts to focus on Byron Lugo as he is released from prison. Now 26, Byron has served his time for vehicular homicide: a hit-and-run for which Byron is very sorry, but he has always maintained his innocence. Having regained his freedom, he is determined to get his life back: job, car, house, fiancée--although the latter has married someone else. Trent's belief in justice is, more than ever, what gets him through his work and his life; Byron's insistence that justice has not been served is unwavering. The two men persist in calm, polite, staunch disagreement, until one of them is proven correct, and lives are once again upheaved.

The town that serves as backdrop, Montevideo--known as Monte--is as clearly portrayed as any of its residents, who make up a cast of colorful, flawed, but sympathetic men and women laboring at a no-frills, working-class existence. These include the woman who runs the thrift store, Byron's soft-spoken father, a diner waitress, and Byron's small but unwavering group of friends. The novel's action rises to bar scenes with dancing and pool, a demolition derby, and an act of startling violence. But much of its greatest drama takes place in subtler moments: conversation, reflection, the pulling back of a covering drape. With grace, humor, and wise observations of human behaviors, Winter Song examines what everyday people can and cannot, or will not, live with; forgiveness, justice, friendship, and community; and the question of whether a fresh start is truly possible.

Morales has captured an American town and the human condition, in all their wounds and splendors, and in simple dignity. With deceptively deep focus and nuance, she applies an attention to detail that exalts even snow in "heaping begrimed ramparts" and the stark struggles of humble existence. For all its many tragedies, and a good dose of dramatic irony, this novel is searingly beautiful and surprisingly hopeful in the end. --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia

Shelf Talker: During a small-town Midwestern winter, a young felon who proclaims his innocence and a police chief nearing retirement face off in this debut novel of hard questions and strange loveliness.