Eileen Dengler

For many attendees at the New Voices New Rooms conference last week in Baltimore, Md., a key attraction of the show was being able to thank and say goodbye--but not farewell--to New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association executive director Eileen Dengler, who is retiring at the end of the year after 27 years at NAIBA. The tributes reached a crescendo on Tuesday evening at the awards dinner, when a contingent of people talked about what they've loved and will miss about Dengler, all as part of recognizing her as the recipient of NAIBA's Legacy Award.

At the same time, a new award named in Dengler's honor was announced. The Eileen Dengler Fellowship Award will begin next year and provide one NAIBAhood bookseller a year with a full year of educational support and mentorship through NAIBA.

Among speakers' comments, in part:

Kit Little, NAIBA executive administrator: "Some words to describe Eileen: innovative, powerhouse, mother, visionary, mentor, leader, organizer, wife, founder, director, advocate, champion, writer, lovely. Dare I say demigoddess? But my personal favorite is disrupter.... She's touched all of our lives, even if you were not aware of this happening. She has challenged the industry in all of the best ways."

Among the many programs and initiatives Dengler created, Little mentioned the publisher promotion specials collection, volunteer publisher advocates for stores without assigned reps, publisher visits, advocacy with publisher to maintain equitable sales and marketing strategies that don't cut out indie bookstores, Publicity Speed Day, working with other regions on RAMP--the summer and winter catalogue program--as well as other programs, and Professional Booksellers School (which Dengler will continue to head into next year).

Attendees offered a toast to Dengler.

Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, D.C., and outgoing NAIBA president: "With the energy that helped create NAIBA, Eileen has opened the doors by pushing wider scholarships, education and access to everyone. She cares about your bookstore, whether you were in the country, the suburbs, the city, or suffering in between [the place] that you don't have a name for....

"She has led us through about 30 different wildernesses, whether big box stores, Amazon, or in fact the creative resurgence that has led to news stores, and she's determined that every new store makes it to year 10 and year 20 and year 30."

Linda-Marie Barrett, executive director, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance: "[When Covid hit], we decided to create New Voices New Rooms. That is when I first experienced the force that is Eileen Dengler. Our first New Voices New Rooms turned into this giant production, taking place on four Zoom channels with simultaneous programming, offered for four days. NVNR was like a mini CNN station. It was one of the most challenging things our team had ever done....

Several NAIBA past presidents attended to honor Eileen Dengler: (from l.) Todd Dickinson, Aaron's Books, Lititz, Pa.; Lucy Kogler, Talking Leaves, Buffalo, N.Y.; Tim Hepp, Simon & Schuster; and Margot Sage-EL, Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, N.J.

"She is probably the hardest-working person I've ever met. She is also a visionary, with a brilliant ability to turn those ideas into reality. Even more extraordinary is how she accomplishes great thing under the kinds of duress that would waylay most others....

"Over the last seven years, Eileen has become one of my dearest, dearest friends. My confidante during struggles, a person with whom I can share my dreams and fears. When you have people like that in your life, you treasure them. She is also, it must be said, very, very funny."

Mary Beth Thomas, Hachette Book Group: "I first got to know you personally about 15 years ago when I got the field sales director job at Harper. Immediately I found you be a warm and welcoming presence and colleague with all kinds of great advice.... My time on the NAIBA board was short but sweet, and I truly got to see you in all your talents and action."

Todd Dickinson, Aaron's Books, Lititz, Pa., former NAIBA president: "Sam and I have run Aaron's Books for 20 years. It is no exaggeration to say that Aaron's Books would not be open today without everything that Eileen has done for us and the bookseller community....

"All the board members throughout the years and all bookstores like mine that live and thrive because of the strength of NAIBA, we say thank you again and again and again, my friend Eileen."

Tim Hepp, retired from Simon & Schuster and a former NAIBA president: "[In 1998, the old NAIBA-predecessor show] was an unorganized mess. I know because I was there. In 1999, Eileen was brought in to run NAIBA, and slowly but surely, she built NAIBA. I've been coming to NAIBA since that first show, and what's led to that growth is due to the steadfast energy Eileen put into each show.... Eileen had one thing in mind. What can we do for the show to make booksellers' lives easier? Communication, collaboration, networking, and education. Hearing new and established authors and rep picks were a big part and a big bonus. Bottom line is that all that work, starting a booksellers school, coordinating NAIBAhood events, and herding board member, which is harder than herding cats [succeeded]... and that smile."

Eileen Dengler with Linda-Marie Barrett at NVNR

Kerri Leonard: "I was lucky enough to begin my career working for Eileen. She was my very first boss, and I couldn't have asked for a better mentor. I truly wouldn't be where I am today without your guidance, patience, and unwavering belief in me. You taught me not only how to plan meetings, but how to lead, solve problems, and always put people first. Over the years, no matter where work has taken me, I often find myself asking, 'What would Eileen do?' Your example has stayed with me every step of the way."

Sara Braverman, Eileen Dengler's daughter and an LCSW: "Eileen Dengler, the executive director of NAIBA, the woman who created countless programs and built incredible conventions. I was once told that in this industry she's kind of a big deal. But I know her as mom. The woman who served unforgettable birthday parties, beautiful bridal and baby showers, and continues to teach me everything I know about life. She's kind of a big deal in my world, too....

"We all know her as a problem solver, someone who is kind, loving. She has always been a planner. She's always been creative. She has always had amazing ideas that we've been able to benefit from over the past few decades.... Your legacy runs much deeper than your work for NAIBA and the book industry. Your greatest legacy is the example and standards you set for your family. My favorite memory is life with you, Mom. Growing up, I learned I can do anything because I've watched you do everything." 

Braverman led the group toast to her mom: "To an incredible leader, an amazing mother and grandmother, and to a retirement that is every bit as wonderful as the career you've built, because we love you--and you're kind of a big deal."

In remarks after the toast, Dengler said in part, "Nothing compares to this night. Everything you've covered, shared with me, and made me feel--I thank you so much....

"My family is here, and today I want to say, look around this room. This has been my family for 40 years. These are the people I was thinking of, working for, writing to, talking to all those decades, late into the night, all those years on the road. It was for them. I was always with them. It was all about the people....

"I share this legacy award with all of you since I was in service to you all these years... This legacy award means you have a home where we tuck you in, leave the light on, and sneak you some chocolate.... This is the word: let's disrupt this industry to find waste, inefficiencies, and inequities so we can bring stories to readers that makes a good living for those who write the stories, publish the stories, and sell the stories....

"[In retirement] you can find me in the garden, trying to convince myself that the weeds are beautiful. You'll find me at the beach during shark week. When the breeze blows, you'll find me flying a kite. Or you're going to find me in my brand-new home library. And I hope you find me in your heart every time you think of NAIBA and Professional Booksellers School."

As we said last year when Dengler announced her retirement, "Some of us at Shelf Awareness have known Eileen since the days she headed the old ABA show, and we will miss her greatly. She has always been helpful, cheerful, thoughtful, funny, smart--and she has the best laugh."

Cupid's Bookshop, Philadelphia, Pa., which opened April 24, 2025, in a 600-square-foot space in Manayunk's Incubator Space at 106 Grape St., will host a grand reopening celebration this coming Saturday, August 15, Bookstore Romance Day, in its new location at 4347 Main St. 

In a social media post last week, owner Tina Long wrote: "We've been quiet for a bit, and it's because we've been building something bigger.... After months of planning, we are so ready to welcome you into our new home in Manayunk.... New space, same love story. See you on Main Street."

On Monday, she posted an update: "It has been so bittersweet packing up our store at 106 Grape Street. We opened here in April last year and it has been such a dream come true and we love the community. Thank you to you all that has shopped here and supported us that we outgrew our space and needed to move to a larger one.

"We are only moving 200 feet away to our larger space.... We hope you to see you in the new space! Thank you again to @manayunkdotcom for all the support and guidance in our first year of business and all the wonderful Manayunk neighbor businesses who have been so welcoming and helpful."

Andrew Rein has been promoted to president of Zando. He joined the company in 2021, the third employee, as head of sales & publishing. Before joining Zando, Rein spent 13 years at Penguin Random House, where he most recently was v-p, director of mass merch national accounts. He has, Zando said, played "a key role in the development of the company since, exercising keen creative instincts for cross-functional initiatives to unlock new opportunities for books."

Andrew Rein

Zando CEO and Founder Molly Stern said, "In his new role as president, Andrew's authority and influence will continue to be felt across the organization as a leader and now as the designated second-in-command. He will continue to oversee the sales, marketing and publicity teams as well as partner with me and our executive team on every aspect of Zando's operations and growth, with a special near-term focus on international revenue opportunities. In close partnership with Andrew, I plan to maintain my oversight over the editorial and design groups... Andrew has worked across Zando with every department to build custom approaches to distribution and promotion, execute insanely creative retail initiatives like our recent, extraordinary Slowburn Summer partnership with BAM, and he has drawn into the company other enormously skilled and essential leaders."

Rein said, "From the beginning, I've shared Molly's ambition and vision to improve every aspect of how books are published. I am thrilled now to join her at the helm, and am incredibly excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what an independent publisher can achieve on behalf of our authors."

Jacqueline Korn, a literary agent and former co-director of David Higham Associates who, over her 50-year career, represented a list of authors that included James Herriot, Richard Adams, Jack Higgins, Michael Morpurgo, Stephen Fry, and Arthur C. Clarke, has died, the Bookseller reported. She was 88.

After taking a typing course, Korn launched her career working for literary agents Harvey Una and Nina Froud. She joined DHA in 1958 as secretary to novelist and literary agent Paul Scott, author of The Raj Quartet. When Scott stopped working as an agent, Korn became assistant to the agency's founder, David Higham, and then started representing her own clients. Following Higham's death in 1978, Korn and Bruce Hunter--whose clients included John le Carré and Muriel Spark--jointly ran the agency for two decades, the Bookseller wrote.

Roland Glasser, her son and a Booker International-longlisted literary translator from the French, said his mother was "as much a counsellor to her authors as she was an agent, making herself available to them at any hour. She was also committed to helping people enter and progress within publishing, offering advice and nurturing talent throughout her career."

In a tribute, literary agent and DHA director Veronique Baxer observed: "Jacqueline was in her early 60s when she gave me my first job in publishing. Her highly successful career had spanned decades by then, and she was a formidable force within the agency and the publishing community. She fought fiercely and fearlessly on behalf of her authors, managing to balance toughness and occasional ferocity with warmth, humor and compassion."

Although she formally retired 15 years ago, she remained close to a number of her former authors and continued to offer them occasional advice, the Bookseller noted, adding that Korn "was also founding member of the Groucho Club, established in 1985 by figures from publishing and the wider creative industries as an alternative to London's more traditional private members' clubs, many of which were then male-only."

Booksellers and librarians are invited to join expert booksellers Jess Fuentes of Wild Rumpus Books, Minneapolis, Minn., and Allie Pontrello of Third Place Books, Seattle, Wash., in a webinar conversation about window display and merchandising tips and tricks with Shelf Awareness publisher Matt Baldacci. The webinar takes place next Tuesday, August 18, at 4 p.m. Eastern. For those unable to attend during the workday, a link to the recording will be sent to all registrants. A certificate of completion will be sent to those who need it for professional development. Click here for free registration.

Partners in Crime Bookshop, Chicago, Ill., hosted Kemper Donovan (the All About Agatha podcast), and author Lina Chern for a fireside chat about Donovan's third Ghostwriter Mystery, Sweet Spot (A John Scognamiglio Book/Kensington).

"We've made some display changes, ha ha. Our work is never done here," the BookSmiths Shoppe in Danbury, Conn., posted on Instagram. "We now have a BookTok table, new fantasy display shelves, updated YA, children's displays AND... blind date with a book (located near fiction). I'd like to thank Elyse, Patty and Raelyn for helping with this project. Our feminism display has been moved to the non-fiction section near music and entertainment clearly marked... thank you again for shopping with us."

"Happy Summerween." That was the pumpkin-flavored sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Wicked Books in Salem, Mass., which noted: "Summerween in Salem is a vibe."

Louie Mattar's Fabulous Car by Heidi Lewis, illustrated by Jordi Vila Delclòs (Creative Editions).

Today:
NBC News: Sissy Goff and David Thomas, authors of Capable: How to Teach Your Kids the Strengths, Skills, and Strategies to Build Resilience (Baker Publishing, $24.99, 9780764245329).

Tomorrow:
Sherri Shepherd Show repeat: Tina Knowles, author of Matriarch: A Memoir (One World, $22, 9780593597422).

BBC has joined Working Title's new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel Jane Eyre, starring Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus, Sex Education) in the title role. The series is being written by Miriam Battye (Succession). BBC will develop the project and become its broadcaster-financier.

The novel has inspired several film and TV adaptations, including a BBC TV series in 2006 starring Ruth Wilson. In addition, Mia Wasikowska had the lead role Cary Fukanaga's 2011 adaptation (for BBC Films), and Charlotte Gainsbourg played Jane for Franco Zeffirelli in 1996. Next year will mark the 180th anniversary of the novel's first publication.

Winners were announced for the 2026 Aurora Awards, which recognize excellence by Canadians in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This year's Aurora Awards, nominated and voted on by members of the Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association, were presented in a livestreamed ceremony. See the complete list of category winners here.

(credit: Emiil Wilson)

Emil Wilson is an award-winning art director, illustrator, and artist whose creative work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, as well as on NPR, the Oscars, and during the Super Bowl. He is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies and lives in San Francisco. The Nightingales (Avid Reader Press, August 4, 2026) is his first book, a graphic novel about compassion, family, and the unexpected ways one person's life can alter another's.

Handsell readers your book in about 30 words:

Based on a true story, The Nightingales is a graphic novel set in 1985 about a life-changing friendship between a teenage girl and the dying stranger who moves into her family's home.

On your nightstand now:

Names and Faces by Leise Hook, a graphic memoir-in-essays about growing up mixed race. Hook is a master of visual metaphor and a wonderful writer to boot.

Favorite book when you were a child:

As if there was one! My parents believed in two things: they loved libraries, and if I wanted to read something, they didn't censor it (though that only applied to books). Around eight or nine, I decided to read all the Newbery Award winners--Esther Hoskins Forbes's Johnny Tremain, Elizabeth Borton de Treviño's I, Juan de Pareja, Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins, and William H. Armstrong's Sounder were especially memorable. Then my mother brought home a copy of The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, and I read it cover to cover twice. After that, I graduated to books that were probably far too adult for me: Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song, Alex Haley's Roots, anything by James Michener. It felt like a kind of coming-of-age, and I'm grateful my parents trusted that I'd be okay.

Ironically, I didn't read a graphic novel--or even really a comic book--until I was well into my 50s. I'd spent my career as an advertising creative director and had been telling stories visually for years. But when I decided I wanted to tell my own, I knew drawing and design had to be part of them. So I quit my job and enrolled in a comics school, where my classmates were half my age. I had such a great time bringing everything I'd learned in advertising to a completely different medium. In the process, I discovered the form that felt most like me.

Your top five authors:

In terms of cartoonists: Eleanor Davis, Julie Delporte, Youssef Daoudi, Anders Nilsen, Jordan Crane. Prose writers whom I love: Richard Yates, Jonathan Franzen, Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, and Lorrie Moore.

Book you've faked reading:

Buddha by Osamu Tezuka, the eight-volume comic-book retelling of the life of Siddhartha Gautama. Although it's considered one of the great achievements in manga, I've only read a couple of the volumes, and I feel incredibly guilty about it.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Tunnels by Rutu Modan. An adventure comic of sorts, with the flavor of a 1930s screwball comedy, where everyone is scheming, bickering, and chasing history underneath Jerusalem.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Building Stories by Chris Ware (plus it's a box with all kinds of amazing objects inside it!).

Book you hid from your parents:

I didn't make a big deal about reading Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter, but I can't say I hid it.

Book that changed your life:

Belonging by Nora Krug. In it, the author investigates her German family's relationship to the Third Reich. It was the first graphic memoir that made me feel like anything was possible in visual storytelling. It's extraordinary.

Favorite line from a book:

Any of the crow panels from Cannon by Lee Lai (they're more effective than any written line!).

Five books you'll never part with:

Here by Richard McGuire (so innovative... do not watch the film)

Precious Rubbish by Kayla E. (a difficult read but unforgettably creative)

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

Pretending Is Lying by Dominique Goblet, translated by Sophie Yanow

Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works 1981-2016 by Geneviève Castrée. Castrée died of pancreatic cancer in 2016 at age 35. Every time I look through this remarkable book, I'm reminded that life is precious and short, and to get off my ass and make art while I'm still able.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Maus by Art Spiegelman. I read it when I was just beginning to explore graphic novels, and while I appreciated it then, I'd love to experience it now after writing something of my own.

Your favorite art tool to create with:

My scanner. It brings everything together and is more valuable to me than any brush or colored pencil. We're in a deeply committed relationship.

Patagonia puma Rupestre and her four adorable cubs are featured in wildlife filmmaker René Araneda's breathtaking children's nonfiction picture book, Puma Concolor, translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel (Newborns). Stunning illustrations by artist Julio Antonio Blasco (The Great Big Animal Race) turn the fascinating story about filming in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia into an all-around artistic blockbuster that is certain to mesmerize middle-grade nature lovers.

Araneda begins by emphasizing the importance of not interfering in the lives of his subjects: "We want to record the animals behaving naturally--living freely, without human influence." Said animals are a family of pumas, called "concolor" for their uniform tan coloring. Araneda provides background on the puma in general, including distinctive features, sex differences, and vocalizations (with a QR code that leads to a web page of recordings of the cats' sounds) as well as discussing their habitats ("pumas inhabit nearly all the ecosystems on the American continents").

"Torres del Paine has one of the highest population densities of pumas in the world, thanks to the protection they have received over the past decade." From a distance, Araneda captures Rupestre, a "calm, confident" female puma, caring for and teaching her spotted cubs: "They developed their muscles, their reflexes, and their techniques for stalking, attacking, and defending themselves. It was play--but it was also training."

Blasco's striking mixed-media illustrations use strong, unbroken lines that depict the cats' power and the vastness of the landscape. He uses the palette of nature to highlight the extremes of the different habitats, fully saturating the art with each hue so that the images appear flattened or constrained. The pumas fight for survival in the cold blues and stark whites of challenging winters and the orange and brown of arid summers. Blasco shades and shadows Patagonia's lush season in greens and yellows, giving the felines and their home texture and depth. Throughout the book, the film crew appears in blue, like they are hiding in the shadows to minimize their impact on Rupestre's family.

Schimel keeps young readers glued to Rupestre's adventures with captivating and valuably informative text. For budding zoologists, environmentalists, filmmakers, or any cat lover, Puma Concolor has plenty that will evoke purrs of delight. --Jen Forbus, freelancer

Shelf Talker: A documentary filmmaker and an illustrator collaborate to tell the incredible story of a puma and her four cubs in this awe-inspiring middle-grade nonfiction picture book.

The following were the most popular book club books during July based on votes from book club readers in more than 94,000 book clubs registered at Bookmovement.com:

1. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Atria)
2. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Knopf)
3. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau)
4. The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans (Crown)
5. Whistler: A Novel by Ann Patchett (Harper)
6. The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (Harper Muse)
7. My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Atria)
8. The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (Gallery Books)
9. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (St. Martin's Press)
10. Wild Dark Shore: A Novel by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron) 

Rising Stars:
Land: A Novel by Maggie O'Farrell (Knopf)
The Queens of Crime: A Novel by Marie Benedict (St. Martin's Griffin)