The Islander Bookshop, Kodiak, Alaska, held a soft opening last Friday at the shop's new location in the Kodiak Marketplace mall, "relocating from a small storefront about a mile north of downtown," KMXT reported. The store will host a grand reopening party on November 11.

"It just blows my mind that in 2023, an indie bookstore, not in the lower 48 but on this island, pretty far out there, can expand--triple our size," said founder and co-owner Melissa Haffeman, noting that the space is closer to hotels and where cruise ships dock, so attracting tourist traffic will be huge for the store. "Part of the calculation to see if we can make it a go in a larger space is that we would hopefully be able to have the folks visit the bookstore that maybe don't have vehicles or maybe they're fishing for a season."

Co-ower Kate Paulson has been working with the bookstore's staff and focusing on everyone's specialized skills. They started moving stock less than a week before the reopening, but she said the move has been near seamless so far. 

Haffeman, who moved to Kodiak as a teenager, said she is honored to bring some of the magic back to the area: "To be able to be a part of bringing back downtown and to play our role in that--it's the chance of a lifetime, it's so exciting. She added that her favorite part of the new location is a lounge where patrons can read and preview books before buying them. 

In addition to the bookshop, a toy store has opened in the Kodiak Marketplace, along with a local indigenous artist who will be selling crystals, jewelry, and other art pieces. The new marketplace will also feature a bakery, a post office, a restaurant, a gift shop for the Alutiiq Museum, and a small grocery store in the next year. The association is still looking to fill two more long-term leases. A grand opening for the mall is planned for next spring.

Marcus Books in Oakland, Calif., was burglarized Sunday night, KRON4 reported.

At around 9 p.m., a man broke the bookstore's window with a piece of asphalt, stole four hardcover books from the window display, and walked away. Marcus Books co-owner Blanche Richardson told KRON4 that the four books were worth about $150, while the cost to repair the window will run about $1,200. A piece of stained glass art, given to Richardson by her brother and co-owner, Billy, was also damaged.

The thief took nothing else, and Richardson noted that based on the surveillance footage, the man "doesn't appear to be drunk or on drugs or homeless." She added: "It really makes me angry, because it's so senseless and expensive."

The damaged window has been boarded up, and the owners hope to replace it before the start of the holiday shopping season. The bookstore has been burglarized before: during a break-in six months ago, electronics were stolen and the store was vandalized.

Founded in San Francisco in 1960, Marcus Books is said to be the oldest Black bookstore in the country. Per KRON4, Richardson and her family are working on reopening the San Francisco location.

Bradley Tusk

Bradley Tusk, the venture capitalist and philanthropist who to us, first and foremost, is a bookseller and author, is launching a promotion for his debut novel, Obvious in Hindsight, which officially pubs November 28. Beginning today, November 7, the book will be available exclusively at a group of independent bookstores--and others are encouraged to join. The approach is reminiscent of the those taken by Lydia Davis and Dave Eggers, who have limited or banned sales of their books on Amazon. Tusk has been updating readers about the exclusive on his twice-a-week podcast, weekly newsletter, and on social media.

Tusk, owner of P&T Knitwear, the bookstore, podcast studio, event space and café that opened last year on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, explained, "After opening an independent bookstore in the middle of Covid, I am in awe of hardworking independent booksellers who serve authors and their communities day in and day out. Releasing my debut novel to select indies three weeks before the hardcover ships on Amazon is just one small way to support these local businesses. I hope readers will shop small, and I hope more stores join our unique approach."

Stores that are participating include Seminary Co-op Bookstores, Chicago, Ill.; Books & Books, Miami, Fla.; Green Apple Books, San Francisco, Calif.; Zibby's Bookshop, Santa Monica, Calif.; Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash.; and Kramers, Washington, D.C.

Tusk emphasized that he would like to partner with more indies on the deal, saying, "Booksellers can reach out to book@bradleytusk.com if they want to take part and we'll be happy to partner with them and provide their store early access to Obvious in Hindsight."

Tusk describes Obvious in Hindsight, being published by Post Hill Press's Regalo Press imprint, as "a behind-the-scenes romp through a political campaign to legalize flying cars in New York City, Los Angeles and Austin. It paints a vivid picture of the characters pushing for the campaign's success and plotting its downfall. There are politicians, political operatives, venture capitalists, startup founders, union bosses, FBI agents, animal rights advocates, Russian mobsters, life coaches, podcasters, TV talking heads (but no independent booksellers, that's for my next novel).

"In the novel, I've tried to get across how capitalism, politics, and tech intersect--and how decisions actually get made by those in power. And while my book is a futuristic satire, the first flying car prototypes have just gotten initial FAA approval. The future could be here sooner than we all think."

Tusk has quite the background for the book. Besides founding P&T Knitwear (the store name refers to a knitwear company co-founded by Tusk's grandfather in the early 1950s that was near the bookstore's site), he's a co-founder of the Gotham Book Prize; an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School; a columnist for Fast Company; the author of The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics (Portfolio); CEO and co-founder of Tusk Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests solely in early-stage startups in highly regulated industries; and founder of the political consulting firm Tusk Strategies. (He also was campaign manager for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2009 re-election campaign; served as deputy governor of Illinois; and worked for New York Senator Chuck Schumer.) His family foundation is funding and leading a national campaign to bring mobile voting to all U.S. elections. Tusk Philanthropies also runs and funds anti-hunger campaigns.

Jane Garrett

Jane Garrett, who as an editor at Knopf "guided seven books to Pulitzer Prizes for history but watched another book lose its prestigious Bancroft Prize over scholars' criticism of the author's research," died October 12, the New York Times reported. She was 88. Garrett worked at Knopf for 44 years, initially as an editor and special assistant to Alfred Knopf himself. She began by steering his projects to completion, but soon began acquiring books herself.

In 1973, People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the History of American Civilization by Michael Kammen, became the first of the books she edited to win a Pulitzer. The next, in 1987, was Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution by Bernard Bailyn, followed a year later by Robert V. Bruce's The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846-1876.

Garrett was at a book party in Boston when she met Alan Taylor, who was starting to work on a book about William Cooper, founder of Cooperstown, N.Y., and the father of James Fenimore Cooper. After their conversation, Taylor sent her a book proposal. "It was pretty academic, so she asked, 'Can you rework this and draw the characters out more?' and I got a contract," he recalled. "It was the first time I got paid upfront for anything." Taylor's William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic (1995) won the 1996 Pulitzer.

Several books edited by Garrett also received the Bancroft Prize for American history and diplomacy from Columbia University, including two titles in 1996 (Taylor's book and David Reynolds's Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography) and Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture by Michael Bellesiles in 2001. 

Bellesiles's thesis--that very few people owned working guns in colonial America--set off a furious academic debate, the Times noted, adding that scholars documented serious errors in the author's research. At first, Garrett backed Bellesiles, but later that year Columbia rescinded his Bancroft and Knopf cut its ties with the author in 2003. "I still do not believe in any shape or form he fabricated anything," Garrett told the AP at the time. "He's just a sloppy researcher."

Although she joined Knopf in 1967, Garrett was not well known in publishing circles, in part because she stopped working in the company's Manhattan office in the mid-1970s to work from home, first in Cornwall, Vt., and later in Leeds, Mass.

"When I came in here, it was some months before I realized there was this editor who operated in the hinterlands someplace," Sonny Mehta, then the president of Knopf, told the Times for a profile of Garrett in 1996. "Jane was the last person I got to know here."

Garrett's other Pulitzer winners were A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (1990); The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood (1991), and Jack Rakove's Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (1997). She also edited bestsellers, including Karen Armstrong's A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by (1993) and The Road From Coorain by Jill Ker Conway (1989).

Brick Lane Books & Gifts in Rogers, Ark., is closing permanently next month, KNWA reported.

Store owner Beth Welborn announced the closure in a Facebook post, writing: "It's thankful month, and we are so incredibly grateful for our customers! You all have supported our small business for the past two years --thank you, thank you so much! But now, it's time for the next chapter. Our bookstore will be permanently closing in December."

Welborn noted that the store is no longer taking special orders or issuing gift certificates, and she and her team will be running various deals this month to clear out inventory and "finish strong."

Nearly 100 readers of all ages attended a discussion and signing with Ojibwe author Byron Graves for his YA debut novel, Rez Ball (Heartdrum/HarperCollins), at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Aspen Grove, Littleton, Colo.

Happy 75th birthday to Emöke B'Rácz, founder of Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, N.C.! To celebrate, Leaning Chair Press, the publishing arm of Malaprop's, published a collection of her poetry entitled Hopscotch on the riverbank while waiting....

Ingram Academic and Professional will provide distribution, sales and academic marketing services in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean for Walter De Gruyter, Inc., beginning January 2024.

With headquarters in Berlin since 1749 and offices in Boston, Beijing, and around Europe, De Gruyter is one of the world's largest humanities publishers. Its program extends to subject areas like natural and social sciences, economics, technology, mathematics, architecture, design, and more.

Lindsey Griffith, director of operations at De Gruyter, said, "We have ambitious plans to grow our revenue, editorial presence and brand reputation in the Americas, and we are confident that the suite of Ingram services is a perfect match to help us achieve our goals."

Kurt Hettler, director of Ingram Academic & Professional, said, "Our extensive distribution network, integrated print-on-demand services, and strong sales and marketing approach will help grow De Gruyter's business and expand their readership through greater discoverability and availability."

At Macmillan:

Catherine Marvin has been promoted to senior director on the communications team.

Elena Guzman has been promoted to associate director of sales on the specialty retail team.

D'Kela Duncan has been promoted to sales coordinator, children's national accounts, on the sales team.

Isaac Loewen has been promoted to sales coordinator, children's national accounts, on the sales team.

Julia Metzger has been promoted to sales coordinator, children's national accounts, on the sales team.

Eunice Pak has been promoted to product manager on the sales team.

I'll Be the Moon: A Migrant Child's Story by Phillip D. Cortez, illustrated by Mafs Rodríguez Alpide (The Collective Book Studio).

Today:
Fresh Air: Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, author of The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are (One World, $26.99, 9780593446928).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Rachel Maddow, author of Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism (Crown, $32, 9780593444511).

Drew Barrymore Show: Sohla El-Waylly, author of Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook (Knopf, $45, 9780593320464).

The Talk: Rich Paul, author of Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds (Roc Lit 101, $28, 9780593448472).

Apple TV+ revealed the official trailer for The Velveteen Rabbit, a kids and family live-action animated hybrid special based on the classic children's book by Margery Williams. It will be launching globally on November 22

Produced by Magic Light Pictures, the 40-minute special features the voices of Helena Bonham-Carter, Nicola Coughlan, Alex Lawther, Paterson Joseph, Clive Rowe, Bethany Antonia, Phoenix Laroche, Lois Chimimba, Nathaniel Parker, Tilly Vosburgh, Samantha Colley, and Leonard Buckley.
 
Magic Light Pictures co-founder Martin Pope (Academy Award nominee The Gruffalo and BAFTA- and International Emmy-winning Revolting Rhymes) produces, with a screenplay by Tom Bidwell, creator of the BAFTA- and International Emmy-nominated My Mad Fat Diary and the Oscar-nominated short Wish 143.

The 12-book shortlist for the 2024 Pacific Northwest Book Awards, sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, has been chosen by a committee of PNBA booksellers. The six winners will be announced in early January.

The shortlist:
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Tor Books)
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling (Milkweed Editions)
Cascadia Field Guide, edited by Derek Sheffield, CMarie Fuhrman, Elizabeth Bradfield (Mountaineers Books)
Wolfish by Erica Berry (Flatiron Books)
Enter the Body by Joy McCullough (Dutton)
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong (Tin House)
You Just Need to Lose Weight by Aubrey Gordon (Beacon Press)
Sun House by David James Duncan (Little, Brown)
Making More by Katherine Roy (Norton)
Crip Up the Kitchen by Jules Sherred (TouchWood Editions)
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer (Orca Book Publishers)

Stefanie Wilder-Taylor is a humorist, TV personality, and a podcaster who also writes laugh-out-loud memoirs that offer a playful, absurdist take on life and its many challenges. In five previous books, including Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay and Naptime Is the New Happy Hour, her offbeat commentaries riff on being a daughter, a wife, and a parent. Her love of and dependence on alcohol have infused the many eccentric stories of her life. Her sixth book, Drunk-ish: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving Alcohol, reveals even more depth to Wilder-Taylor's self-deprecating humor and her ability to find the funny in every situation, while also facing up to her own glaring weaknesses and faults.

Through 21 immensely entertaining chapters, Wilder-Taylor explores the role over-indulgence has played, for better or worse, in her life, and how she eventually confronted and overcame addictions. "Sugar was my very first full-on addiction," she says, sharing side-splitting stories about how candy and sweet obsessions ruled her childhood. Once, when hired as a babysitter, she became known as a "lying sugar thief," when she ate all of her charges' Easter candy and then tried to pin the rap on the kids. "I was never hired back."

Such behavior later morphed into a cycle of bulimia. As a 14-year-old ninth-grader, Wilder-Taylor sipped her first drink, a beer, in the backseat of a VW Rabbit, cringing while making out with a boy for the first time: "I could have been twelve beers in and I still would've felt stupid and inexperienced." The feelings evoked by this incident become a watershed in defining the future role alcohol would play in her life, when she grapples with her parents' divorce; dates under the influence; struggles to find her place in the world; marries; and becomes a day-drinking mother of three. Along the way, she wanders a maze of inebriations, interventions, and self-deceptive rationalizations. At the age of 42, when she drinks and drives with her children in the car, she becomes "stunned by [her] own arrogance," and the tide is finally forced to turn.

Wilder-Taylor's inimitable ability to latch onto humor even in the darkest of times is most refreshing. A perfect balance of bold honesty and riotous wit takes the edge off her culpability as she faces startling truths enroute to accepting the empowerment of sobriety. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

Shelf Talker: A brave comic writer offers a fresh, fun, self-deprecating take on the role alcohol has played in her life and the path that led her to sobriety.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. King of Greed by Ana Huang
2. The Growth Leader by Scott K. Edinger
3. Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
4. Twisted Love by Ana Huang
5. Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score
6. King of Wrath by Ana Huang
7. Hooked by Emily McIntire
8. Twisted Games by Ana Huang
9. Carnage by Shantel Tessier
10. Fire and Song by Bryce O'Connor

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]