"One of the wonderful things that has surprised me is just how supportive the bookselling community is. I regularly chat with other independent bookstore owners, sharing ideas, pain points, and vendor information. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming as I've navigated opening the store. It's just so great to have a community of people in similar situations who all want to see each other succeed."

Acorn Bookshop, an all-ages bookstore with an emphasis on women authors, opened last week in St. Paul, Minn., CBS News reported.

Located at 2238 Carter Ave., in the same space that once housed the independent bookstore Micawber's, Acorn Bookshop sells new and used titles, with about 75% of the store's new books written by women authors. Alongside books, there are items made by local women artisans and a vending machine featuring locally-made art. 

"We are very passionately a feminist bookstore," owner Rachel Ostrom told CBS News. "I really hope people experience the beauty of what women authors have to offer."

The space is designed to feel like a cozy, second living room, Ostrom noted. There is seating, a dedicated children's space, a puzzle area, and free coffee and tea available. Ostrom also has plans to add a "dirty soda" station in the weeks ahead. 

Prior to opening Acorn Bookshop, Ostrom worked in marketing for 25 years. She took a break from that job last October to consider new possibilities and came upon the space at 2238 Carter, which was vacant. 

Ostrom was familiar with it, having taken her children there when it belonged to Micawber's, and after that, she recalled, "It happened so fast. Within 24 hours, I had the thought, the lease, the space was open. The landlords got back to me and I hadn't told my husband yet." 

She added that people have responded well to the bookstore so far, with many people thanking her for being there. "I just can't say enough about the community here," Ostrom said.

Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa, will expand into an adjacent storefront this spring, Axios reported. The expansion will add about 500 square feet, allowing for more inventory and larger events; per co-owner Hunter Gillum, the store's seating capacity will nearly double to 60.

Gillum noted that Beaverdale Books has owned the space it will be expanding into for a few years already, but used it for storage or as an occasional sublet. The store took the opportunity to expand after the most recent tenant left in January.

"It's perfectly timed," Gillum told Axios. "A new layout, a new space. It's just kind of fun."

Located at 2629 Beaver Ave., Beaverdale Books will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Gillum expects the new addition to be ready later this spring.

Julie Saunders

Salty Pages opened March 20 in Cambria, Calif., the Tribune reported. Located at 2024 Main St., Salty Pages carries general-interest titles for all ages, along with stationery, jewelry, journals, and gifts. The store's opening inventory consisted of around 300 books to start; owner Julie Saunders plans to grow that number in the weeks ahead based on customer feedback while also making connections with the many authors and poets in the area.

The bookstore is one of several businesses within the Shops at the Garden Shed, a shopping complex that was originally built as a creamery. 

"One unique aspect of the shop is our outdoor space behind the store, which includes both covered and open seating," Saunders told the Tribune. "We're developing it as a place where customers and community members can relax, read, and spend time together. Over time, we hope to use that space to host readings, gatherings, and other community events."

Prior to opening Salty Pages, Saunders managed a store within the same complex that focused on vintage and repurposed items. After working there for several years, "I felt ready to take that next step and build something of my own," Saunders explained. She knew it would involve "books, creativity, and community."

This coming Saturday, April 4, the bookstore will host an opening celebration featuring light refreshments throughout the day.

The 25 judges (five each in five categories) for the 2026 National Book Awards were named last week and include four booksellers:

In fiction, Danielle King, general manager of Left Bank Books, St. Louis, Mo., where she earlier worked as a part-time bookseller, full-time used books buyer, and assistant manager. She is a member of the American Booksellers Association's Booksellers Advisory Council.

In nonfiction, Audrey I-Wei Huang, a frontline bookseller at Belmont Books, Belmont, Mass. She's served on the American Booksellers Association's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee, the New England Independent Booksellers Association Advisory Council and as a judge for several awards. In 2024, she was named Handseller of the Year by the Book Publisher Representatives of New England.

Also in nonfiction, Eve L. Ewing, who besides being an author, cultural organizer, and professor at the University of Chicago, is co-owner of Build Coffee & Books, Chicago, Ill.

In translated literature, Javier García del Moral, founder of The Wild Detectives, Dallas, Texas, the bookstore-bar that opened in 2014. He also coordinates the Hay Festival Forum Dallas, helping position the city as an international meeting point for contemporary literature and ideas.

Sam Kieth, a comic book cartoonist who created The Maxx, "a surreal series about characters leading dual lives--in the real world and in a subconscious realm--and who co-created the popular series Sandman," died March 15, the New York Times reported. He was 63. Kieth's "bold art aesthetic and exploration of mature themes" gave The Maxx--which debuted in 1993 in Image Comics and ran for five years--an adult edge. 

MTV adapted The Maxx for a 13-episode animated series in 1995. At the time, Kieth explained the general concept behind the series in an interview with Wizard: "The closest thing I could think of was that it's Don Quixote, a person stuck in an unpleasant real world who dreams of a world where he has control and power, but keeps returning to unpleasant reality."

Kieth earned early recognition for his work in an issue of The Incredible Hulk and his depiction of Wolverine in Marvel Comics Presents, a comic book anthology series. He was subsequently recruited to Image Comics by co-founder Jim Lee in 1992.

"Sam had hit big with his rendition of Wolverine in Marvel Comics Presents," Lee said. "I thought it would polarize the audience. Most people loved it because it was so different and original."

Noting that the goal of Image Comics was for its artists and writers to have creator control of their characters and to enjoy the financial rewards, Lee said, "Sam was the one who lived the dream... I had such admiration and respect for what he did--and a tinge of jealousy."

Kieth wanted to be a comic book artist from an early age and dropped out of high school in 10th grade. As the Times recalled, he began phoning comic book editors in New York, asking if work was available. His first professional comic book credit, published by Comico in 1983, was a 10-page story, which he wrote and drew, about a killer rabbit. He found more regular work on the series Mage, written and drawn by Matt Wagner. Kieth inked several issues, beginning in 1985.

His initial breakthrough came in 1988 with the fantasy series Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. Kieth, artist Mike Dringenberg, and Gaiman together created the series. Kieth drew the first five issues of Sandman. In a 2010 interview with Digital Spy, he said, "All I did was draw a guy in a black robe, and they said, 'Yes, that's the character,' so I got the credit for it." 

Gaiman recalled being with his editor Karen Berger when she made the phone call to offer Kieth the Sandman assignment: "We were in England, and the next thing I know, she's making an international call to America, which at the time was very fancy.... I just remember having the strangest conversation with Sam because he's like, 'Okay, who dropped out? You don't really want me.' I could never tell if it was low self-esteem in reality or low self-esteem being deployed as a weapon."

In 2013, Kieth won Comic-Con's Inkpot Award for lifetime achievement, and his work was the subject of a 30-year retrospective at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.

Kepler's Books & Magazines, Menlo Park, Calif., hosted a sold-out appearance by Tayari Jones, who discussed her new novel, Kin (Knopf), with novelist Natalie Baszile. (photo: Heather Birchall, Kepler's Literary Foundation)

"Literati goes LEGO! Thank you Emily Langbehn for constructing this amazing display of our bookstore--a feat that took three months!" Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, Mich., posted on Facebook. "This is now on display on our upper level in the bookstore. Be sure to check out the books on display (including Langbehn's sister's novel, Out of Esau by Michelle Webster Hein), the typewriter with a typewriter note, the checkered black and white floor, and the little Literati logo'd LEGO totes (say that three times fast). Thank you Emily!"

"It's a good day for a browse in a bookstore," Book Shop of Beverly Farms in Beverly, Mass., posted on Facebook.

In the Hachette Book Group online & digital sales team:

Cristal Sanchez has been promoted to national account manager, overseeing the Audible, Spotify, Kobo, Chirp, and Scribd/Everand accounts, among others.

Shelby Sweet will join the company as associate national account manager, effective April 20. She will oversee library and academic accounts, including OverDrive, Apple Books, and Libro.fm. She was formerly at Penguin Random House, where she managed Nook e-book and audio sales.

Madi Fortich has joined the company as digital sales analyst. She was previously an intern with the HarperCollins sales analytics/data science team.

Abby Williams has joined the company as online & digital sales assistant. She recently completed a publicity internship at Abrams, where she managed digital outreach and campaign tracking.

A Better World Is Possible: Global Youth Confront the Climate Crisis by Meera Subramanian with Danica Novgorodoff, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff (First Second).

Today:
Good Morning America: Alex Aster, author of Starside: A Novel (Avon, $32, 9780063479791).

Drew Barrymore Show: Demi Lovato, author of One Plate at a Time: Recipes for Finding Freedom with Food (Flatiron, $34.99, 9781250393449).

Fresh Air: Josh Owens, author of The Madness of Believing: A Memoir from Inside Alex Jones's Conspiracy Machine (Grand Central, $30, 9781538757321). 

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Reilly Meehan, author of A Little Bit Extra: 100 Recipes That Serve Up Something Special (Union Square & Co., $35, 9781454957881).

Also on GMA: Arsenio Hall, author of Arsenio: A Memoir (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing, $28.99, 9781982191368). He will also appear on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Kelly Clarkson Show: Petra Lord, author of Queen of Faces (Holt Books for Young Readers, $22.99, 9781250362971).

Tamron Hall: Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder, authors of Tales of a Not So Tiny House (Rizzoli, $45, 9780847834280).

The recently released official teaser trailer for HBO's upcoming series Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone drew more than 277 million organic (non-paid) views across platforms in its first 48 hours, becoming the most-watched trailer in HBO and HBO Max history and doubling the previous record, according to the company. The eight-episode series will make its debut Christmas 2026 on HBO and will be available to stream exclusively on HBO Max. 

The project stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, and John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore. Other cast members include Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Rory Wilmot, Lox Pratt, Leo Earley, Elijah Oshin, Tristan Harland, Gabriel Harland, Ruari Spooner, Alessia Leoni, Sienna Moosah, Finn Stephens, William Nash, Warwick Davis, and Sirine Saba.
 
Based on J.K. Rowling's novels, the series is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner. Mark Mylod will executive produce and direct multiple episodes in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers also include Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.

Longlists have been revealed for the 2026 Jhalak Prose Prize, the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize, and the Jhalak Poetry Prize. The awards "seek to celebrate books by writers of color in the U.K. and Ireland." Shortlists will be released April 14 and the winners named June 10.

Each winner receives £1,000 (about $1,325). Two artists of color are annually commissioned to create works of art that serve as trophies for the winners of the poetry and prose awards. A children's book illustrator of color is commissioned to create a work for the winner of the children's & YA award.

Prize director Sunny Singh said: "The past decade of the Jhalak Prize is a testament to the range and quality of work by writers of colour in Britain, and their commitment and determination to publish and reach readers.... The Jhalak Prize is an act of love, of family-making with our fellow authors, and I am incredibly proud of the writers who have become part of the Jhalak family as long and shortlisted authors, winners and judges."

In Vaishnavi Patel's fiery, defiant contemporary fantasy We Dance Upon Demons, an exhausted Indian American reproductive health care worker becomes the target of demons when she accidentally obtains magical powers.

Ash Wednesday unleashes a deep dread in Nisha, who knows the Lenten season brings with it 40 days of even more intense protesting than usual at the Chicago clinic where she works. This year has brought the usual onslaught plus a startling surprise: Nisha's ex-boyfriend Aaron, whom she remembers as an anti-abortion protestor, is the clinic doctor's new resident. Nisha decompresses at the Art Institute, where an ancient Nataraja statue catches her attention. She touches it and suffers a fainting fit. She recovers but soon finds herself contending with unusually aggressive strangers and hallucinations of a "stocky red-skinned demon with hooves instead of feet."

Then she meets Muya, an aspect of the ignorance demon Muyalagan. He explains that she inadvertently freed him from his prison in the statue and absorbed some of his demonic power, giving her the ability to change reality. Muya demands she return his magic; when she does not believe his story, he charges her to look within herself. Nisha reconnects with her love of dancing Kathak, and it allows her to see the brave, subversive, and marginalized women who have carried Muya's power in past centuries. Each woman has a story and a message for Nisha, from "We are unyielding... Choose hardness," or "We are fierce... Choose revenge," to "Choose to be content." However, fiercer demons than Muya want Nashi to surrender the power to them, and they will not hesitate to threaten her friends, family, or the clinic she believes in to get it.

Patel's harrowing vision of the fight to provide reproductive health services in a post-Dobbs United States confronts burnout, depression, and the constant threat of violence facing women's rights advocates. Nisha's passion around the topic can sometimes veer into didacticism, but Patel (Ten Incarnation of Rebellion; Kaikeyi) does an admirable job of capturing the boiling rage surrounding the rollback of reproductive rights. The story's supernatural components work to underscore and intensify the human conflict as well as show an endless chain of support spanning centuries. Nisha's journey from the disillusioned belief that she can change nothing to an understanding of the power every individual can hold is charged with the strength of women, community, and the belonging she finds in her family and culture. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Shelf Talker: A reproductive health care worker becomes the target of demons when she gains magical powers in this passionate, defiant contemporary fantasy.