The Copper Bell Bookshop opened October 1 in Ridgefield, Wash., the Reflector reported. The store sells general-interest titles for all ages, along with gifts and nonbook items like art supplies, journals and candles.

Prior to opening Copper Bell Bookshop, owner Debra Warnock worked as a realtor for more than 30 years. She told the Reflector that she's been planning to open a bookstore for nearly 10 years, though "in the beginning, it was more like dreaming about it and kind of laying out what I would do."

The longer she thought about it, the more serious the idea became, and eventually she joined the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and started learning the ropes of running an independent bookstore. She spent three years as a prospective PNBA member while "trying to pull everything together and get a location." She noted that after the Covid-19 pandemic began, she and her husband, Paul Warnock, nearly dropped the idea, but decided instead to keep forging ahead.

Warnock plans to host a variety of community-focused events, including book club meetings and storytime sessions. The store's initial author events will be with local authors, with Warnock looking to gradually expand from there. "Our goal is to keep building the community involvement and our level of events that we offer."

She added that her aim has been to make the bookstore warm, comfortable and welcoming, where "people can come in and visit and shop and talk books."

Alex George

The 2022 Midwest Bookseller of the Year is Alex George, author and founder of Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, Mo. The award, sponsored by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, honors "booksellers who make an extraordinary impact on their community."

MIBA noted that in Columbia, "a mid-America college town with a population of just over 100,000, you'll find Skylark Bookshop, an elegant bookshop with a simple motto--'Because Books.' But as anyone who knows Skylark understands, this seemingly simple philosophy is also a deeply held value of the store's owner, Alex George, and it has led him to become a powerhouse of literary accomplishment. Because of Alex George, Columbia has become a literary haven where the community comes together to celebrate the transformative power of books and reading."

George is the author of three novels, A Good American (2012), Setting Free the Kites (2017), and The Paris Hours (2020). MIBA noted, "When [George] attended festivals across the country to promote his books, he realized Columbia was a fertile place to grow a literary festival, and that's how Unbound Book Festival was born in 2016. The 10,000 people who enjoy this literary weekend each year reap the fruits of Alex's year-long commitment to creating a transformative experience for attendees. In his capable hands, the festival became instantly successful, hosting marquee authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Salman Rushdie in the first two years of its existence. In 2019, author George Saunders attended and said, 'Events like the Unbound Book Festival will save this country.'...

"Along with his business partner Carrie Koepke, Alex opened Skylark Bookshop in August 2018. With 2,700 square feet and nearly 20,000 titles in stock, Skylark instantly become a vibrant facet of the community....

"While factions of society are limiting or outright banning freedom of expression, Skylark is proudly celebrating it. They've launched a Banned Books subscription service, circulating these important books to their customers with 10% of proceeds going to the Banned Books program run by EyeSeeMe African American Children's Bookstore in St. Louis. Sklyark also brought their popular Drag Story Hour roaring back to life after the pandemic to celebrate gender inclusivity....

"Alex Goerge says that Skylark Bookshop would never have existed without Carrie Koepke, his partner in founding the store and the current manager, and shares his gratitude for their incredibly talented team of booksellers, some of whom have been with Skylark from the very start: Beth Shapiro, Erin Regnieri, Matthew May, Maile Newberry-Wortham, Rilla Patterson, Kara Cheslock, Henry Nguyen, and Sky Koepke, and Mary O'Malley."

George will be given the award during the Heartland Fall Forum October 12-14 in St. Louis, Mo.

Beacon Hill Books & Cafe officially opened its doors to customers last weekend in Boston, Mass., Boston Restaurant Talk reported.

Residing in a 3,000-square-foot, four-story building in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, the bookstore sells new books for all ages and across all genres. Adult books are located on the second and third floors, while the fourth floor covers everything from board books to YA titles. The children's section features a miniature child-sized door and a toy train that circles the room.

The cafe, located on the ground floor, will be run by Colleen Suhanosky, and is still a few weeks away from opening. Also on the ground floor is space for live events. Along with author readings and book launches, Beacon Hill Books & Cafe will be available for private bookings like dinners, birthday parties for children and adults, baby and bridal showers, cocktail parties and more.

Owner Melissa Fetter has been working to open a bookstore on Charles Street since late 2019. The building, which dates back to the 1850s, needed extensive renovations and some emergency repairs, all of it delayed and complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year Fetter told the Beacon Hill Times that "twenty-six businesses have closed on Charles Street since I started this process, but I haven't given up."

In January, Ingram Content Group will retire Ingram Publisher Services (IPS) as a standalone business and distribute its client publishers to other Ingram distribution companies--Consortium, Ingram Academic, Two Rivers and Publishers Group West--depending on the publishers' programs. At the same time, Ingram will keep the IPS name to refer to its full distribution group.

Sabrina McCarthy, v-p and general manager of IPS, said, "IPS, Ingram's original distribution brand, has been a well-respected part of Ingram Content Group since 2005, and served as the foundation for the development of the entire distribution business. As the business continues to evolve, we believe that streamlining into four distinct full-service brands within Ingram Publisher Services will help us continue to grow while providing excellent support and service to our clients."

The National Book Foundation announced the finalists for this year's National Book Awards. The five category winners, who will be named November 16 in New York City, receive $10,000 and a bronze medal and statue. Finalists get $1,000 and a bronze medal. Winners and finalists in the translated literature category split the prize evenly between author and translator.

Several writers and a translator have been previously honored by the National Book Awards: Gayl Jones (1998 fiction finalist), Scholastique Mukasonga (2019 translated literature finalist), Sharon Olds (2002 poetry finalist) and David Quammen (2018 nonfiction longlist), while Yoko Tawada and Margaret Mitsutani were the 2018 translated literature winners. All five finalists for young people’s literature are first-time NBA honorees. Six of the 25 finalist titles are debuts.

At the awards ceremony, Art Spiegelman will be recognized with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by Neil Gaiman; and Tracie D. Hall will receive the foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. This year's NBA finalists are:

Fiction
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty (Knopf)
The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones (Beacon Press)
The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai (Viking)
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews (Viking)
The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela (Astra Publishing House)

Nonfiction
The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness by Meghan O'Rourke (Riverhead)
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry (Ecco)
Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus by David Quammen (Simon & Schuster)
The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday)
His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels & Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking)

Poetry
Look at This Blue by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke (Coffee House Press)
Punks: New & Selected Poems by John Keene (The Song Cave)
Balladz by Sharon Olds (Knopf)
Best Barbarian by Roger Reeves (Norton)
The Rupture Tense by Jenny Xie (Graywolf Press)

Translated Literature
A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse, translated from the Norwegian by Damion Searls (Transit Books)
Kibogo by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti (Archipelago Books)
Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda, translated from the Spanish by Sarah Booker (Coffee House Press)
Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell (Riverhead)
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada, translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani (New Directions)

Young People's Literature
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill (Algonquin Young Readers)
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile (Norton Young Readers)
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir (Razorbill/PRH)
Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee (Random House Books for Young Readers)

C.J. Box, author of Treasure State (St. Martin's) visited Harlan Coben's stomping grounds in Paramus, N.J., for a conversation hosted by Barnes & Noble about turning mystery books into streaming series, and to sign books for fans.

"Days are getting shorter, which, for us, simply means our books will be getting longer. Got to fill all those cozy night time hours with something. Come on by.... It's nice in here!" Serendipity Books, Chelsea, Mich., posted on Facebook.

Abrams will handle sales and distribution in North America for Skittledog, the new illustrated lifestyle and creativity imprint from Thames & Hudson, effective with the inaugural spring 2023 list.

Skittledog is headed by publisher Zara Larcombe, former editorial director of Laurence King Publishing, and will publish 25 books and gift products a year. Its first title is Yoga for Stiff Birds by illustrator Marion Deuchars; the spring list will include six more books and two jigsaws in categories ranging from dot-to-dot puzzles to linocut printing.

At Macmillan:

Arriel Vinson has joined the company as marketing manager, Holt.

Alex Quill has been promoted to senior manager, academic marketing.

Amanda Crimarco has been promoted to senior manager, library marketing.

Jazz Key has joined the company as associate sales manager, special markets.

Matt Mich has been promoted to associate manager, custom sales.

Ashley Herzig has been promoted to sales coordinator.

Lauren McNamara has joined the company as coordinator, custom sales.

Joshua Judd Porter has joined the company as assistant publicist, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Nora Afghani has joined the company as author events assistant.

Sophie Giroir has joined the company as events and sales assistant, Macmillan Speakers Bureau.

Reagan Reynolds has joined the company as sales assistant, special markets.

Valeria Castorena has joined the company as marketing assistant, Tor Publishing Group.

Two Degrees by Alan Gratz (Scholastic Press).

Today:
Fresh Air: Melissa Clark, author of Dinner in One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals: A Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $29.99, 9780593233252).

Tomorrow:
Today: Justin Baldoni, author of Boys Will Be Human: A Get-Real Gut-Check Guide to Becoming the Strongest, Kindest, Bravest Person You Can Be (HarperCollins, $14.99, 9780063067189).

Rachael Ray: Idina Menzel and Cara Mentzel, authors of Loud Mouse (Disney-Hyperion, $17.99, 9781368078061).

The View: Huma Abedin, author of Both/And: A Memoir (Scribner, $20, 9781501194818).

Drew Barrymore Show: John Kanell, author of Preppy Kitchen: Recipes for Seasonal Dishes and Simple Pleasures (S&S/Simon Element, $32.50, 9781982178376).

CNN/PBS's Christiane Amanpour: Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and author of The Golden Cage: Three Brothers, Three Choices, One Destiny (Kales Press, $26.95, 9780979845642).

Dune: The Sisterhood, the HBO Max prequel series from Legendary Television, has cast Emily Watson (Chernobyl, The Book Thief) and Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire) in lead roles, Variety reported. The project is based on the novel Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. 

Watson will play Valya Harkonnen and Henderson Tula Harkonnen, two sisters who "have risen to power in the Sisterhood, a secret organization of women who will go on to become the Bene Gesserit," according to the logline.

Diane Ademu-John is the creator, co-showrunner, and executive producer on Dune: The Sisterhood. Alison Schapker serves as co-showrunner and executive producer. Johan Renck (Chernobyl) will direct the premiere episode and executive produce. Also exec producing are Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Scott Z. Burns, Matthew King, John Cameron and Cait Collins, along with Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert estate. 

California writer and activist Rebecca Solnit received the Paul Engle Prize. Presented by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization, the award "honors an individual who, like Paul Engle, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing, editing, publishing, or teaching, and whose active participation in the larger issues of the day has contributed to the betterment of the world through the literary arts." The winner receives $20,000 and a work of art created by Mike Sneller with M.C. Ginsberg. Prairie Lights Bookstore was on hand to sell copies of the author's books.

Solnit was recognized for her writing and activism on issues that include feminism, environmentalism, and social change. She has written more than 20 books, including Whose Story Is This?, Call Them by Their True Names, Men Explain Things to Me, The Mother of All Questions, and a memoir, Recollections of My Nonexistence.

At the awards ceremony, Solnit said she had researched Engle, the longtime director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and co-founder, with his wife, Hualing, of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program. Recent scholarship has evaluated the movement in American writing during Engle's tenure at the workshop toward literature that espoused America's ethos of "rugged individualism" as a contemporaneous counter to communism. Solnit pushed back on the merit of that stance, saying it is collective action that has led to societal advances in the areas she has explored in her writing, including work to combat climate change.

photo: JerSean Golatt

Cynt Marshall is the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, president and CEO of Marshalling Resources consulting, and former senior v-p of human resources and chief diversity officer for AT&T. She is the first African American woman to hold the CEO role for any NBA team and was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in Sports" by Adweek, one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America" by Black Enterprise magazine, and one of "15 of the World's Most Inspiring Leaders" by Forbes. She is also a cancer survivor and regular speaker at cancer-related events. She and her husband have four adult children. Marshall's memoir, You've Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected (Ballantine, September 13, 2022), details her path from an abusive household in the projects through racism and corporate America to become one of the most influential Black business leaders today.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

You've Been Chosen reveals that adversity has a divine purpose, equips one for the next battle, and is meant to be faced by a community.

On your nightstand now:

The Accommodation: The Politics of Race in an American City by Jim Schutze. This book provides amazing insight about the city I live in. It helps to explain what's underneath the "tale of two cities" that I heard about when I first moved to Dallas.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It was exciting as a kid to read such a big book. What started out as a volume challenge ended up being an incredible read about four sisters. Note: I have three sisters.

Your top five authors:

Maya Angelou because she writes in a way that I've never experienced, especially from a Black woman. Her words are profound and speak to my soul.

T.D. Jakes makes the Bible real in all of his writings. Even when he doesn't expressly mention the Scriptures, I can see biblical principles at work in his books.

Anita Diamant captured my full attention with her vivid descriptions of the happenings inside the red tent. She made me see women of biblical times in a more practical light.

Nido Qubein speaks optimism and success on paper like few have done. Even before finishing one of his books, I want to and feel like I can accomplish big things. He makes me believe that I have the recipe to live the American dream to the fullest.

Alice Walker writes about the Black female experience in a way that speaks to my soul. Her storytelling causes me to feel like I'm in the story just waiting to play my part.

Book you're an evangelist for:

The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval is my favorite business book because it provides concrete examples of how being nice literally pays off. It's a quick read with relatable and true stories.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. The cover provides energy and speaks to my childish adventuresome spirit. It makes me want to open it just to see where I'm going.

Book that changed your life:

More by Todd Wilson caused me to seriously evaluate my purpose in life. Through an experiential book exercise I was able to succinctly articulate and document a plan to live out my calling.

Favorite line from a book:

"Time moves slowly, but passes quickly." --from Alice Walker's The Color Purple

It's true. At 62 years old this quote has been proven. It also represents periods of my life that I thought would never end and before I knew it, they were over. For example: 1) the years of noise and activity grind with the kids is now a quiet empty nest and 2) grueling days of chemo are now reflections in a book.

Five books you'll never part with:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is one of my all-time favorite books. As a person who grew up reading the Bible, often with a focus on male characters, I loved reading about the women of the Bible and their behind-the-scenes real-life experiences.

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a fascinating look into the life of a remarkable woman who changed the world for women. She made things better for me.

The Bible is the foundation that I stand on. I need it for direction and guidance for my daily journey. It's historic yet relevant.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou describes real experiences of trauma, racism and many other things while also showing what it looks like to overcome. Maya Angelou was a gift from God.

Maestro: A Surprising Story about Leading by Listening by Roger Nierenberg is insightful and presents a fun way to examine leaders and their followers. I'll never experience the symphony again without studying the musicians and thinking about how being a leader is like conducting an orchestra.

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

The Shack by William Paul Young is a book that I couldn't put down. I want to read it much slower to reflect on the symbolism and meaning throughout the chapters.

Author that provoked lifesaving action:

Jack L. Groppel in The Corporate Athlete caused me to act on a colonoscopy referral slip that laid on my nightstand for months. He made me realize the importance of achieving physical, mental and emotional health, simultaneously.

Books I gifted my posse:

Becoming by Michelle Obama, Finding My Voice by Valerie Jarrett, Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush.

All of these books are written by incredible women who accepted the opportunity to serve. They showed us how to serve a country with grace and intention and caused us to realize that all of us can serve. The back stories are amazing and captivating.

Two galoshes-wearing playmates rhapsodize in harmony about their friendship in the enchanting, energetic picture book I Don't Care, written by Julie Fogliano (Just in Case You Want to Fly; When Green Becomes Tomatoes). Caldecott Medal Honorees and real-life best friends Molly Idle (Pearl) and Juana Martinez-Neal (Zonia's Rain Forest) provide the illustrations of the adorable child characters, whom they based on their younger selves.

The girls begin facing away from each other with folded arms and unimpressed facial expressions, leaning against opposite sides of a tree trunk. They share a button-nosed, rosy-cheeked aesthetic, but Idle's younger avatar has a narrower face and a duck-tailed shock of light hair, while Martinez-Neal's has a sleek dark bob held by a single barrette. "[I] really don't care what you think of my hair/ or my eyes or my toes or my nose," Fogliano's verse announces bluntly. The "i don't care" list continues as the girls express their disinterest in each other's opinions of their singing, artistic abilities and families, but they also begin to cast each other curious, sidelong glances. When they finally give each other shy smiles, Fogliano shifts the conversation to a friendlier tone: "i really don't care about what shoes you wear." The children swap lunches, dance and turn the tree into an impromptu art gallery. The text's rhythm speeds up until the characters join hands and whirl into a laughing spin. "[I] really do care/ that you always play fair/ and don't change the rules/ when i'm winning," the narrator says, launching into a list of the reasons they appreciate each other that ends in a heart-tugging "i really do care a lot."

Idle and Martinez-Neal each took responsibility for drawing one of the children, and their care and respect for each shines through in the affection between the characters. Amorphous splotches of translucent color--sassy teal for Idle's character, sunny yellow for Martinez-Neal's--begin as small patches that grow, overlap, then blend as the girls thaw toward each other. Fogliano's verse has the bounce and joie de vivre of a game of hopscotch, making it a joy to read aloud in a group or one-on-one setting. Her subtle tone shifts between acts lift the mood gently upward from its early standoffishness to the satisfying high note of the conclusion. This ode to the bestie bond perfectly captures the essential foundations of friendship in any stage of life. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth experience manager, Dayton Metro Library

Shelf Talker: Caldecott Honorees Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal drew one adorable character each to accompany Julie Fogliano's bouncy, friendship-forward text in this energetic picture book.

The bestselling Libro.fm audiobooks at independent bookstores during September:

Fiction
1. Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Recorded Books)
2. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Penguin Random House Audio)
3. Fairy Tale by Stephen King (Simon & Schuster Audio)
4. Babel by R.F. Kuang (HarperAudio)
5. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (Penguin Random House Audio)
6. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Penguin Random House Audio)
7. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Penguin Random House Audio)
8. Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan (HarperAudio)
9. The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith (Hachette Audio)
10. Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (Penguin Random House Audio)

Nonfiction        
1. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster Audio)
2. Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg (Simon & Schuster Audio)
3. Good Inside by Becky Kennedy (HarperAudio)
4. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Penguin Random House Audio)
5. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Tantor Media)
6. Solito by Javier Zamora (Penguin Random House Audio)
7. The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (Penguin Random House Audio)
8. The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté (Penguin Random House Audio)
9. How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis (Simon & Schuster Audio)
10. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Penguin Random House Audio)