I've Read It in Books will reopen this month in a new space in Charlotte, N.C., after temporarily closing last summer, Secret Charlotte reported.

Owner Rob Banker, a former software developer, originally launched I've Read It in Books in October 2020 inside of Charlotte's Tip Top Daily Market. The bookstore offers a wide-ranging stock that features books by authors of color as well as LGBTQ+ authors.

Starting March 23, the bookstore will be located in a renovated home in Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood and have about double the space of its old location. Banker will share the building with the vendors Milk Money Vintage and Stash Pad.

Book People in Richmond, Va., is moving to a new space, the Henrico Citizen reported.

Located at 10464 Ridgefield Parkway in Henrico, Va., the new space is in the Gleneagles Shopping Center and is larger than the store's previous home. Store owner David Shuman plans to host a grand reopening celebration in the new space on April 1, and until then online orders have been temporarily halted.

The bookstore's previous home was a cottage in Richmond's West End, where it had resided since the 1980s. Shuman purchased the store from founding owner Ruth Erb in 2018.

The Barnes and Noble store at 313 Corte Madera Town Center in Corte Madera, Calif., will leave its location after more than 15 years in business there, the Marin Independent Journal reported. B&N plans to close the store after March 12, according to Janine Flanigan, the company's director of store planning and design, adding that its lease with the mall has come to an end.

"We would love to continue to be in that area, but there is not an opportunity for us to stay there," Flanigan said. "It's a great market and we're actively looking for a new location." The company's real estate team hopes to find a retail space in Marin County in time to open for business by the end of the year.

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The Barnes & Noble store on Rte. 17 in Paramus, N.J., which the company said in January would be closing after nearly 30 years in business, has found a new home. NJ.com reported that B&N will be moving to 634 Route 17 north, a little over a mile down the highway.

"While we are sad to leave this location, we are excited for our next chapter!" B&N noted in a Facebook post. No date has been announced yet for the new store's opening, but the current space will close on March 18. 

"A grant is a contract between you and a funder to fulfill a project or program," explained Brandon Lueken, director of grant development at Bellevue College in Bellevue, Wash., to a packed room of booksellers during Wi2023 in Seattle. Attendees were there for "An Introduction to Researching and Writing Grants for Nonprofit and For-Profit Bookstores." In what presaged the blend of humor and data that would characterize Lueken's presentation, he warned, "Avoid the money chase (or Catch 22)."

Choose "an idea that's aligned with your resources," Lueken told booksellers, "Put it in writing; state the outcome and how you'll get there." Grantors expect to see tangible, measurable results, such as an increase in childhood literacy or an uptick in civic engagement. Make sure the idea is aligned with your store's mission and strategic plan; the proposed activities should align with the funder's priorities (e.g., literacy projects with literacy funders, academic success with academic funders); and the program should be sustainable, he said.

Brandon Lueken

Lueken urged booksellers to go after grants at the federal, state and local levels. For federal grants, he suggested the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce and the National Education Association. Register at the Grants.gov portal and at SAM.gov (System for Award Management), and also obtain a UEI (Unique Entity Identifier). Federal grant funders will want to see your audited finances, your budget, the budget for the project for which you're seeking funding, and some grantors will want to know who else you're approaching for grant money.

At the state and local level, Lueken recommended state arts funds, city and county arts funds, and private corporate foundations such as the U.S. Bank Foundation, and chambers of commerce, as well as family foundations (these will often only fund 501(c)(3) organizations, he cautioned).

Lueken outlined steps to develop your case for a grant: What is your idea? Why does it matter? How will you evaluate success? Who is the lead? What is the duration of the project? What is its cost? Do you need to talk with anyone else (a community partner, author or illustrator)?

One bookseller asked about what metrics to use when seeking a grant writer. Lueken said you'll want to decide whether a granter is on staff or working freelance. Find out the percentage of grants they've succeeded in getting funded. Request a grant they've written. Some will give informational interviews; ask them if they've submitted grant requests to any of the funders you're considering.

For grant resources, in addition to Grants.gov (the federal hub for grants), Lueken suggested the Foundation Center online (also known as Candid). Public libraries often have access to this resource; otherwise it can be expensive. He said Grant Station (roughly $219 per quarter or $690 per year) will give you a reasonable picture of what's available. Information on city and county grants is available on those sites. Google is also good for finding grants, he added. The range of the kinds of projects grants will fund is expansive, from the expected (literacy projects) to a grant from your local chamber of commerce if your bookstore is in a historic building.

To start a grant application: 1) Read the funder's guidelines. 2) Check all style requirements: Is there a maximum word count? Page count? Font size requirement? 3) Do you need to provide any attachments, such as letters of commitment from a school you're partnering with, or an author or illustrator? Do you need to provide a résumé? 4) What is your budget, and how will you spend the funds if you get them?

Once a grant is secured: 1) Notify all stakeholders--school, author and artist partners, for example. 2) Read the award and reread your proposal--do they match up? Are there adjustments you need to make? Lueken said sometimes months or even a year can go by from the time of your grant request to when it's funded; make sure you know what you've promised to produce to the grantor. 3) Get set to fulfill commitments and meet goals; keep the funder informed. For private funders, let them know what is happening. For public funders, it's important to track who was late, and if money had to be returned: "The Feds check that," Leuken counseled.

Potential ideas that Leuken listed: literacy programs, either in the bookstore itself or in partnership with another nonprofit; civic engagement, such as pro-democracy efforts with adults; bookstores as event spaces, to host artists' work; collaborations with local artists to design window displays, Banned Books Week displays, etc. Ideas abound! --Jennifer M. Brown

Ian Falconer

Children's book author and illustrator Ian Falconer, whose beloved Olivia book series has been translated into many languages and adapted into an animated TV series, died March 7, NPR reported. He was 63. 

Initially created as a Christmas gift in 1996 for his then three-year-old niece Olivia, the first Olivia book was published in 2000. It has sold more than 10 million copies and won numerous awards. He went on to illustrate and write seven sequels, culminating with Olivia the Spy in 2017.

Falconer began illustrating covers for the New Yorker in 1996, producing 30 magazine covers over his career. NPR noted that "it was this work that first caught the eye of Anne Schwartz, then a children's book publisher at Simon & Schuster. In an interview with NPR, Schwartz said she planned to commission Falconer to illustrate another author's book project, but he was more interested in showing her what was then the 100-page draft of Olivia."

"You could tell immediately that this was something really, really special," she said. "I thought to myself, this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've just really gotten lucky here."

Falconer studied art history at New York University before focusing on painting at the Parsons School of Design and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. "After incubating his talent as a theater designer with David Hockney, assisting the renowned artist with sets and costumes for Los Angeles Opera productions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Falconer went on to create set and/or costume designs for top-tier companies around the world, including Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, New York City Ballet and The Royal Opera," NPR noted.

He continued to seek inspiration for his books from family members, including Two Dogs (2022), about the adventures of a pair of dachshunds, which was inspired by his sister's children.

In a New Yorker tribute, Françoise Mouly wrote: "I met Ian in 1996, in the early days of my tenure as the New Yorker's art editor. My mandate was to refresh the art for what had come to be perceived as a highly respected but somewhat fossilized magazine. I turned to Falconer, who grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and was a longtime fan of the magazine, for help. We spent long hours in the archives, marvelling over the old covers and laughing at the ways artists like Helen Hokinson, Mary Petty, Charles Addams, or William Cotton portrayed the antics of the bourgeoisie during the nineteen-thirties and forties. Falconer was a lover of classical drawing and, through his images, helped bring back the facetiousness and irreverence of the magazine's early days."

Posted on Instagram by the Green Dragon Bookshop, Fort Dodge, Iowa: "It’s a bit snowy out. Better come grab a few books, just in case."

Baker & Taylor Publisher Services is providing worldwide full-service sales and distribution for Severn River Publishing, effective April 1.

Severn River Publishing focuses on military and legal thrillers, historical and crime fiction, and action and adventure novels. Founded five years ago by military veterans and family members, Severn River's mission is to "publish good stories that provide relaxation, momentary escape, and a deeper connection to the human experience." With plans to publish 45 new titles per year, it already has 300 titles in its roster, including such series as Tom Reed, Spider Heist, Sam Johnstone, Boston Crime, Command and Control, and Lexi Mills.

Jackie Olmos has joined Sourcebooks as associate national accounts manager.

Hotel Cuba by Aaron Hamburger (Harper Perennial).

Today:
Fresh Air: Thomas Mallon, author of Up With the Sun (Knopf, $28, 9781524748197).

Tomorrow:
Rachael Ray: Ken Oringer, co-author of Cooking with My Dad, the Chef (America's Test Kitchen Kids, $22.99, 9781954210356).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Sunday, March 12
9 a.m. Andy Campbell, author of We Are Proud Boys: How a Right-Wing Street Gang Ushered in a New Era of American Extremism (Hachette Books, $29, 9780306827464). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

10 a.m. Mia Love, author of Qualified: Finding Your Voice, Leading with Character, and Empowering Others (Center Street, $29, 9781546003267). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Paisley Currah, author of Sex Is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity (NYU Press, $28, 9780814717103), and Hugh Ryan, author of The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison (Bold Type Books, $30, 9781645036654), at the Brooklyn Book Festival.

2:45 p.m. Ada Calhoun, author of Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me (Grove Press, $27, 9780802159786), Hafizah Augustus Geter, author of The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin (Random House, $28.99, 9780593448649), and Hua Hsu, author of Stay True: A Memoir (Doubleday, $26, 9780385547772), at the Brooklyn Book Festival.

4:30 p.m. Shana Gadarian, co-author of Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID (‎Princeton University Press, $35, 9780691218991).

6 p.m. Jamie McCallum, author of Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice (Basic Books, $30, 9781541619913), at Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Mass.

7 p.m. David Ansell, author of The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills (University of Chicago Press, $19, 9780226796710), and Thomas Fisher, author of The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER (One World, $27, 9780593230671).

A 16-title longlist has been released for the £30,000 (about $35,530) Women's Prize for Fiction. Chair of the judges Louise Minchin praised the longlist as "a glorious celebration of the boundless imagination and creative ambition of women writers over the past year." The shortlist will be unveiled April 26 and a winner named June 14. This year's longlisted titles are:

Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo
Homesick by Jennifer Croft
I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
Pod by Laline Paull
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
The Dog of the North by Elizabeth McKenzie
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy 
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, March 14:

The Lost Americans: A Novel by Christopher Bollen (Harper, $30, 9780063224421) follows an American woman investigating the death of her brother in Cairo.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Berkley, $27, 9780593546178) is a murder mystery starring the aged owner of a tea shop.

The Refusal Camp: Stories by James R. Benn (Soho Crime, $26.95, 9781641294515) contains new and collected crime fiction.

Wolf Trap: A Thriller by Connor Sullivan (Atria/Emily Bestler, $28.49, 9781982166427) is a thriller about a former CIA paramilitary officer.

Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt (Minotaur, $27.99, 9781250828965) is the fourth K Team animal mystery.

Inner Workout: Strengthening Self-Care Practices for Healing Body, Soul, and Mind by Taylor Elyse Morrison (Chronicle Books, $19.95, 9781797217734) is a sort of choose your own self-care adventure.

Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week by Pailin Chongchitnant (Random House, $30, 9780525611714) includes QR codes linking to more content on YouTube.

Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains by Alexa Hagerty (Crown, $28, 9780593443132) is written by an anthropologist who investigates crimes against humanity in Latin America.

Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis (Aconyte, $29.95, 9781839081910) explores 40 years of innovative board games.

The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine by Ricardo Nuila (Scribner, $28, 9781501198045) tells the story of five uninsured medical patients in Texas.

A Is for Ambitious by Meena Harris, illus. by Marissa Valdez (Little, Brown, $18.99, 9780316354493) is an abecedary written and illustrated by the team behind 2021's Ambitious Girl.

One Day by Joanna Ho, illus. by Faith Pray (HarperCollins, $18.99, 9780063056923) is a picture book love letter from a mother to her baby son.

Paperbacks:
Solomon's Crown: A Novel by Natasha Siegel (Dell, $17, 9780593597842).

Avalon by Nell Zink (Vintage, $16.99, 9780593468159).

Daughters of Nantucket: A Novel by Julie Gerstenblatt (MIRA, $19.99, 9780778333425).

Fencing with the King: A Novel by Diana Abu-Jaber (W. W. Norton, $17.95, 9781324050315).

Three Debts Paid: A Daniel Pitt Novel by Anne Perry (Ballantine, $18, 9780593358757).

City on Fire: A Novel by Don Winslow (Morrow, $18.99, 9780062851178).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
The Applicant: A Novel by Nazli Koca (Grove Press, $26, 9780802160546). "Leyla's life swallowed me whole. As she waits for a decision about her visa, she's torn between countries, dreams, and selves. This book speaks to the working class, to millennials, to anyone who's been lost between a dream and a harsh reality." --Laura Kendall, Second Flight Books, Lafayette, Ind.

Hardcover
Hourglass: A Novel by Keiran Goddard (Europa Editions, $25, 9781609458171). "Hourglass is a psalm for anyone who's ever loved and lost and loved again. Messy, darkly funny, and gut-wrenching, this poem-meets-novella will remind you just how fragile a heart can be. I will come back to it time and time again." --Holly Voorsanger, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Paperback
The Guest Lecture: A Novel by Martin Riker (Grove Press/Black Cat, $17, 9780802160416). "Riker's smart and offbeat story takes place over one night, as a newly-unemployed economics professor mulls over a lecture she's about to give and explores her consciousness as though wandering through her own house. Funny and unique." --Erika VanDam, RoscoeBooks, Chicago, Ill.

For Ages 4 to 8
Sometimes It's Nice to Be Alone by Amy Hest, illus. by Philip C. Stead (Neal Porter Books, $18.99, 9780823449477). "Kind, gentle, and oh so true to so many hearts! Sometimes being alone is exactly what we need. Sometimes it's not. Stead's illustrations are perfect with Hest's honest and lyrical text. Can't wait to put this one in as many hands as possible!" --Joy Preble, Brazos Bookstore, Houston, Tex.

For Ages 8 to 12: An Indies Introduce Title
The Pearl Hunter by Miya T. Beck (Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 9780063238190). "Among the countless books using fantasy to speak to the reality of growing up, this book stands out for its unique plot and magical realism, magical realms and beings, down-to-earth emotions, and universal adolescent experiences." --Emily Autenrieth, A Seat at the Table Books, Elk Grove, Calif.

For Teen Readers
Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780316386883). "A book fantasy fans will love. In a world where those favored by the Saints exploit those who aren't, two former lovers team up to solve a series of inexplicable murders and discover sinister secrets about their city--and about each other." --Bridey Morris, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Conn.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

On an early spring morning in 2021, veteran Wall Street Journal reporter and two-time cancer survivor Neil King Jr. walked out the front door of his home in Washington, D.C., bound on foot for New York City, some 330 miles away. American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal is the wise, warmhearted account of a journey that was pedestrian in its execution, but miles from that in the depth of King's experience and his ability to share it in a clear and affecting way.

King's "ramble" through what he calls "many micro nations" across Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York was delayed for a year by the pandemic, but it unspools as a near-perfect blend of planning and serendipity. He began each day with a designated endpoint, but never hesitated to diverge from his less-than-beaten path to investigate some spot that intrigued him. For instance, he delayed his scheduled arrival at a Lancaster County farmhouse, inhabited by nine generations of the same family, to observe a horseshoeing operation he learned of from a sign tacked to a tree and the sound of hammering. One meeting he returns to repeatedly is a visit to a Mennonite school, where a chorus of eighth and ninth graders serenade him with hymns about the afterlife and provide "a new frame through which to see the entire walk."

For all these quiet moments amid the lush spring beauty that's beginning to emerge around him and that he captures in elegant but unassuming prose, King doesn't ignore the imprint of the past on this region. Among the sites he visits is Valley Forge, and he crosses the Delaware River at the same spot George Washington did on Christmas night 1776. In the process, he learns from an avid student of the event about the gap that separates its myth from reality. King's account of another of his memorable crossings--beneath the New Jersey Turnpike in a kayak--almost perfectly encapsulates many of the qualities of the trip.

Throughout, King remains keenly aware of small moments of joy that seize him with refreshing regularity and he generously shares his sense of discovery and delight on every page. "You just take it in and wonder," he writes. Though he embarked with a notion that his trip might provide an opportunity to sample the national mood, when he ends the odyssey in New York City's Central Park 26 days after it began, King admits he's "reluctant to extrapolate from my particulars to argue that we are a happy or troubled land, though I suspect we are both in unequal measure." But in the variety and richness of his many contemporary encounters in this small slice of America, he provides at least some reason for hope. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Veteran journalist Neil King Jr. traverses a portion of the Acela corridor on foot, finding beauty, history and meaning along the way.