Black Ribbon Books, a new and used bookstore with a diverse selection of titles, opened earlier this month in Hot Springs, Ark., the Sentinel-Record reported.

Owner Nannette Crane-Post welcomed customers for the first time on July 13. Located in the shopping mall level of the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa in downtown Hot Springs, the bookstore sells books for all ages and features a tented reading corner for children as well as multiple tables and seating options for all patrons. There is a working typewriter in store on which customers are welcome to write notes, and she is working on creating a coffee corner.

Crane-Post's event plans include things like book clubs and author readings. She told the Sentinel-Record she wants to support local authors as much as she can, and wants to start doing events with them soon.

In addition to being a bookseller, Crane-Post is an English professor at National Park College in Hot Springs. She has wanted to open a bookstore of her own for years, and she hopes Black Ribbon Books grows to be "a place where people feel welcome and hang out and be part of the community."

Taylor Thomas

Taylor Thomas is in the process of converting a vintage 1968 Globestar trailer into Archivist Books, a mobile bookstore for new and used books that will serve the Rochester, N.Y., area. Thomas has launched a $10,000 GoFundMe campaign to support the initiative and hopes for a January 2024 launch, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.

While growing up in Baltimore, Thomas was an avid reader, but rarely did they find books with characters that looked like them or reflected their sexuality: "I was a huge fantasy nerd and so often, that meant just consuming literature that was very white, cis, straight centric, which, while fine, got to be incredibly boring."

In 2020, Thomas began selling used books from their own collection, which led to launching an Instagram account called the Secondhand Librarian, offering used books about queer people or people of color, the Democrat & Chronicle noted, adding that the enthusiastic response took Thomas by surprise. 

"I was unprepared," they said. "I really didn’t expect it to become a full-time job.” Eventually, balancing their office manager job and the side business became too much. In mid-2022, they closed up shop to learn and strategize how to run a business.

Now Thomas is back with a new plan and vision. Under the name the Secondhand Librarian, they stock used books at Bookeater, the new bookstore and café in the South Wedge. The next step is to get the Archivist Books mobile bookstore on the road. Work is underway on transforming the trailer into a bookshop for new and used books. In addition to the crowdfunding campaign, Thomas is funding construction costs through sales at Bookeater and at pop-up events. 

"A lot of people can't get to bookstores," Thomas said. "I want to take books to people.... Representation is so incredibly important because I believe that when marginalized people are behind the book buying process, it helps to diversify the books going out into the world."

The Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association and the family of Joyce Meskis have created the Joyce Meskis Excellence in Bookselling Scholarship program, with funding from an initial donation from the Meskis estate. The program will offer booksellers in the MPIBA region scholarships to attend the association's FallCon Trade Show & Conference or the SpringCon Conference, providing bookselling education, professional development, and networking opportunities, and help booksellers gain expertise and have long-term careers in the book industry. Scholarship funds can be used for additional or different MPIBA events, and for additional educational opportunities for bookstore members as they arise. Applications for the first scholarships open August 1 with a deadline of August 25. For more information and to apply, click here.

Joyce Meskis

Meskis, who died late last year, was the longtime owner of the Tattered Cover in Denver, Colo., which she built into one of the premier bookstores in the world. She was deeply involved in bookselling: she was a founder of MPIBA, the first president of MPIBA, a president of the American Booksellers Association, executive director of the Denver Publishing Institute, and taught regularly at the old ABA booksellers schools. She was an inspiration to many booksellers, and a passionate defender of free speech and the First Amendment, winning several key free speech cases in Colorado.

MPIBA executive director Heather Duncan said, "Joyce Meskis was an invaluable mentor to me, and I am incredibly grateful to her family for honoring her service to our industry by creating this scholarship fund. The financial assistance will make a significant difference in helping to elevate bookstore and book industry careers."

MPIBA president Stephanie Schindhelm, marketing and promotions manager at Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo., said, "Joyce has been an inspiration to bookstores and booksellers all over the country, and this scholarship is a wonderful way to honor her legacy and dedication to bookselling."

The Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland has revealed its initial plans for Bookshop Day, the annual celebration of bookshops taking place October 14. This year's theme is "Bookshops Bringing People Together."
 
This year’s Books Are My Bag Limited-Edition Bag, designed by Poonam Mistry, will be available exclusively from bookshops beginning on Bookshop Day. Around the country, bookshops will be celebrating with their customers and authors, with events taking place in-store as well as special offers, promotions and exclusives. A video featuring high-profile authors talking about why they love bookshops and encouraging consumers to choose bookshops will be shared across social media. There will also be eye-catching murals celebrating bookshops in Manchester city center, created by local artists.

"Bookshops bring people together throughout the year, every year," said Emma Bradshaw, BA head of campaigns. "This Bookshop Day we want to remind consumers that their local bookshop is more than a retail space. It's a place that creates and facilitates conversation; it's a safe space for people who may feel lonely or marginalized; it's a place to gather with friends, to meet authors, for children to listen to stories, and occasionally even a place to spark romance. Of course, your local bookshop is also staffed by experts who can help with recommendations and get you started on your gift shopping, as Bookshop Day marks 10 weeks until Christmas."
 
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While the demise of independent bookstores in Canada "was long predicted and pandemic closings were a heavy blow," many local bookshops are thriving again, the New York Times reported. Among them are Bookmark in Halifax, McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, Audreys Books in Edmonton, as well as Mosaic Books in Kelowna, where correspondent Ian Austen met with co-owner Michael Neill and his daughter, store manager Alicia Neill, to talk about the current state of booksellers in the country.

"The interesting thing about independent bookstores is that they're all so different. Everybody's doing their own thing, and I like that. That provides some diversity," said Michael Neill, adding that the indie comeback might reflect what book shoppers found lacking online when the pandemic forced them there: "It's fun to try to build a place where you come in, and you don't know what you're looking for or what you're going to buy. You just can experience all the stuff, and then you find things, whereas otherwise you're just searching for something."

Alicia Neill observed that one sign of the comeback of independents can be found at her father's other business, Bookmanager, which makes software systems used by about 530 independent bookshops in Canada and the U.S. She added that there are now 100 shops on a wait list for Bookmanager systems and the list is not taking any new names until November.

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The winners of this year's Aotearoa Book Trade Industry Awards, organized jointly by Booksellers Aotearoa NZ and the Publishers Association of NZ Te Rau o Tākapu, were announced July 24 at a ceremony in Rotorua, Books+Publishing reported.

Lamplight Books in Auckland won the Bookshop of the Year award. Judges described the Lamplight as a "beautiful, browsable space filled to the ceiling with books.... We think Lamplight Books adds to the bookshop fabric of Auckland with clear buying parameters, carefully assessed and informed by their neighborhood. Co-owners Courtney and Melanie have left no stone unturned in pursuit of customer comfort and experience, with space to display beautiful hardbacks, an inky blue 'living room' nook to browse fiction and nonfiction and a bright red table showcasing their favorite books."

Publisher of the Year honors went to Allen & Unwin New Zealand, while Dahlia Malaeulu, owner of the first all-Pasifika publishing company Mila's Books, was named the Emerging NZ Publisher of the Year. Ann Mallinson, co-founder of Mallinson Rendel, a trailblazer in New Zealand children's publishing, received the lifetime achievement award in recognition of her significant contribution to publishing in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Emerging Bookseller of the Year award was given to Anna Hoek-Sims of the University Book Shop in Dunedin.

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Bookseller cat: "Innova, our first in the order is waiting for you! Madya na for the second day sale here at the creative heart of Bikol!" Savage Mind: Arts, Books, Cinema in Naga City, Philippines, posted on Facebook. --Robert Gray

George Alagiah, one of the longest-serving BBC journalists as well as an author of both fiction and nonfiction works, died July 24, the Bookseller reported. He was 67. Maggie Hanbury recalled how she became his literary agent more than two decades ago: "For many years I had watched and admired George Alagiah's reports when he was the BBC correspondent in Africa. I had decided to write to him asking if he had considered writing a memoir and if so could I represent him. One day, the phone rang and it was George, his beautiful voice travelling into my office. We arranged to meet and over coffee in my garden he appointed me as his literary agent and I was over the moon. This was the beginning of a long friendship and professional relationship. It has been one of the great pleasures of my life to represent George."

Of his debut book, she said, "When I was starting the process of finding the right publisher for George we visited several publishers and were greeted by enthusiastic teams of people all of whom wanted to sign him. The last visit we made was to Alan Samson, publisher at Time Warner as it then was.... As we walked into Alan's office he greeted George and said 'I've got the title for your book--A Passage to Africa.' George and I both knew we had found our publisher." 

Hanbury added that Alagiah "was a fine writer, and a writer with whom the reader can easily connect. His brilliant ability to observe and understand enabled him to tell a story that was honest and humane. George's second book, A Home from Home, was about the experience of being an immigrant and he interviewed many, many people. Having been an immigrant himself, twice, he brought particular insight into the stories of others."

Richard Beswick, publishing director at Abacus, which published A Home from Home, said, "It won't surprise anyone to hear that he was the ultimate professional author--near-perfect scripts delivered scrupulously on time, followed by charismatic appearances at festivals and bookshops. What would be far more difficult now though, for someone in his position, is the way in which George did not hold back with his own views. Beneath the genuine warmth and courtesy was someone whose passion and decency shone through--whether he was writing about atrocities in Africa or his own experience of coming to the U.K. as a child--and still stand as a timely rebuke to those who would deny empathy to immigrant lives and experiences."

Alagiah's debut novel, The Burning Land (2019) was a political crime thriller set in contemporary South Africa. Hannah Knowles, publishing director at Faber, worked with Alagiah when she published the novel at Canongate. "They say never work with your heroes, but George was an exception to the rule," she observed. "He wore a lifetime of astounding achievements unbelievably lightly; always more interested in what everyone else had to say; and despite his razor-sharp mind, was never less than utterly modest and curious to learn more. He faced his illness with a staggering grace, and seemingly had endless reserves of compassion for others. Simply put, he was the best of us." 

A group of booksellers got together at Seaweed Stadium in Vallejo, Calif., for the Vallejo Seaweed's final game of the season. From left: Jon Burchard (co-owner of Alibi Bookshop in Vallejo); Renée Rettig (owner of Books on B in Hayward); Karen Finlay (co-owner of Alibi Books); and Michael Barnard (owner of Rakestraw Books in Danville).

Sound advice from Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books, Philadelphia, Pa.: "Read more. Talk less. Drink matcha."

As part of Bookstore Q&A series, ZYZZYVA spoke with Drew Cohen, co-owner of Writer's Block Bookshop, Las Vegas, Nev. Among the highlights: 

What's the coziest spot in your store for reading?
Not inside our store, but the corner table on our patio, next to our ornamental (non-functioning) 19th-century letterpress. Specifically in the spring and fall, when the Vegas weather is dry and temperate. At dusk, there is a tree near a wedding chapel that becomes swarmed by grackles. And if you're lucky, you might get to see one of the open-air pedal-operated bars full of tipsy bachelorettes.

What's a little-known fact about your store?
Two things that come to mind are that we have bookworm dioramas hidden at the bottom of many of our bookcases, and that you can press a button to light them up. Additionally, our YA section is cluttered with strange-looking animal statues. These are actually painted taxidermy forms.

How would you describe the smell of your shop?
Coffee, ginger, flour, and cinnamon. When we bake in the coffee shop, the smell floods the store. And a tiny, animalic note from our pet rabbit (whose name is the Baron).

Wine People by Michelle Wildgen (Zibby Books).

Today:
Fresh Air: Samuel G. Freedman, author of Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (Oxford University Press, $34.95, 9780197535196).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Alisa Keeton, author of The Body Revelation: Physical and Spiritual Practices to Metabolize Pain, Banish Shame, and Connect to God with Your Whole Self (Tyndale Refresh, $24.99, 9781496462602).

Tamron Hall repeat: Chita Rivera, author of Chita: A Memoir (HarperOne, $29.99, 9780063226791).

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, July 30
8 a.m. Reginald Betts, co-author of Redaction (‎W.W. Norton, $100, 9781324006824). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9:32 a.m. Floyd Brown, author of Counterpunch: An Unlikely Alliance of Americans Fighting Back for Faith and Freedom (‎Frontline, $19.99, 9781636411637). (Re-airs Sunday at 9:32 p.m.)

10:05 a.m. Amul Thapar, author of The People's Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him (Regnery, $32.99, 9781684514526). (Re-airs Sunday at 10:05 p.m.)

2 p.m. Calvin Lawrence, author of Hidden in White Sight: How AI Empowers and Deepens Systemic Racism (‎Chapman and Hall, $29.95, 9781032437620).

3:10 p.m. Josh Sapan, author of The Third Act: Reinventing Your Next Chapter (Princeton Architectural Press, $35, 9781648960659).

4:10 p.m. Alissa Quart, author of Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream (Ecco, $32, 9780063028005).

5:10 p.m. Brett Forrest, author of Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret War (Little, Brown, $30, 9780316591614).

6 p.m. Matthew Dallek, author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right (Basic Books, $32, 9781541673564).

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran won the A$60,000 (about US$40,750) 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Guardian reported. The prize recognizes a novel of "the highest literary merit" that presents "Australian life in any of its phases."

The judges said the novel "treads carefully on contested historical claims, reminding us that horrors forgotten are horrors bound to be repeated, and that the reclamation and retelling of history cannot be undertaken without listening to the story-tellers amongst us."

Chandran commented: "In my heart I felt [Chai Time] would never be published in Australia, which gave me the freedom to write in the way that I wanted to write, with complete honesty. And not only was it a liberating experience, it also just felt like the right time for me to finally explore the issues of race and identity in Australia."

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The longlist for the Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize has been announced. Shortlisted titles will be announced this fall and the winner on December 5 at the Center for Fiction Annual Awards Benefit. The winner receives $15,000, and each shortlisted author receives $1,000. See the longlist's 25 debut novels here.

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, August 1:

Tom Lake: A Novel by Ann Patchett (Harper, $30, 9780063327528) follows a mother recounting an old relationship with an actor to her daughters.

Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown (Grand Central, $30, 9781538742945) is a thriller about a mass shooting at a county fair.

Family Lore: A Novel by Elizabeth Acevedo (Ecco, $30, 9780063207264) follows a Dominican American family in the days prior to a living wake.

The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, $27.99, 9781982190057) is the 22nd mystery with forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.

The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey (Doubleday, $32, 9780385545570) explores the deep ocean and those who study it.

How to Make a Killing: Blood, Death and Dollars in American Medicine by Tom Mueller (W.W. Norton, $30, 9780393866513) investigates how kidney dialysis became a ruthless profit-seeking enterprise.

Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache by Granger Smith (Thomas Nelson, $29.99, 9781400334360) is the memoir of a country music singer whose young son drowned.

Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II by Lena S. Andrews (Mariner, $32.99, 9780063088337) chronicles the 350,000 American women who served during World War II.

Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin (Sourcebooks Fire, $18.99, 9781728256153) features a magical young woman who must decide between familial obligations and personal desire.

A Little Like Waking by Adam Rex (Roaring Brook Press, $18.99, 9781250621917) is an illustrated young adult romance that takes place entirely inside a dream.

Paperbacks:
The Last Masterpiece: A Novel of World War II Italy by Laura Morelli (Morrow Paperbacks, $18.99, 9780063205987).

Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times by Phyllis L. Fagell (Hachette Go, $19.99, 9780306829758).

The Roommate Pact: A Novel by Allison Ashley (MIRA, $18.99, 9780778334248).

Feed Yourself: Step Away from the Lies of Diet Culture and into Your Divine Design by Leslie Schilling (Zondervan, $18.99, 9780310366522).

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
Banyan Moon: A Novel by Thao Thai (Mariner, $30, 9780063267107). "Banyan Moon is a remarkable debut that follows Vietnamese American Ann, her mother, grandmother, and generations of women who came before. Thai peels open family secrets like an onion to reveal truth, healing, love and friendship." --Patience Allan-Glick, Underground Books, Carrollton, Ga.

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
The Militia House: A Novel by John Milas (Holt, $26.99, 9781250857064). "The Militia House ensnares the reader in its unsettling atmosphere. The commentary around the military industrial complex and PTSD is subtle, casting a critical eye that never fully dives into polemic. A wild, immersive ride." --Wesley Minter, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, Wash.

Paperback
Run Time: A Novel by Catherine Ryan Howard (Blackstone, $16.99, 9798212173407). "Now THIS is what I love about Catherine Ryan Howard--plots that defy trends, characters dangling over the abyss. Run Time had me exactly where I love to be: teetering on a high wire, completely off balance, and loving every minute of it." --Tarin Paradise, Naughty Dog Books, Nashville, Ind.

For Ages 3 to 7
The Ice Cream Vanishes by Julia Sarcone-Roach (Knopf, $18.99, 9780593309858). "Squirrel loves to make snacks disappear. When they spot a dropped ice cream cone, they have to show Bear--but when they come back, it's vanished! All the forest critters are eager to witness the magic of an ice cream treat, hoping for a nibble!" --Andrew King, Secret Garden Bookshop, Seattle, Wash.

For Ages 8 to 12: An Indies Introduce Title
The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi (Margaret K. McElderry, $17.99, 9781665931083). "Yara seeks answers concerning her late mother, which leads her to Zehaira and a magical quest for the truth. Fantastical and steeped in cultural folklore, this adventure story of marvel and wonderment will appeal to middle graders." --Gerard Villegas, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, Wash.

For Teen Readers: An Indies Introduce Title
Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton (Bloomsbury, $19.99, 9781547610372). "Dark, stunning, and enchanting, Sing Me to Sleep is a book every fantasy lover needs on their shelves. For a moment, you feel the cool spray of mist on your cheek or the dangerous siren song on your tongue. I can't begin to recommend this book enough!" --Emma Butler, The Briar Patch, Bangor, Maine

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Journalist Lisa M. Hamilton (Deeply Rooted) paints an intimate, thoughtful portrait of a Hmong family's journey from Laos to Thailand and eventually to California in her second nonfiction book, The Hungry Season. Spanning decades and continents, Hamilton's narrative focuses on Ia Moua, born during the turbulent 1960s to a farming family in northern Laos, and her determination to survive--even thrive--through war, hunger, and abuse.

In a narrative both practical and cinematic, Hamilton gives readers a primer on the turbulent political conditions in Laos in the mid-1970s, when Ia (then 11 years old) and her family fled their village due to war. They soon returned, only to flee again several years later, this time to the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand. By now, Ia was married to a local teen, Chou Lor, and pregnant with their first child. During their 15 years at the camp, she grew from a shy young wife to a savvy, confident mother and businesswoman, running several businesses with Chou Lor and saving money for their eventual journey to California.

Hamilton deftly places Ia and Chou Lor's story in the larger context of postcolonial chaos in Laos and its neighboring countries, including extensive clandestine bombing by the U.S., and the popularity of rebel General Vang Pao. She also details the difficulties many Hmong people have faced in assimilating to American life, including racism, inadequate social services, and increased immigration restrictions under President Donald Trump. Throughout her narrative, she highlights Ia's resourcefulness and resilience, which eventually comes to focus on a plot of land in the San Joaquin Valley, where Ia grows rice that is prized by the Hmong people for their traditional New Year's meal. Hamilton takes care to explain the essentials of Hmong traditions for readers who may know nothing about them, emphasizing the connections of human souls to clan, place, and rituals in this world and the next. Through days spent in the rice field alongside Ia, Hamilton offers readers a vivid glimpse into the life of a woman determined to continue farming and keep her family afloat at all costs. 

Extensively researched, nuanced, and compassionate, The Hungry Season is a detailed look at an immigrant experience often overlooked. Hamilton's gripping narrative will leave readers better educated about the recent history of Southeast Asia and awed by Ia's grit, humor, and dedication to the family that surrounds her and the family she left behind. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Journalist Lisa M. Hamilton's second nonfiction book paints an intimate, thoughtful portrait of a Hmong woman's journey from Laos to California.