Sisters Books & Nooks will open officially tomorrow, September 9, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Corridor Business Journal reported.

Located at 1612 C St. SW, Suite A, in the city's Czech Village neighborhood, the bookstore will emphasize genre fiction, banned books, local authors, and LGBTQIA+ voices. At opening there will be self-serve coffee and tea, and co-owners Jamie Sharar and Sarah Danielson plan to add wine to the offerings in the future. The store's event plans include author appearances, book clubs, trivia nights, craft activities, and cabaret performances.

Danielson told the Corridor Business Journal that the store has a "very lived-in vibe," with a lot of vintage decor. There are also "cozy touches like a fireplace, candelabra sconces, and plush chairs. We want you to relax your shoulders when you walk in the front door."

Sharar said she and Danielson "wanted to create a place where people can hang out, decompress, and find community, not just buy a book and leave. Especially with the political climate right now, members of marginalized groups especially need places where they are comfortable and safe to be themselves. We are unapologetic about our inclusive beliefs and our merchandise reflects that."

Lit Actually, a romance- and fantasy-focused bookstore, opened earlier this summer in Baldwinsville, N.Y., This Is CNY reported.

Located at 25 Syracuse St., Lit Actually shares the building with a restaurant called Olive's Eatery and eight other woman-owned boutiques. Within the fantasy and romance umbrella, owner Kelly Vann emphasizes local and diverse authors. 

Alongside books, she carries tote bags, vinyl stickers, bookmarks, and other sidelines. Her event plans include book clubs, paint-and-sip nights, and book bedazzling workshops, held at Olive's Eatery. She also takes Lit Actually out into the community via pop-up appearances. 

Vann told This Is CNY that the bookstore's focus on romance and fantasy comes from her own personal interest in the genres as well as her desire not to step on the toes of established bookstores in Central New York.

The bookstore officially made its debut on July 18, with Vann reporting that there was a line outside the building. The store has continued to meet with a strong response ever since, Vann added.

Barnes & Noble will open a store this coming Wednesday, September 10, at Pasadena Crossroads, in Pasadena, Md., midway between Baltimore and Annapolis. The 14,000-square-foot store is next to Ulta in space formerly occupied by Party City. The official opening will feature a ribbon cutting and signing by author Brigid Kemmerer, whose most recent book is Warrior Princess Assassin (Avon).

The Pasadena location is one of three new Barnes & Noble bookstores set to open in September, including stores in Florida and Washington. It's the second B&N to open in Maryland in three months.

Store manager George Dressel, who has been a B&N bookseller for 23 years, said, "I am thrilled to be part of the team bringing Barnes & Noble to Pasadena. This is going to be the place where our community of book lovers unite."

Michael Zibart, founder of BookPage and former executive at Ingram, died on Friday, September 5. He was 78.

Michael Zibart

His father, uncle, and grandfather owned and managed Zibart's Bookstores in Nashville, Tenn., for nearly a century. Through them and his mother, Joy Hughes, a dance instructor, choreographer, and dancer, Zibart grew up in a world filled with writers, book reps, musicians and artists, newspaper staff, professors, and politicians.

Shortly after graduating from Vanderbilt University, Zibart began working for Ingram Book Company, starting in the warehouse. He soon began wholesale buying and eventually headed the trade books department, rising to executive v-p. In 1988, he left Ingram to form BookPage, the monthly book review publication distributed through bookstores and libraries. He retired from BookPage in 2023.

As the family remembered, "Michael was kind, fun-loving, an extraordinary friend, and a devoted husband and father to his two daughters. He loved music, especially Al Green, the Band, Allen Toussaint and the Nevilles. He was equally at home in New York, on the lake at Center Hill, and at the beach in Charleston. He enjoyed travel, notably to New Orleans, Ireland, Scotland and England, France, Spain, and Italy, where he memorably celebrated his 50th birthday with parties in both Florence and Rome. Michael was in his element hosting friends and family at home, where he made sure no guest was left with an empty glass."

A Celebration of Life will be held in Nashville eventually. As a memorial and in lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Zibart Family Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee or the Nashville Public Library.

For a special issue later this month about Banned Books Week (October 5-11), Shelf Awareness is seeking information from booksellers about plans for Banned Books Week. Tell us about your related displays, events, promotions, banned book clubs, regular banned book sections, and more. Please send information to extra@shelf-awareness.com by the end of this week. Thank you!

Twenty-nine prospective booksellers representing 21 potential new independent bookstores gathered for the workshop "A Day in the Life of a Bookseller" at Story & Song Bookstore Bistro in Fernandina Beach, Fla. Representing professions from law and engineering and education to nursing and midwifery, these prospective booksellers learned best practices to create community, promote a lifelong love of books, and manage a sustainable business. Over three decades of facilitating training for start-ups, the Bookstore Training Group of Paz & Associates, led by Mark and Donna Paz Kaufman, continues to see an increase in hybrid bookstore business concepts. For more information, visit OwningaBookstore.com.

George Saunders

The National Book Foundation is giving the 2025 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to George Saunders. He will be presented with the medal by Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at the New Yorker, at the 76th National Book Awards ceremony & benefit dinner on November 19 in New York City.

Saunders's work includes the novel Lincoln in the Bardo; the novella "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" and the story "Fox 8"; the children's book The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip; the essay collection The Braindead Megaphone; the short story collections CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, Pastoralia, In Persuasion Nation, Liberation Day, and the National Book Award finalist Tenth of December; and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life. His latest novel, Vigil, will be published by Random House in January 2026. He has taught Creative Writing at Syracuse University since 1996, and his work has regularly appeared in the New Yorker since 1992. In 2025, Saunders was a selector for the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 program.

Saunders has won the Booker Prize, the Folio Prize, the PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and the Story Prize. He has received fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Guggenheim Foundation, Lannan Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation, and he was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People.

National Book Foundation chair David Steinberger said, "George Saunders is the author of more than a dozen books--from short story and essay collections to novels and a children's book--that offer an incisive, comedic, and urgent perspective on our world. Throughout his career, Saunders has captured the imagination of readers and mentored countless writers in and outside of the classroom."

Foundation executive director Ruth Dickey said, "Through immersive world-building, deeply human characters, and compassionate curiosity towards the most pressing sociopolitical issues of our time, George Saunders' writing exemplifies the power of fiction to unite us despite--and perhaps because of--our fractured and complex world. Saunders' craft book A Swim in a Pond in the Rain and Substack Story Club show his genuine enthusiasm for making the process of writing, and reading, accessible and exciting."

Posted on Instagram by Newtown Bookshop, Newtown, Pa.: "Where Stories and People Meet. At the Newtown Bookshop, we believe that every page turned can lead to a new connection, making our little shop a treasure for our community. Whether you’re finding your next favorite author or sharing a laugh over a beloved book, the stories we explore together create friendships that can last a lifetime. Remember the last time you stumbled upon a novel that resonated with you? It’s like finding a long-lost friend! So, let’s gather together to share our literary journeys, engage in delightful discussions, and discover new adventures waiting on our shelves. Come visit us and become part of our vibrant reading community, where every visit feels like coming home!"

Lauren Klouda has joined Sourcebooks as director of retail marketing & creative services. She previously worked at Independent Publishers Group for 15 years, most recently as senior director of marketing.

Terminal Surreal: Poems by Martha Silano (Acre Books).

Today:
Good Morning America: Charlie Sheen, author of The Book of Sheen: A Memoir (Gallery, $35, 9781668075289). He will also appear tomorrow on Live with Kelly and Mark.

CBS Mornings: Michelle "MACE" Curran, author of The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower (Grand Central, $30, 9781538768105).

Live with Kelly and Mark: John Edward, co-author of Chasing Evil: Shocking Crimes, Supernatural Forces, and an FBI Agent's Search for Hope and Justice (St. Martin's Essentials, $32, 9781250291752).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Dan Brown, author of The Secret of Secrets: A Novel (Doubleday, $38, 9780385546898).

The View: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, author of Just Shine!: How to Be a Better You (Philomel Books, $18.99, 9780593206294). She will also appear on CBS Mornings.

Finalists have been selected for the 2025 McIlvanney Prizes, honoring the best Scottish crime books. The winner will be announced September 12 during Bloody Scotland, Scotland's international crime writing festival.

The finalists for the McIlvanney Prize:
Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin
The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani
The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney
Paperboy by Callum McSorley
The Good Liar by Denise Mina

The finalists for the McIlvanney Debut Prize:
A Reluctant Spy by David Goodman
The Malt Whisky Murders by Natalie Jayne Clark
The Search for Othella Savage by Foday Mannah
Five by Five by Claire Wilson
The Unrecovered by Richard Strachan

Director Cameron Crowe is best known for films such as Vanilla Sky, Say Anything..., and the semi-autobiographical Almost Famous, all of which feature iconic soundtracks. The critical role music plays in his film work is no accident. Indeed, the journalist turned director claims in his captivating memoir, "The marriage of film and music would soon be my favorite part of writing and directing films."

In The Uncool, Crowe depicts his unlikely journey from gawky high schooler in the 1970s to rock journalist chronicling some of the biggest and most influential musical acts of the day. His foot in the door came via an introduction, from his incomparably cool older sister Cindy, to an anti-Nixon paper that was "feeling hopeful that the mild corruption of begging for record-company ads from the Man might also help pay for the revolution." Through them, he wrote music reviews and then interviews. The rest of Crowe's family is also lovingly and poignantly depicted, including his other sister, Cathy, who died by suicide, indelibly marking the family.

The book's early chapters paint an arresting picture of Crowe's precocious start as a freelance music journalist. A kid who skipped a couple years in school, he wasn't at ease socially there, and was instead obsessed with music, eager to throw himself into that scene.

Much of Crowe's memoir details his encounters with the musical titans of the era as he got tapped to write for ever more significant publications. Crowe's depiction of the travels and interviews he did with musicians brings both them and the era vibrantly alive. He recalls sitting down with legends such as Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, the Eagles, and countless others. There's a chilling encounter with a very paranoid Gregg Allman in which the musician confiscated all of 16-year-old Crowe's interview tapes, before relenting and returning them once his mood shifted: "It was like a scene from a bad crime show, one where the snitch has been caught--me--and the next scene would begin with me in a body bag." That experience aside, Crowe seemed to possess an extraordinary ability to connect with rock stars as well as other journalists (like Lester Bangs and Jann Wenner) not as gods or tastemakers, but as complex, flawed human beings. It was a skill infused with warmth and genuine curiosity that would later serve him well in the world of filmmaking.

This is a remarkable and moving memoir, with an engaging and unforgettable cast of characters, that will resonate well beyond fans of celebrated '70s music. The Uncool is a celebration of the passionate, often awkward and chaotic, journey to find one's place in the world. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.

Shelf Talker: The Uncool is a captivating insight into the tumultuous young rock critic days and development of director Cameron Crowe.