"Bookselling is the heart of publishing. Every single person who works on a book is important, whether it is the publisher or the warehouse worker packing the books, but I have seen so many books published and then lost in the shuffle. Countless books are published with no marketing budget, and the way those books thrive is through bookselling, through librarians, and through other readers who are telling people about these books.

"All of that to me is bookselling, and it is the life of the industry. Publishing is a business, and I think that booksellers, along with so many others in this industry, including editorial assistants, publicity assistants, and warehouse workers are completely undervalued and underappreciated. Without them, these books would have no place."

Sunshine Book Nook, offering new and used books, officially opened December 13 at 111 N. Main St. in Urbana, Ohio. After the opening festivities, the store posted on Facebook: "Today was just the most incredible day. Thank you for showing up and supporting our dream. We are truly humbled by your excitement and support. We love this community!"

Owners Don and Christina Flowers "envision a cozy, welcoming community space filled with stories, conversation, and connection," the Daily Citizen reported.

"We are intentionally a community bookstore with a focus on developing relationships and supporting our customers," they said. "Supporting our local authors is very important to us. We sell both new and used books at varying price points so everyone can find just the right book."

The idea for the bookstore "grew from both a shared passion for reading and a desire to create a space that brings people together. Don, who spent his career in technology and the military, was drawn to the opportunity to build something meaningful alongside his wife and to create a place centered on community connection," Urbana Daily Digital reported.

"I love the idea of a community bookstore where all are seen, heard, and appreciated," he said. "It allows me to be creative and connect with my community." 

Christina Flowers's perspective "is shaped by her lifelong connection to reading and her background in education. She hopes the bookstore will offer the same sense of connection and inspiration she has found through books," Urbana Daily Digital noted. 

"Books bring me joy and calm, and I want to share that with others. As a former teacher, promoting literacy is very important to me," she noted. "I love being able to bring my community together." 

The Book Lounge, a bookstore and wine bar in St. Petersburg, Fla., opened last month, the Gabber reported.

Located at 631 Central Ave. in a 1,600-square-foot space, the Book Lounge carries mostly fiction titles with an emphasis on romance and fantasy. The bar sells wine and a variety of non-alcoholic drinks along with charcuterie boards and other small bites. The store also features board games and card games.

The Book Lounge is owned by mother/daughter team Natalya Calleja and Pamela Calleja. The bookstore's earliest iteration was a blind date with a book business that Pamela Calleja launched last year.

They held a ribbon cutting on November 8 that featured giveaways and prizes and free bookish bags for the first 100 customers.

"As we celebrate our ribbon cutting, Pamela and I feel deeply grateful," Natalya Calleja wrote at the time. "This journey has been full of hard work, long days, and lessons learned. None of it would have been possible without the people who helped us along the way."

Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago, Ill., has launched Quimby's Ink, a printing and design business for people looking to self-publish zines, books, comics, and other projects, Block Club Chicago reported.

The initiative draws on the expertise of co-owner Peter Miles Bergman and affiliate owner Eric Von Haynes, both of whom have backgrounds in publishing, art, and design. The program,  intended to help independent creators overcome barriers to access and learn more about their craft, offers a variety of options.

Bergman told Block Club Chicago that Quimby's Ink is aimed at people "who want or need a little bit of instruction and assistance, and to learn as they go. Because we really want to support a DIY ethos, but sometimes you have to 'DIT' first: do it together, until someone gets the skills and gets the equipment." 

Bergman bought the bookstore with co-owner Cody Kasselman earlier this year. In addition to launching Quimby's Ink, they've put in new flooring and shelving, digitized the bookstore's consignment program, and expanded Quimby's event offerings. Eventually, Bergman and Von Haynes would like to create a Quimby's publishing imprint.

Arthur Sze

As part of his mission, U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze will release Transient Worlds, his personal guide to global poetry in translation. Published by Copper Canyon Press in association with the Library of Congress on April 14, 2026, Transient Worlds will take readers through 1,500 years of poetry, featuring translations into English from 13 languages, including Arabic, Braj Bhasha, Greek, Japanese, Navajo, Spanish, and Tzeltal.

"Translation, indeed, is everywhere; and English, a composite and growing language, has been enriched and strengthened over time by accruals from languages across the world," Sze said. "Translation makes the ancient contemporary, the foreign accessible, and the human experience universal."

Organized into 15 sections or "zones," each with its own poem or series, Transient Worlds will showcase translations from established and first-time translators alike, with Sze exploring the varied linguistic and artistic decisions each translator makes. The book will also offer materials and strategies for readers to respond to poems written from across continents and through centuries. It concludes with an appendix designed for instructors who want to incorporate translation into their curriculums.

"Translation, after all, builds bridges and makes connections," Sze said. "The more we give, the more everyone has, and poetry in translation plays a vital role in bringing us together."

Canadian bookseller Madeline Neill, who founded Black Bond Books, a family-run, independent bookstore mini-chain in the Greater Vancouver, B.C., area, died November 1, Quill & Quire reported. She was 96. 

Madeline Neill

Born in Brandon, Man., Neill opened the first Black Bond bookstore there in 1963, naming it for her grandmothers Celia Black and Catherine Bond. She was inspired and mentored by Winnipeg bookseller Mary Scorer. Cathy Jesson, Neill's daughter, recalled that Black Bond Books was a success, and in 1972 Neill moved to White Rock, B.C., where she opened the second Black Bond store in the mid-1970s. 

Jesson ran the Brandon store for five years "before the location was sold and Jesson, too, moved west. A second outpost followed in Langley, B.C., in 1977, followed by a store in Maple Ridge, B.C., and others," Q&Q wrote.

Neill saw an opportunity for bookselling in the small communities outside of Vancouver that lacked bookstores, said Jesson, who worked closely with her mother for many years and took over the business after Neill's retirement in 1994. Jesson now runs the chain with her daughter, Caitlin Jesson. Neill's other two children also worked at the store for various periods of time, Q&Q noted. Her son, Michael Neill, is the owner of Bookmanager, the POS and inventory control system, and, with his family, owns Mosaic Books in Kelowna, B.C. 

"Despite the fact that she retired more than 30 years ago, Neill had conversations about the business with Jesson right up until the end of her life. She loved hosting authors and book events at Black Bond and remained a passionate reader," Q&Q wrote, adding that at one point, Black Bond Books operated 10 locations. It now also includes what was the Vancouver flagship of Book Warehouse, acquired in 2012, and Vancouver neighborhood bookstore Hager Books, acquired in 2022.

Shortly after her death, Black Bond Books posted on social media: "Madeline cherished her family and the company she created in 1963. Though she retired in 1997, her love and care for Black Bond Books never faded. Her warmth, dedication, and legacy will always remain part of who we are."

At Hyperbole Books

Many booksellers were celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday yesterday with social media posts highlighting displays, events, costumes, and more, including:

Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, N.Y.: "Happy 250th Birthday Jane Austen! Which of her classic novels is your favorite? We have beautiful deluxe editions of her books and more available for purchase at both stores, stop by and pick up a copy!"

Next Chapter Cafe & Book Shop, Hagerstown, Md.: "Step into a story-worthy day at The Next Chapter | Workshop, Café & Gifts as we celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday--a perfect excuse to slow down, get inspired, and treat yourself. Browse our shelves, explore thoughtful last-minute holiday gifts, and enjoy lunch or dinner from the café that feels straight out of a cozy novel moment. Whether you're a lifelong Austen fan or just love a good book and great food, there's always something waiting for you here."

Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore, Chatham, Mass.: "Celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen. From sharp wit to timeless romance, her stories remain iconic, relatable, and endlessly swoon-worthy. Here's to the author who gave us Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and novels we'll love forever. Happy Birthday Jane!"

At Bridgeside Books

Bookie's, Chicago, Ill.: "Happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen!! Swing by to check out all our Austen goodies including 2 collectible editions from Heritage Press."

Otis & Clementine's Books & Coffee, Upper Tantallon, N.S, Canada: "Six novels. Six novels that have stood the test of time. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Today we celebrate the 250th birthday of the woman who gave us these exquisite masterpieces, Jane Austen."

Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, Steamboat Springs, Colo.: "We are closing today at 4 for a Jane Austen High Tea! Happy 250th to one of the GOATs of Literature!"

Hyperbole Bookstore, College Station, Tex.: "Today is Jane Austen's 250th birthday, and we're celebrating all week with a table full of Jane Austen books and gifts! Plus, we're selling the Penguin Clothbound Classic edition of Pride and Prejudice for just $12, which would be the perfect present for the Jane Austen fan in your life (or yourself, of course). Cheers to our gal Jane!!"

At Off the Beaten Path

An Unlikely Story, Plainville, Mass.: "Today we celebrate the 250th birthday of Jane Austen! Her timeless stories, sharp wit, and unforgettable characters continue to delight readers after centuries. Which of her books will you be celebrating with today?"

Bridgeside Books, Waterbury, Vt.: "Happy 250th Birthday Jane Austen. To the OG romcom author who subverted expectation and didn't shy away from social commentary, there's so much to be found between the lines! Cheers to women, to female authors, and to getting sh*t done in a dress!"

Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, Minn.: "Today is Jane Austen's 250th birthday and we couldn't let the day pass without wishing one of our favorite authors well! We have a lot of resident Austen fans on staff that you can get recommendations from."

Christopher Robin and Banksy

The BookMark in Neptune Beach, Fla., recently hosted Jan Brett for her new book, The Christmas Sweater (Putnam Books for Young Readers). To enrich the experience and add to the excitement, the bookstore partnered with Coastal Pug Rescue, which brought information on rescue pugs and coloring sheets for the kids waiting in line.

The bookseller also invited customers to send pictures of their pugs in Christmas sweaters as part of a contest. "There were so many wonderful and adorable entries we actually awarded one winner and three runners-up," owner Rona Brinlee noted. First prize went to Christopher Robin and Banksy. "Both looked quite fetching in their Christmas finery. These two even attended the event and got to meet Jan Brett," Brinlee added.  

"The shop is officially in its Christmas glow," Plenty Downtown Bookshop, Cookeville, Tenn., posted on Instagram. "From our 'A Christmas Carol' windows to the small, thoughtful details tucked throughout the store, we're always focusing on the little things that make Plenty feel special. Thank you for choosing to shop with us. It truly means the world and helps support literacy right here in the Upper Cumberland, and every purchase makes a difference in the lives of so many."

Rachael Richardson has been promoted to social media manager and marketing associate at Grove Atlantic.

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: James Clear, author of The Atomic Habits Workbook (Avery, $26, 9798217180509).

Also on CBS Mornings: Ann-Louise Lockhart, author of Love the Teen You Have: A Practical Guide to Transforming Conflict into Connection (Flatiron, $30.99, 9781250361004). 

Today: Drew Nieporent, author of I'm Not Trying to Be Difficult: Stories from the Restaurant Trenches (Grand Central, $30, 9781538765579).

Masterpiece PBS, alongside Bonnie Productions, is developing the second season of Miss Austen, based on Gill Hornby's latest novel, The Elopement, which further delves into the family life of Jane and Cassandra Austen. Casting and other details will be announced in the future.

The four episodes are being written by Andrea Gibb (Swallows and Amazons, Elizabeth Is Missing). Christine Langan (The Queen), executive producer for Bonnie Productions, and Masterpiece head of scripted content and executive producer Susanne Simpson, have returned for this next installment, as has Polly Williams, executive producer for Federation Stories.

"Fueled by another wonderful Gill Hornby novel, the journey of Miss Austen continues, going deeper into the intimate life of the Austen family," said Langan. "Love, loss and laughter mingle irresistibly in this fresh take on Jane Austen's world brought to life by a dazzling array of characters both familiar and brand new."

Simpson added: "After the success of Miss Austen, I am thrilled to be working again with the incredible author Gill Hornby, and the impressive team of Andrea Gibb and Christine Langan, who created the first series that was such a moving experience and a joy to watch. I am pleased to be able to announce the return of the series just as we are about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth." 

A shortlist has been released for the inaugural Poetry in Translation Prize, a biennial award for an outstanding poetry collection translated into English. The prize is open to living, published poets from around the world, writing in any language. Poems from each collection can be read at Granta online.

The winning poet and translator will receive an advance of $5,000, to be shared equally between them, followed by simultaneous publication in North America with New Directions, in the U.K. and Ireland with Fitzcarraldo Editions, and in Australia and New Zealand with Giramondo. The winner will be announced in January 2026. The shortlisted titles are:

With the Remains of My Hands by Priya Bains, translated by Alex Mepham (Norwegian)
A Beam of Light in the Winter from the Bowstring Played by a Crested Serpent Eagle by Bukun Ismahasan Islituan, translated by Hugu Sutej (Bunun, Isbukun dialect)
The Dust Museum by Liu Ligan, translated by Dong Li (Chinese/Mainland)
Water's Edge and Other Poems by Hiyori Kojima, translated by James Garza (Japanese)
Help Me Change My Bandages by Maniniwei, translated by Emily Lu (Chinese/Taiwan-Malaysia)
Just Land by Jaku Mata, translated by Eric Abalajon (Filipino)
The Past Is a Lonesome Town by Osdany Morales, translated by Harry Bauld (Spanish)
Life on Three Wheels by E.M. Palitha Edirisooriya, translated by Samodh Porawagamage & Kasun Pathirage (Sinhala)

photo: Tina Krohn

Christina Kovac writes psychological suspense/thrillers set in Washington, D.C. Her career began in television news, where she covered crime and politics as a news producer and editor at the Washington Bureau of NBC News for the Today Show and Nightly News. This work influenced her novels: The Cutaway and Watch Us Fall (Simon & Schuster, December 2, 2025), a work of psychological suspense that follows four best friends who get embroiled in the investigation of a reporter. Kovac lives near Washington, D.C., with her family.

Handsell readers your book in about 30 words:

Four best friends are living in a shared house in Georgetown, when one of their ex-boyfriends disappears. Police come calling, delusions hidden beneath the friendship surface, and things fall apart fast.

On your nightstand now:

Watch Us Fall comes out very soon, and I'm racing to finish my current manuscript (book three! yay!), so I'm crazy busy and a bit exhausted and reading much slower than usual, but:

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is everything I need right now for the cool fall weather. I'm not deep into it yet, but if you loved Mexican Gothic like I did, you'll be so, so happy you picked up this book. Everything I love about Moreno-Garcia's writing is right there in the first line: "When I was a young woman, there were still witches..."

Favorite book when you were a child:

When I was very young, I read everything Nancy Drew. I have this vivid childhood memory of sitting next to my mother on the floor as we stacked her old Nancy Drew books onto my newly painted bookshelf. The smell of new paint and old books, the feel of pages under my small hand, those same pages my mother turned when she was a little girl. The timelessness of books, how they survive everything, even childhood, that's what I love as much as The Hidden Staircase.

Your top five authors:

I have degrees in English and journalism, so this is an impossible ask, but I'll tell you my favorites who are thankfully still writing at the top of their game today--Angie Kim, Lou Berney, Lily King, Liz Moore, Janelle Brown. I can't wait for what they do next.

Book you've faked reading:

The Bible. My hot take: everyone fakes this. I mean, look at this world.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Long Bright River by Liz Moore. And yes, I know, I know, The God of the Woods was the best book last year and maybe into this year, it was on the bestseller list forever, and I'm not knocking that--but hear me out: Long Bright River is her best. It tackles the most intractable problem in our country head-on. The novel makes you live through addiction that is the destroyer of worlds, so that you feel your family ripped apart, your sister lost to you, and the neighborhood you grew up in and the city you love destroyed--all while telling a pretty damn good murder mystery. Her characters are that real, and the book is that good.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Lou Berney's November Road. A little girl leans out the window of a fast car, her long hair blowing. You see her from behind. You feel like you were that girl, maybe, and that still grabs me--like: come along for the ride, you've got to see this. November Road was the first Lou Berney book I read, by the way, and I've now read everything he's published. Just a great, great writer.

Book you hid from your parents:

Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle. A spy thriller. At 12 years old, I was like, why can't I read it? By the way, never tell anybody not to read something--that's the exact book they'll steal, and I did. It was a worn paperback, and turns out, wowza, there was a very sexy sex scene in it--who knew? I read that scene about 12 more times before slipping it back in its spot on the high shelf.

Book that changed your life:

Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca made me want to write psychological suspense. I read the novel as a kid before I could really understand it--but I loved it, and I still can't figure out why. The main character is so weak she doesn't even have a name. Her husband is awful. The bad girl is fascinating, but oh by the way, she's dead so we never see her. And yet... and yet... I've read it at least four or five more times since I was a kid. I know the twist is coming, and it still catches my breath. I get a different read each time, and I just love how the meaning changes based on who you are now and what you bring to it as a reader, and I still wonder, how did du Maurier do that? What magic is this?

Favorite line from a book:

"Beauty is terror," from Donna Tartt's The Secret History. I don't entirely understand what she's saying, which I think is why the line works and why it stays with you. You puzzle over it for years.

Five books you'll never part with:

I have entire shelves of books from which I will never, ever part (much to my husband's horror). But if there was a fire, and I could only grab five books? The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Happiness Falls by Angie Kim, and Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow--because while they're all great books, they all mean something more personal to me than what's contained within their cover.

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

Probably du Maurier's Rebecca as an adult writer, so I can feel that twist for the first time with knowing, writer eyes. Actually, I think I'll go pick it up now and give it a go. Maybe I can finally figure out its magic.

Lindsay Metcalf (Tomatoes on Trial) draws climate science pioneer Eunice Newton Foote out of the shadows of history in the expressive, evocative fictionalized novel-in-verse, Footeprint. Through melodic third-person poetry, Metcalf describes both the scientific and women's rights advancements this little-known American inventor achieved by "kicking the glass ceiling/ to breathe the air above." Metcalf based her work of fiction on historical fact, using minimal speculation and including images of various individuals noted in the book as well as reproductions of historical documents.

Eunice Newton, a descendent of Isaac Newton, is born in 1819 into a family that nurtures her curiosity and independence. Her parents send Eunice to Troy Female Seminary, the only school "in New York/ with a mission to teach science to girls." At Troy, Eunice rooms with Cate Cady, sister of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and she develops a lifelong friendship with both Cadys. When Eunice marries lawyer Elisha Foote, he "sees Eunice for her beauty & her brain" and she believes he "has the smarts & ambition/ to keep pace" with her. The pair "vow to leap with both feet/ into a revolution/ & a future/ united." Eunice goes to work inventing, but the broader world is not as open-minded as the Newtons and the Footes. "Because of the law,/ because of the world,/ Eunice decides/ her invention's best chance/ rests in Elisha's hands." Elisha "becomes the face" of Eunice's first patented invention--Regulating the Heat of Stoves--while "Eunice longs for the day/ when her face will be enough."

Eunice and Elisha attend the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights conference. There, they brave the risks and sign their names on the attendance roster--in the list of 100 names, Eunice's name appears fifth, after Lucretia Mott, Harriet Cady Eaton, Margaret Pryor, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In time, the work of the women's suffrage movement enables Eunice to publish her ground-breaking discovery of carbon dioxide's effects on the atmosphere under her own name in 1857. In 1859, however, John Tyndale "discovered the greenhouse effect," meaning Eunice was forgotten until 2010, when a "retired petroleum geologist" found Eunice's work and set the record straight.

Metcalf's excellent research and her artistic approach to presenting the information create a mesmerizing reading experience. The author's clever use of figurative language emphasizes the struggles Eunice endures due to gender bias--"Like the layers of her dress,/ [Eunice] must peel away misbeliefs/ one breakthrough at a time"--and her verse (often flowing into concrete poetry) displays Eunice Newton Foote as the breathtaking work of art that she is. --Jen Forbus, freelancer

Shelf Talker: A delightful novel-in-verse corrects the history books on climate science by spotlighting the incredible life of scientist and women's rights activist Eunice Newton Foote.