Paul and Holly McNally opened their first
bookstore in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1996, "modelling it after Denver's beloved
Tattered Cover Book Store." In 2004, their daughter, Sarah, opened
McNally Robinson NYC in Manhattan, "city of 11 Barnes & Nobles--a
move the New York Times called either 'quaintly quixotic' or
'downright batty.' Year-over-year sales increases at the store, nestled
between Greenwich Village and Wall Street, are a staggering 30 to 40
per cent."
---
Noting that shares of Borders and B&N are down 30% and 16%,
respectively, since May (a period when the Dow Jones Industrials lost
2.2%), the Ahead of the Tape column in today's Wall Street Journal
says "investors have fled the shares" because competition from
discounters and online retailers is "pressuring the old-line
booksellers to slash prices to lure customers, squeezing profits."
One statistic that does not please Wall Street: excluding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sales at B&N superstores at least a year rose just 1% in the last quarter.
Borders releases quarterly results late this afternoon. Some 20% of
shares are held by short sellers, the Journal wrote, meaning they are betting on bad news.
"That means any goood news from Borders today could provide a pop for
the stock that would be boosted again if the shorts were to then run
for cover."
---
Tweedle Brothers Children's Bookshop, Manitowoc, Wis., will close for the month of September, then reopen in early October under new ownership. According to the Herald Times, current owners Tina and Carson Kugler announced in a press release that "the new owners are going to be a perfect fit. We are happy Tweedle Bros. will remain open. We are proud of what the store has become and glad to see it will continue in good hands."
---Barnes & Noble has picked Garden Spells by Sarah Addison
Allen (Bantam, $20, 9780553805482/0553805487), which goes on sale
today, as its fifth selection in the B&N Recommends program.
In a statement, B&N CEO Steve Riggio called the book "a tender, bewitching love story, told with captivating invention."
A B&N bookseller who helped pick the title said, "Combine two parts Alice Hoffman (author of Practical Magic) and one part Rebecca Wells (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) with a splash of Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees), and you have Garden Spells.
A great read for anyone who loves cooking, Southern fiction, or just a
great love story." Another bookseller said, "A sweet story that adds
hope to the world."
Garden Spells will be supported by discussion groups about the
book at B&N stores across the country; author appearances; an
online book club; a free guide for reading groups; and more.
---
Random House is donating $1 million to First Book,
the nonprofit organization that since 1992 has distributed more than 50
million books to children in low-income families so that they may be
able to read and own their first new books. In a note to company staff,
Random House chairman and CEO Peter Olson called the contribution "the
largest single philanthropic donation in our history."
Through Random House Children's Books, the company has been a charter
member of First Book and has donated more than 13 million copies of its
books. Olson said that First Book has been successful in getting books
to children, "but they want to do much more--and we want to help them."
In addition, the company is establishing a matching gift program for
employees dedicated just to First Book: Random will match any
contributions made by employees to First Book 100% up to $2,500. The
company is also matching contributions to First Book from authors,
illustrators, vendors, literary agents and booksellers, up to $1,000
each.
---
Next June, Barnes & Noble plans to open a store in the Red Cliffs Mall in St. George, Utah, in the far southwestern part of the state.
---
Cooper
Square Publishing, the new joint venture of the Rowman &
Littlefield Publishing Group and a hedge fund, has acquired the assets
of Northland Publishing, Flagstaff, Ariz., which has two children's
imprints, Rising Moon and Luna Rising. Earlier this month, Cooper
Square bought the book publishing program of T&N Children's
Publishing (Shelf Awareness, August 6, 2007). Effective immediately, Northland's titles will be distributed by National Book Network.
Northland specializes in Western and Native American art and
architecture and cookbook titles. The house recently published titles
by Dances with the Wolves author Michael Blake and former baseball
player and announcer Joe Garagiola. Rising Moon publishes the Do
Princesses . . . ? series and Luna Rising publishes bilingual titles.