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Ish No More; Bookish.com Is Live

by Michael Cader on February 4, 2013 in Bookstores, New Models

After years of development, three ceos, eight figures of funding and the challenges of operating a start-up joint venture after the founding partners negotiated settlements with the Department of Justice over alleged collusion, Bookish.com officially launched to the public on Monday evening. (As HBG ceo David Young told the AP,…

At Kepler's Conference, Participants Pledge to Raise More Capital

by Michael Cader on July 30, 2012 in Bookstores, New Models

Ron Charles at the Washington Post filed three blog reports from the weekend's gathering of approximately 80 "publishers, philanthropists, entrepreneurs and authors," designed to help envision the new Kepler's bookstore and plot the role of a community bookstore going forward. Perhaps most importantly, though, "members of this conference pledged to…

Tattered Cover One Step Away from Airport Stores; Politics & Prose Travels

by Michael Cader on May 10, 2012 in Bookstores, Free, New Models

A Denver City Council committee unanimously sent to the mayor and full council for approval the proposal to give the Tattered Cover the concession for four bookstores under their own name and one combined store paired with Hudson News at the Denver International Airport. The stores would open in early…

People, Etc.

by Sarah Weinman on May 9, 2012 in Agency News, Bookstores, Free, New Models, Personnel

Sara Nelson has been named editorial director, Amazon.com books, responsible for "leading our editorial vision for books in the print and Kindle bookstores" a company spokesperson told PW. She was most recently books editor at O Magazine, and prior to that was editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly. Nelson, who will work…

Supporters of Menlo Park Store Formalize As Kepler's 2020 Project

by Michael Cader on January 31, 2012 in Bookstores, Finance, Free, New Models

Efforts to stabilize, preserve and redefine Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA that we covered in January have taken shape into a formal Kepler's 2020 initiative, announced via press release and at the store's web site. "The project aims to create an innovative hybrid business model that includes a for-profit,…

ABA Reports on New Bookselling Experiments

by Michael Cader on October 7, 2011 in Bookstores, New Models

ABA ceo Oren Teicher uses one of his periodic letters to members to underscore the work the organization is doing in conjunction with publishers to test new business models: "It's imperative that both booksellers and publishers demonstrate a clear commitment to taking out a clean sheet of paper and asking…

Harper to Put Thousands of Backlist Titles On Espresso Machines for Bookstores

by Michael Cader on September 22, 2011 in Bookstores, eNews, New Models, On Demand

HarperCollins has announced an agreement to make the bulk of their backlist trade paperback titles available for printing and sale by US bookstores with an Espresso book machine, currently comprising eight independent bookstores and up to another eight machines at university bookstores. Starting in November, they will make approximately 5,000…

Bookselling: The Travel Bookshop For Sale; Fire At Ben Franklin Bookstore; and More

by Sarah Weinman on May 31, 2011 in Bookstores, New Models

The Written Word will open in Brush, CO in August in a 1500-square foot space, with owner Marlene Gippin focused on bringing a "community-based and affordable" store to the town. Fort Morgan Times A fire broke out on May 27 at Ben Franklin Bookstore in Salem, Mass., causing severe damage…

Bookselling: Court Approves Davis-Kidd Deal; Monobookism; and More

by Sarah Weinman on April 28, 2011 in Bookstores, Finance, Legal, New Models, News

Yesterday a Lexington bankruptcy court tentatively approved the results of the Joseph-Beth auction pending the entry of a sales order that's expected Wednesday afternoon. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported the deal will close at the end of business Thursday, with the new owners taking over operations Friday morning. It puts three…

Will Independent Bookstores Seize the Day?

by Michael Cader on March 6, 2011 in Bookstores, New Models

By Jack McKeown and Don Linn "Borders ended up caught between the variety of the Internet and the intimacy of the independents. Its outlets could never stock as many books as Amazon. Nor could they duplicate the native flavor of the corner bookstores...As paper books become a niche product, niche…