The back-and-forth struggle for survival of Toronto’s Pages bookstres is ending the hard way: after 30 years, the store will close as the end of August.
The store first warned of trouble last October, but in January it was reported that they had successfully signed a new lease at an acceptable rent. Now Torontoist says “in the end there simply wasn’t a choice. Rent is growing faster than sales, and for all that Pages is deeply loved, the cash crunch got to be too much.” Known for “curating the indie set’s reading list and nurturing Toronto’s newest and freshest literary voices,” the blog says that at least This Is Not A Reading Series programming will continue.
Torontoist
Portland, OR-area bookseller Stephanie Griffin closed her store Twenty-third Avenue Books in January and then become homeless. “Startled neighbors discovered this in June” as “Griffin had started panhandling outside her old store,” Willamette Week writes. Neighbors have set up a relief fund:
Donations can be made to Stephanie Griffin Fund, c/o Glenda Magistrale, Consolidated Federal Credit Union, 2021 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR 97232.
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