Half Price Books spoke out recently in opposition to a new bill, Texas, HB 1375, which would allow people to sue bookstores for “damages arising from the distribution, transmission, or display of harmful material to a minor.” Half Price Books owner Kathy Doyle Thomas criticized the bill, saying it’s vague, and unrealistic to expect booksellers to read and assess every single book in their stores. She told NBC DFW, “How do we know in all of these books that we have in all of the stores across the state — we don’t know what’s inappropriate. [They] could be inappropriate in Corpus […]
Bookstores
Bookshop.org Sales Are Growing Again, Says eBook Offering Is Running Ahead of Projections
Bookshop.org founder Andy Hunter is the latest interviewee on the Open Book with David Steinberger podcast. Hunter reports that their recent initiative to add ebook sales to the retail site is, “Already performing three times what we expected when we launched—about 5% of our sales now, and I thought it would take a year for us to get to that point.” On overall sales through the site, Hunter says they are growing significantly: “This year we’re looking to do about $70 million, maybe $75 million.” That would be significantly ahead of sales of $44 million in 2024, which showed modest […]
Bookselling: New Owners For Watermark Books & Cafe
Watermark Books & Cafe in Wichita, Kansas, has been sold to new owners after 30 years. Erin and Ryan Potter bought the store from longtime owner Sarah Bagby. The new owners said their goals are “to ensure a smooth transition,” “listening and learning to see how we can best support the staff,” and continuing the store’s legacy. The store was listed for $247,000, not including inventory of approximately $250,000. Erin Potter told the Wichita Eagle, “We’re going to lean on the staff a lot to continue to support the store in the day-to-day, but one of our goals is to […]
McNally Jackson Will Host Biannual Book Festival
McNally Jackson announced that it is launching a book festival based at its Seaport location, with events held twice a year in spring and fall. The first festival will take place this spring from May 7 through June with the theme “archives, historiography, and legacies.” Vulture writes that it will include a “series of talks, a print zine, and a phone-free closing party (involving “a secret lineup” and a musical guest).” McNally Jackson founder and owner Sarah McNally says she hopes the festival will provide “more access to high-level intellectual conversations in the city” and extend publicity for books beyond […]
Former Tattered Cover CEO Will Try Again As A Denver Bookseller
Kwame Spearman, who failed to turn around the Tattered Cover bookstores as ceo and left to pursue a career in politics, will try again as a bookseller. Spearman purchased 9,000-square-foot building at 1700 Humboldt St. in Denver’s City Park West with partner Rich Garvin, a San Francisco philanthropist, for $2.9 million. His redevelopment plans include a 3,500-square-foot bookstore, called Denver Book Society, which he hopes to have open by spring 2026. Spearmen tells Business Den, “Books that you can easily find on Amazon, you can find on Amazon. You come into our store and have a best-in-class staff opportunity that […]
B&N Workers in NYC Ratify Union Contracts
Workers at three Barnes & Noble locations in New York ratified their union contracts with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the first such contracts for the nation’s largest bookstore chain. The contracts cover more than 200 workers at the Union Square flagship store, West 82nd Street, and Park Slope. The contracts include wage increases (bringing the starting wage from $18 to $19), union healthcare, safety equipment and language, layoff protections, job and pay security, and more. The contracts have slight variations for each store, RWDSU said in a release. “The ratification of this contract represents three years […]