The King’s English Bookstore in Salt Lake City, UT was temporarily shut down by a bomb threat on Sunday morning targeting a drag queen story hour. Salt Lake City police heard of a “suspicious circumstance” around 9:30 and, after determining it was a bomb threat, evacuated the store to search for explosives, clearing it to reopen around 11. Tara Lipsyncki has hosted that drag queen story hour for five months. Lipsyncki wrote in an Instagram post, “In the face of hate and threats you have two options, to fight back or to back down. I will always fight and stand […]
Bookstores
Bookselling: New London Bookstore Title IX To Close
Title IX: A Bookstore in New London, CT will close on October 1. Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT, which is under the same ownership, will continue to operate. Both are owned by Anne Philbrick, who also owned Savoy Bookshop & Cafe in Westerly, RI, which shut down over the summer. Title IX launched as a popup in November 2020. The Bookstore Community Fund, started by Philbrick and the bookstore in 2022 to help make books more accessible for the New London community, will continue. Philbrick writes in a letter to customers, “We want to thank the community for all […]
BAM Offers Same and Next-Day Delivery
Books-A-Million is partnering with Walmart’s GoLocal delivery platform to offer same and next-day delivery for online orders of products that are in-stock at a nearby store. Orders placed before 3PM will arrive the same day, and after 3PM will be delivered the next day. The service will roll out in the coming weeks, starting with the Midwest and Southeast markets. “Utilizing all of our stores nationwide for online delivery and fulfillment allows us to offer a fast, convenient and frictionless delivery option for our customers and is essential to our omnichannel transformation,” BAM vp of marketing Olivia McDaniel said in […]
Powell’s Closed Monday as Workers Strike
All Powell’s Books locations were closed on Monday as workers stopped work in a one-day strike. The union authorized the strike in August as they work to negotiate a new contract–particularly with improved pay and affordable healthcare options–with management. The store announced the closure on social media in advance. “We deeply value our employees and respect their right to engage in protected union activity, which includes a strike. We understand it can be part of the bargaining process, and we will honor and respect it,” they wrote. According to Willamette Week, the union filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the […]
Bookselling: More Barnes & Noble Changes
The chain opens a replacement store in Brandon, FL today. The location for the smaller, planned replacement store in Cheyenne, WY has been announced, due to open on October 25. A company representative said, “This is our permanent location. We are aware of the size difference between this location and the old one (on) Dell Range, but we are going to stock all the good titles and authors that you all still love.” A long-awaited replacement store in Jonesboro, AR, taking over from a location that was damaged by a tornado in 2020, now has an opening planned for November.
Diesel Bookstores Up for Sale
The Diesel Bookstore location in Los Angeles’s Brentwood is up for sale now, owners Alison Reid and John Evans announced in a post on their website. Their other Diesel bookstore has been on the market since May 2022, and they are hoping to finalize a sale of both stores by January 2024. “We’ve decided it is time to step back from bookselling and hopefully find a new engaged bookseller to keep the spirit alive, and the tradition going,” they wrote. “We are excited to pass on our beautiful bookstore in Brentwood and put it in the hands of someone who […]