Book Passage has reopened in a new space in the historic Ferry Building on the waterfront in San Francisco. This branch of the Corte Madera bookstore originally opened in 2003 in a small hallway that crosses at the midpoint of the main corridor. Now it is in a larger space, across from Red Bay Coffee at the south end of the main corridor, that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge. 

WhatNow San Francisco quoted co-founder and president Elaine Petrocelli: "We're absolutely thrilled to be entering this new chapter for Book Passage. Our new space will give us even more room to bring book lovers together. We're grateful for the Ferry Building, the diverse community of which we are a part and of course our customers for their continued support. We look forward to welcoming everyone into our new home in this historic building."

The Bookery of Old Town, a bookstore and cafe, held a grand opening celebration last weekend in Brunswick, Ga., the Brunswick News reported. Located at 1624 Newcastle St. in a historic building, the Bookery of Old Town carries general-interest titles for all ages. The cafe serves coffee, espresso drinks, and pastries, along with beer and wine. There is space for customers to sit and read, as well as a dedicated children's area in the back of the store. Event plans include trivia nights and much more.

Owner Frieda Warner, who previously worked in children's ministry and programming for more than 30 years, described Friday's opening as a "dream come true." She'd always thought of opening a bookstore, and decided to take the plunge after retiring from her previous career.

She told Brunswick News she really wants the store to fit in with the downtown community, and the community aspect of the bookstore is the thing she's most looking forward to. "It's turning this place into a place where people are comfortable coming by themselves, or in a group."

Glenside Book Garden will open this fall in Glenside, Pa., Glenside Local reported. The bookstore will reside at 10 E. Glenside Ave. and will carry a highly curated selection of titles for all ages, with event plans including themed days, author readings, and collaborations with other local businesses.

"I want to create a beautiful spot in Glenside for people to walk to," owner Shawn Pistorino told Glenside Local. "I think we need something like this. Everyone I've talked to has been very excited." 

Pistorino grew up in Glenside, and after returning to her hometown following a 20-year career as a jazz group director in New York City, she decided to pursue a lifelong dream. She described the bookstore as being "living-room style," noting that she was inspired by a used bookstore that operated in Glenside in the 1980s.

"I was obsessed with that store," Pistorino explained. "It just kind of went away one day and I've always missed having a bookstore here. It's been my dream to do this since I was a tiny, little person. As I'm moving into the next phase of my life, this was the obvious choice."

Initially, Pistorino had her sights set on a different space in Glenside, but that location did not pan out. She found the space at 10 E. Glenside Ave. in August and jumped on it. Much renovation work remains to be done, and Pistorino hopes to have the store open no later than Halloween.

Bloomsbury's founder and CEO Nigel Newton will become executive chairman, effective immediately, as part of what the company describes as a "five-year leadership succession plan" that will see a new CEO appointed in two years, the Bookseller reported. Once the CEO is in place, Newton will remain executive chairman for three more years before becoming non-executive chairman after 2031. He has led the publisher since its founding in 1986.

Nigel Newton

The recruitment process will be led by John Bason, who moves from chairman to deputy chairman and senior independent director, and who chairs the nominations committee. Newton told the Bookseller he expected a range of internal and external candidates to come forward, with the recruitment consultants Russell Reynolds Associates to run the search.

The nomination committee will recommend a candidate to the full Bloomsbury board to make what Newton said he expected to be a "consensual" decision.

"I will remain executive chairman for another three years for that person to bed in--so that things don't go wrong," said Newton, stressing that he would be "fully running Bloomsbury" until he becomes non-executive chairman, at which point he will become more focused on the culture and direction of the business, rather than the day-to-day decision making.

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The FutureBook Conference, organized in conjunction with the Bookseller, will take place at Excel London on March 15, 2027, the day before the London Book Fair (March 16-18). The one-day conference and awards for global publishing leaders and future leaders will have its first international incarnation at LBF, featuring high-profile thinkers and executives from across the international book, creative, media and commercial industries. 

Philip Jones, editor at the Bookseller, said: "With the future of the book once more under serious scrutiny, bringing together two of the biggest brands in the book trade and combining the conference know-how of the Bookseller with the international reach of the London Book Fair felt like a no-brainer. We are also delighted to be supporting LBF in its mold-breaking move to Excel, and look forward to helping kick off the week with a day of insight and challenge."

LBF director Emma Lowe commented: "Bringing FutureBook and the London Book Fair together feels like a full circle moment for me. LBF is all about having insightful conversations in an environment which exists to help us find new stories and also continue some of our old ones. FutureBook has long been a harbor for these interactions too, so it feels like a natural home for it. I'm excited about what might happen when we add the international element of the fair to our programming as well as joining the buzz of both events."

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Booksellers in Trinidad & Tobago are adjusting as parents watch their budgets with the start of the new academic year rapidly approaching. The T&T Guardian reported that booksellers "have mixed views on the back-to-school season. Some booksellers are reporting an uptick in sales, while others say business has been slower than usual, as parents try to manage the cost of school supplies."

Mervyn Baisden, who has been selling used books for several years, said business has been slower than expected, and cited the Ministry of Education's AI-assisted digital textbooks as one of the reasons for sales being "a lot slower, because they introduced the AI." Despite this, he tries to work with parents who have limited funds by helping them get all, or most, of the books they need.

At Unique Bookstore, however, manager Simone Hosein said business has been picking up as the new academic year approaches: "It's great. The season has been shaping up good. It had a little slow period, but it has been building momentum. We have great staff, great customers, and we ready for the season." She added that sales have been building for the last month, but last-minute shopping is a "trini thing."

Rich Wojcikowski, the manager of Bookie's bookstore in Chicago, Ill., died suddenly September 5, ABC7 reported. He was 57. His colleagues said he played a vital role in the store's success for nearly a decade. Owner Keith Lewis described Wojcikowski as the backbone of the West Beverly bookstore, noting that his influence extended far beyond the shop's walls: "It's going to be nearly impossible to go on without him."

Rich Wojcikowski

Bookie's, which closed for Labor Day weekend, posted on social media: "It is with profound sadness to share that this past Friday, our Manager, Rich, the backbone of our store, was in a fatal automobile accident. The Bookie's family is together in grief with Rich's wife and children. We are all in a state of shock. Rich did the work of ten people and it is difficult to figure out our after. Memorials are being planned for a later date. A longer and more fitting tribute from us will be forthcoming. In the meantime, you are welcome to come to the store and sign a memory book that will be given to his family. Please be patient with us as we navigate this terrible tragedy."

Lewis told ABC7 that Wojcikowski's work touched nearly every aspect of the business. He helped build storage and other fixtures in the bookstore and managed day-to-day operations, adding, "He built things in the backroom. He built storage. He was the manager of the employees. He was the manager of the store. He was the manager of everything. Every aspect he had handled."

Wojcikowski also represented the bookstore throughout the community, attending school book fairs, delivering checks, and hand-delivering books to customers. "The schools are going to miss him. The community is going to miss him. The vendors are going to miss him. The people that he dealt with at the bank are going to miss him," Lewis said.

Cory Overstreet, principal at Kellogg Elementary School in Beverly, told Block Club Chicago that the school has partnered with Bookie's several times over the past five years for school book fairs and pop-ups during school events. "Rich was super collaborative, easy to work with and would help curate a list of books that were culturally relevant and engaging for kids.... Although they may not have known him, the space that he curated for them felt very much fun and engaging. It was a special experience for them." He added: "I think the whole community is in shock. He will be sorely missed in the community."

Describing Wojcikowski as "the yin to my yang," Lewis credited him with helping make the bookstore successful, ABC7 noted. "He was genuine. He was real. He was capable. He was the most professional and most organized person I have ever known.... Going forward I'm going to have to find a way to channel my inner Rich." Lewis also said that he remains grateful for the years they worked together. "I truly wish a Rich on every business that deserves one."

When Bookie's Chicago reopens, a memorial book will be made available for community members to sign or leave notes about Wojcikowski. The book will then be given to his family. On Monday, the bookstore posted: "Thank you to the Bookie's community for all the kind comments and messages. Bookie's will reopen tomorrow, Tuesday, September 8th with adjusted hours. We will be open from 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday 9/13. The memory book for Rich's family will be available to sign during this time. Once again, please be patient with us in our grief. Thank you for your support."

Tropes and Trifles, Minneapolis, Minn., hosted the book release party for Ann Aguirre's The Hocus Pocus Handbook (Sourcebooks Casablanca). Aguirre (right) was in conversation with Z.M. Celestaire, author of Call Forth the Moonlight (Dreaming in Color). After the conversation, both authors signed their books for the crowd.

Coco Zephir is a bookseller and marketing assistant at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Mass. She loves romance titles and here offers a roundup of upcoming and recent books that she's most excited about:

Damned if I Do by Alexandria Bellefleur (Berkley, September 22)

Damned if I Do is the perfect blend of smart, sexy, and supernatural--a black cat followup to Bellefleur's first in the series, The Devil She Knows.

Effie's engagement to a demon prince runs into a slight hitch when the demonic overseers realize that, oops, she's already married! A promise that Effie made in the 1500s to human Finn sets her on a journey to have him renounce his vows (he's been reincarnated ever since). But wait, in this life he has no idea who she is! How will Effie get her unknowing human husband to give her up so she can marry the demon prince? You'll have to pick up this one to find out. 

Grim Tidings by B.K. Borison (Avon, September 15)

Darcy, the Reaper, goes rogue and avoids gathering a soul so that she can pursue a wish list of activities she's hoped to experience ever since she was human. To aid in her plight, she enlists the help of Guardian Angel Gabriel, who she may have kissed before she finds out he works for the other side (a slight misjudgment). 

Sparks fly as the magical duo realize that angels and reapers may have more in common than they thought. The book is filled with top-notch banter and swoonworthy tension; B.K. Borison is back with another hit that is absolutely perfect for fall.

See You Next Tuesday by Kate Staymon-London (Dial Press, September 8)

Two career campaign staffers learn about love, life, and politics in See You Next Tuesday. For fans of witty, seamless conversation that's whip-smart and on point--this sexy rom-com has it all.

If The West Wing is your comfort show and will-they-won't-they is your trope of choice, then this enemies-to-lovers romance following Anya and Gabe through a decade of campaigns and the ups and downs of life is for you.

Hachette Book Group will handle sales in the U.S. and distribution in the U.S. and Canada for Flame Tree Publishing, effective January 1.

Founded in 1992, Flame Tree, London, England, started as an art book and gift-packaging operation. Since then, Flame Tree has expanded into calendars, luxury stationery, and mythology, folklore and genre book publishing. Flame Tree partnered with Hachette UK Distribution in 2023, and this new arrangement with HBG extends that relationship into North America. 

Nick Wells, publisher and founder, Flame Tree, said, "In a rapidly changing world it is vital to protect human-centric values in all forms of imaginative expression and means of production. We've found exactly that with Hachette UK Distribution, and we look forward to building further with HBG. We'd also like to thank Simon & Schuster for their considerate stewardship over the last six years."

David Shelley, CEO of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK, said, "We're proud to be partnering with Flame Tree to sell and distribute their beautiful range of books, gifts, games and stationery. There's so much potential for their publishing in the U.S. market and we're really looking forward to working with them to help grow their sales further."

Russell Evans, senior v-p of business development, Hachette Book Group, added, "By combining Flame Tree's creative publishing expertise with Hachette Book Group's sales and distribution capabilities, we look forward to expanding their reach in the U.S. market. Also, Flame Tree has consumers who come back again and again, and our task now is to widen that circle."

Abigail Walton has joined Doubleday and Pantheon publicity as an associate publicist. She was previously at HarperCollins, where she managed successful campaigns at Harper Via and Harper One.

World News from Waverley High by Linda Kass (She Writes Press). Kass is owner and founder of Gramercy Books, Bexley, Ohio.

Today:
Fresh Air: Richard Beck, author of Homeland: The War on Terror in American Life (Crown, $33, 9780593240229).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Joe Rohde, author of Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible (National Geographic, $35, 9781426224911). 

CBS Mornings: Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, co-authors of Simplify: Do 50 Percent More with 50 Percent Less (Crown Currency, $30, 9798217088775).

Focus Features has wrapped production on its adaptation of Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar, directed by Oscar winner Sarah Polley, and starring Billie Eilish and Carey Mulligan, Deadline reported. 

The project marks 10-time Grammy winner Eilish's movie acting debut, playing the lead role of Esther Greenwood, with Mulligan as Mrs. Greenwood, Danielle Deadwyler as Dr. Nolan, Dylan Hawco as Buddy Willard, Lili Taylor as Jay Cee, Ella Beatty as Joan, Maggie Kuntz as Doreen, Ike Barinholtz as Lenny, and Connor Storrie as Marco.

Polley directed from her own adapted screenplay in her first film since winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Women Talking in 2023. The film is produced by Plan B, Studiocanal and Joy Coalition.

A shortlist has been released for the 2026 Mo Siewcharran Prize, which was launched in 2019 "to nurture talent from writers from a Black, Asian, minority ethnic and/or mixed heritage background." This year the prize, run as part of Hachette UK's Future Bookshelf initiative, is being hosted by Bookouture, focusing on romance and psychological thriller submissions. The shortlisted titles are:

The Benefits of Marriage by Amara Ede
The Other Woman by Claudia Amuah
The Song Beneath the Snow by F.G. Liauw
The Eldest Daughter by Sara Anum
Unquiet Sleep by Shyama Kasinathan

Named in memory of NielsenIQ BookData's former director of marketing and communications, the prize is sponsored by John Seaton, Siewcharran's husband and co-founder of the prize, as well as NielsenIQ BookData. 

The winner and two runners-up will be named at a prize ceremony in London on September 24. The winner receives £2,500 (about $3,385), a 1,000-word piece of editorial feedback on their novel, and a follow-up online session with an editor. They will also be offered an introductory meeting with a literary agent and invited to an interactive session with the Bookouture team to learn about digital publishing. The winner's entry will be taken forward to Bookouture's acquisitions meeting and considered for publication under its no advance 45% royalty model.

The second and third place runners-up will receive £1,500 (about $2,030) and £750 (about $1,015) prize money respectively, along with editorial feedback and a hamper of Bookouture books.

Shifa Saltagi Safadi is the National Book Award-winning author of Kareem Between, the Amina Banana series, and several picture books, including The Gift of Eid and The Kaabah Cat. Sisters Alone (Penguin Kids, September 8, 2026) is her second middle-grade novel-in-verse.

Handsell readers your book:

Sisters Alone is a verse novel about two sisters stuck home alone in a blizzard who have to face external and internal storms to survive.

On your nightstand now:

I am sort of a mood reader, so I tend to dive full into certain genres and can't get enough of them for a while before my brain has enough and I move on. I have gone through a poetry and a thriller mood this year and now I am all about video-game based books (funny for a gal who has zero interest in actually playing video games, but I don't make the rules--my brain decides).

My current LitRPG reads include Ready Player One by Ernest Cline; obviously Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (which has taken over my Instagram feed!); Warcross by Marie Lu; and an adorable LitRPG graphic novel advance reader copy titled A Beginner's Guide to Leveling Up by Elizabeth Agyemang.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I absolutely adored the A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket for its voice and wit, its educational little tidbits and wordplay, and all the mishaps that happened to the three siblings that I couldn't look away from. I think my love of mysteries and thrillers began with the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene.

Favorite book to read to a child:

My kids love silly picture books and are currently forcing me to read Mistaco: A Tale of Tragedy y Tortillas by Eliza Kinkz over and over. We even make our own little mistacos at home. My kids find it hilarious, and we get to laugh at our mistakes and not worry about perfectionism in life.

We also love to read my very own Amina Banana series--the short chapters make for great reading practice for my third grader!

Your top five authors:

Huda Fahmy, author of the Huda F Are You series. I love how they contain both humor, heart, art, and good writing. And of course, I feel seen at her fabulous Muslim rep!

Sabaa Tahir, author of Heir and All My Rage. Tahir is a master at plotting stories that are both devastating and three dimensional. I was obsessed with her epic fantasy world in An Ember in the Ashes.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, author of Salat in Secret. Thompkins-Bigelow has a way of reaching both kids and gatekeepers with her gorgeous stories!

Rebecca Ross, author of Divine Rivals. I adore Ross's prose and her fantasy worlds that feel exquisitely built. I love how letters are a huge part of her last three books. And the sweet longing romances! I just die for her characters!

Naomi Shihab Nye, author of many poetry collections, including the poem "Famous." Nye's poetic voice enthralls me. I often find myself rereading her poetry and needing to sit with it. I marvel at the way it comes together to make me feel deep emotions.

Book you're an evangelist for:

I am absolutely obsessed with As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. My heart will never recover from that devastating reveal at the end! And Katouh's lush prose is something to die for; I want to sink into her poetic language and never emerge. I have forced so many people in my life to read that book, and I expect a thank-you when they're done.

Book you've bought for the cover:

I bought Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet for the gorgeous pink cover, the beautiful border, and the eerie blood dripping from the letters. But also, it's a murder mystery Little Women retelling, and it happens to be incredibly crafted and well plotted.

So, truly, beautiful on the inside and outside.

Best book recommendation you have received:

Best recommendation I ever got was from my dear friend Khushboo Patel (author of one of my favorite verse novels, the amazing All That Chandi Knows) and she told me about the novel A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar.

That book undid me, and that ending had me in absolute tears. The craft, the story, the different character POVs, the DEVASTATION! It reminds us of the way humans can be pushed to their limits in desperation. I still think about that ending.

Book that changed your life:

I genuinely adore reading, so to pick just one is impossible. I feel like I am consistently changing and shifting in response to my reads, so I don't know that one in particular rewired my brain chemistry. If I had to pick, it would be Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali because it showed me that being a Muslim author was possible, that there was space for my voice on the bookshelf, and that I didn't have to hide my love for my faith to get published. I sobbed, feeling seen on the page for the first time in my life.

Favorite line from a book:

I am so bad at these. I love and pause at lines in books, but I can never pull them out of my own mind later! (And I sadly don't annotate.)

From The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman: "Grief is a thing with weight and bulk--perhaps the heaviest thing of all. It pushes at the edge of your soul, forcing it into a different shape. You can never fill it, because it is not empty. And it will not shrink with time. But you can learn to carry it. Practice noticing it less as it becomes a more familiar part of you."

Five books you'll never part with:

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, Unsettled by Reem Faruqi, Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui, Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar, and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.

These five middle-grade books shaped my journey to becoming a middle-grade author. Bhai for Now and Unsettled showed me it was possible to write authentic Muslim middle-grade characters that kids would adore. Land of the Cranes opened my eyes to the power of books as activism, Brown Girl Dreaming taught me how verse can be exquisite and beautiful, and The Crossover showed me that poetry could be fun!

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

I wish I could read Jason Reynold's Long Way Down again. The way I GASPED when I read that final twist.

I will say, though, that no matter how many times I reread that book, I always find new ways of marveling over the gorgeous poetry and plot.

The fourth solo novel for young readers from Newbery Honor-winning author Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth; Elatsoe) is a fairytale, a ghost story, and a striking narrative about trauma, community, and what we owe to the dead.

In a desert trailer park in Mockingtown, Tex., three Lipan Apache cousins battle with both personal and real ghosts. Sixteen-year-old Maisie's grief over the death of her best friend, Mara, follows like a specter; Joel becomes the unwitting guardian of a lost animal child disguised as a kitten; and Verona is haunted by the very literal ghost that her non-native employers have unearthed by stealing from an ancient burial site.

Hovering above them all is Owl, a spirit only Maisie can see. Owl's presence brought doom to her family's doorstep once before, and he has arrived with vague news of more to come. Maisie, determined to avoid catastrophe, enlists her cousins to help her reverse the tides of fate, and she vows to make amends with whatever forces threaten their family.

Children of Owl is a dreamlike and sophisticated piece of genre fiction that is rooted both in Little Badger's Lipan Apache traditions and the wider well of fantasy. Throughout, Little Badger uses a distinctly native lens to subvert horror and fantasy tropes--such as the haunted Indian burial ground and human transformation into animals and beasts--expanding on Lipan spiritual beliefs around ancestral traditions and animal people. The novel's format fits the author's tone, alternating between third-person narration, diary entries, and comic book pages. Artist Abigail Rajunov's illustrations provide atmosphere, her scratchy, broken line depicting emotive figures with giant eyes. Her art shines in the colors of desert dawns and dusks, featuring golden skies bruised a cool purple and shadows taking on the dark rust of sandstone.

This YA novel contains complexly layered symbolism and figurative storytelling, but Little Badger's prose is strikingly clear, making a somewhat obscure story feel accessible. Owl's presence often acts as a proxy for Maisie's post-traumatic hypervigilance, while Verona becomes a literal voice for her people when the ghost speaks and acts through her. Little Badger's ability meticulously to meld fantastical worlds with Indigenous traditions is what gives this speculative work its satisfying weight and makes it feel entirely, magically possible. --Mariel Fechik DesLaurier, librarian, freelance reviewer, music journalist

Shelf Talker: Children of Owl, Darcie Little Badger's commanding work of YA genre fiction, is a dreamlike tale about trauma, family, and all that we owe to the dead.

The bestselling Libro.fm audiobooks at independent bookstores during August:

Fiction
1. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Penguin Random House Audio)
2. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks)
3. Whistler by Ann Patchett (Harper)
4. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (Macmillan Audio)
5. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Simon Maverick)
6. This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (Macmillan Audio)
7. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Penguin Random House Audio)
8. The Odyssey by Homer (Penguin Random House Audio)
9. Land by Maggie O'Farrell (Penguin Random House Audio)
10. Circe by Madeline Miller (Hachette Audio)

Nonfiction
1. The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow (Macmillan Audio)
2. This Is Me by Hayden Panettiere (Hachette Audio)
3. The Nerd Reich by Gil Durán (Simon & Schuster Audio)
4. London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (Penguin Random House Audio)
5. Enshittification by Cory Doctorow (Macmillan Audio)
6. Strangers by Belle Burden (Penguin Random House Audio)
7. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green (Penguin Random House Audio)
8. Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan (Simon & Schuster Audio)
9. The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr (Blackstone Publishing)
10. How Queer Bookshops Changed the World by A.J. West (Dreamscape Media)