Indie Readery & Records, selling new and used books as well as records and gifts, has opened at 314 North St. in Pittsfield, Mass., the Berkshire Eagle reported, adding that the shop also offers "a vision of community and inclusion."

"We want people to come in and feel represented," said co-owner Laurie Lenski. "And feel like this is a safe space and cozy, [where] they can be whoever they are when they come in."

Her spouse and co-owner, Emma Lenski, had always wanted to open a bookstore, and when Laurie Lenski decided she wanted to pursue a new business, they worked to bring that vision to life while filling a gap in the local market, the Eagle noted, adding that the shop's mission "is reflected throughout the store, which features a dedicated social justice section, along with shelves highlighting Berkshire authors, poetry, art, nonfiction, fiction, children's, young adult and LGBTQ titles--plus gift items that align with their message of inclusion and advocacy."

"We've both been involved with Berkshire Pride," said Emma Lenski, who serves as the organization's director of education and outreach. "It's really important to us to bring that into this work as well, and just continue to advocate for marginalized people of all types."

In addition to books and vinyl, the shop features "a gift section with games, candles, tarot cards, and more, plus an eco-friendly refillary stocked in collaboration with the Plant Connector, where customers can fill up on self- and home-care products," the Eagle wrote.

"There's no bookstores in Pittsfield specifically, besides Barnes & Noble, [so] we figured this was a good spot for a local indie bookstore," Emma Lenski said. "There's been a lot of new stores opening on North Street, and everyone's trying to revitalize it. There's a lot more people walking around and shopping on North Street, and so it's exciting to become a part of that.... I'm looking forward to seeing people come in, get excited about being in a bookstore, and then tell their friends, and then come back. I'm just excited to see it.... It feels really surreal."

Fergie's Bookshops "is the new name for the familiar bookstore," InForum reported, noting that the 15-year-old business in Fargo, N.Dak., formerly known as Ferguson Books and More, recently moved from Roberts Alley to a new space inside Daily's Market at 216 Broadway.

Owner Dane Ferguson said the decision to relocate, after a year in Roberts Alley, was influenced by years of change in downtown Fargo's retail and restaurant scene: "The alley spot was an opportunity we took advantage of. We're glad we were there... but downtown Fargo has just seen so much change. What we had for traffic started to dwindle as you start to take away restaurant after restaurant. It would've been difficult to last another winter where we were."

The Daily's Market space will provide an increase in foot traffic and visibility, as well as energy. The partnership "represents more than just a shared space on Broadway. The two businesses are working together on staffing, cross-promoting and product synergy," InForum noted.

Ferguson added that the new name of Fergie's Bookshops reflects the bookstore's continued evolution: "We've been doing this for 15 years. When we started in 2010, it was a lot different to why we're doing it now and what we are doing. We want this brand to be a little bit more flexible, more attentive to the needs of communities."

His long-term goal is to expand the brand through creative partnerships with other small local businesses. "I'm trying to create a family of brands, based off the Fergie family name," he said. "I envision this to where, not only are we partnering with the market, we might partner with a coffee shop down the road, we might have a Fergie's and Frenchie's South End location. It's about seeing where opportunities lie and how we can expand the brand within the Fargo-Moorhead market area."

He would like eventually to merge his other venture, Fergie's and Frenchie's Crêperie, which opened this August, into a shared café-bookstore experience, noting: "I would love it to see somewhere in town where I have the bookshop, the Fergie's and the Frenchie's Crêperie, and even a lounge where people can come in, spend time, order a crêpe or dirty soda, and read a book. That would be my ultimate goal."

Chevalier's Books, in Larchmont Village in Los Angeles, Calif., has a new co-owner: Patricia Lombard, co-owner and publisher of the Larchmont Buzz, the local news site that was founded in 2011 and has more than 20,000 monthly readers. Lombard is taking over the interest of Chevalier's co-owner Darryl Holter, who Buzz wrote, is "stepping away from the daily operations [but] remains deeply passionate about Chevalier's and will stay involved." Chevalier's other co-owner, Bert Deixler, who bought the store with Holter, in 2014, continues in his role.

Lombard commented: "The Larchmont Buzz is delighted to join forces with Chevalier's, a beloved neighborhood landmark. Our mission has always been to strengthen community connection. This partnership is a natural step. It will allow us to expand our editorial content, establish a physical presence, and amplify the wonderful opportunities for engagement and community building that unfold every day at Chevalier's."

Deixler added, "Chevalier's is excited to partner with a trusted news source that reaches so many of our customers and allows us to reach many more who we hope will be regular customers, providing the essential support our local business needs."

Chevalier's also has a new manager, Pamela Christlieb, who has more than 30 years of bookselling experience.

Chevalier's was founded in 1940 by J.W. "Joe" Chevalier as a lending library where customers could rent a book for a few cents a day. In 1990, he retired and sold the store to Filis Winthrop and Gilpin Netburne, both Chevalier's booksellers. In 2014, Winthrop retired and sold the store to Deixler and Holter. Holter is CEO of the Shammas Group and an historian whose Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941 was published by Angel City Press. Deixler is an attorney and law professor. Lombard has been involved in the Larchmont community since moving there in 1989. She is also the author of Larchmont, published by Arcadia Press.

Over the years, Chevalier's shifted its emphasis from a lending library to a bookstore that features new titles, including translated fiction, small presses, and zines by independent artists.

2nd & Charles has permanently closed its Bossier City, La., location, the Shreveport Times reported. 

The store's last day in business was October 18. It resided in a space that formerly belonged to a Books-A-Million and had been in business since 2014. Following the closure, 2nd & Charles has three locations remaining in Louisiana: one in Covington, one in Houma, and one in Baton Rouge.

Douglas Armato

University of Minnesota Press director Douglas Armato will retire at the end of December after 27 years in the position. A national search for the next director of UMP is expected to begin in the fall of 2026. Associate director Susan Doerr and associate director for book publishing Emily Hamilton will act as co-interim directors. 

Shashank Priya, v-p for research and innovation, said Armato's years of leadership at the press "exemplify the vital and ever-evolving role of a university press within the global research ecosystem. Through his steadfast commitment to regional voices and multidisciplinary scholarship, his embrace of digital innovation, and his stewardship of essential research tools like the MMPI [Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory], Doug has shown how a university press can be a dynamic force for generating and disseminating knowledge--amplifying the University's research excellence and extending its impact from our region to the world."

Armato commented: "It has been an incredible honor to lead the dedicated and creative staff of the University of Minnesota Press for over a quarter century and into this, our centennial year. This press has a unique position in scholarly publishing, combining global and regional strengths and hosting significant research and technology development efforts alongside the publication of cutting-edge scholarship. We have come a long way in this century, and I know there are many more exciting innovations to come."

Thunder Road Books in Spring Lake, N.J., hosted a book club discussion with author Lauren Grodstein (center, kneeling) for her novel A Dog in Georgia (Algonquin). Shop pup Martha Mae joined in on the fun. 

Ingram's Consortium Book Sales & Distribution has added five new publishers for the Spring 2026 season:

Callwey, Munich, Germany, is a family-run publishing house founded in 1884. It publishes books on lifestyle, cooking, gardening, architecture, interior design, fashion, travel, and more with an emphasis on high-quality content, experienced authors and photographers, and creative design. Notable titles include Urban Jungle and A Taste of Rome. (Effective January 1.)

Panamerica and its mass market division, Hard Cider Press, is the book publishing arm of County Highway, a magazine in the form of a 19th-century local American newspaper. The imprint publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, and reportage that features a mix of high and low subject matter and voices; deadpan and absurdist humor; the tragedies and triumphs of ordinary people living alongside their neighbors; and the ability to invent and populate new worlds. Forthcoming releases include Bloodline by Lee Clay Johnson and Life Sentences by comedian Martin Mull. (Effective February 1.)

Difference Engine, Singapore, is an award-winning comics publisher. Inspired by stories from Asia, Difference Engine publishes diverse, well-written, and beautifully illustrated comics of all genres and for all ages. It collaborates closely with Southeast Asian creators, both new and experienced. Notable releases include To the Last Gram and the trilogy Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma. (Effective January 1.)

Peirene Press, Bath, England, was founded 15 years ago and has published books from more than 25 countries and 20 languages. Some of its titles have been listed for significant literary and translation prizes, including the International Booker Prize. Notable titles include Marzahn, Mon Amour, which won the Dublin Literary Award in 2023, and Supporting Act. (Effective November 15.)

TESOL International Association, Alexandria, Va., which specializes in English language teaching. It serves educators by providing programs, tools, and resources, and publishes the latest in research, practice, and pedagogy on a variety of topics within the English language teaching field. Bestselling publications include The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners: Grades K-12, Second Edition and the No-Prep Activity Cards for English Language Teaching series. (Effective January 1.)

Amy Goppert has joined Little Bee Books, BuzzPop, and Yellow Jacket as senior manager of PR & marketing.

Train Your Brain to Beat Chronic Pain: How to Harness the Power of the Mind-Body Connection by Carly Hunt (Guilford Press).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Roy Woods Jr., author of The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir (Crown, $32, 9780593800072).

Fresh Air: Judd Apatow, author Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories and Pictures (Random House, $50, 9780593595930). He will also appear on the View and Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Christian Petroni, co-author of Parm to Table: Italian American and American Italian Recipes from Ponza to the Bronx (Harvest, $35, 9780063378582).

David Chase (The Sopranos) "is revisiting a dark chapter in CIA history" with Project: MKUltra, a limited series in development at HBO that is based on the nonfiction book Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKUltra by John Lisle, Deadline reported. Chase has optioned the book and will write the adaptation, which falls under a first-look deal his company Riverain Pictures has at HBO.

Project: MKUltra "is a dramatic thriller centered on the infamous chemist and spymaster Sidney Gottlieb, often known as The Black Sorcerer, who headed the CIA's MKUltra Psychedelic program which conducted dangerous and deadly mind control experiments on willing--and unwilling--subjects during the height of the Cold War. Gottlieb is also known as the unwitting godfather of the entire LSD counterculture," Deadline wrote.
 
Chase and Nicole Lambert will executive produce for Riverain Pictures, where Lambert serves as head of production and development.

Vidyan Ravinthiran's Avidyā and Karen Solie's Wellwater won the 2025 Forward Prize for Best Poetry Collection, marking the first time co-winners have been named in the award's history, the Bookseller reported. They will each receive the joint prize and take home £5,000 (about $6,665). 

Isabelle Baafi's Chaotic Good took the £5,000 Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection, while "At Least" by Abeer Ameer topped the £1,000 (about $1,335) best single poem--written category and Griot Gabriel's "Where I'm From" won £1,000 for best single poem--performed.

Judge Lisa Kelly commented: "Karen Solie's Wellwater and Ravinthiran's Avidyā address the urgent challenges of our time--climate crisis; war and migration--with personal insight and philosophical depth. Isabelle Baafi's Chaotic Good is a feat of formal brilliance which immerses the reader in the disorientating dynamic of a toxic relationship from which escape is hard-fought and transformative. Abeer Ameer's 'At Least' harnesses the power of a lullaby to interrogate the duplicity of language in reports about Israel's bombing of Gaza. Meanwhile, Griot Gabriel's 'Where I'm From' captures community and personal identity with rhythmic force and spellbinding lines." 

Chair of judges Sarah Hall said: "In such divisive times, with wars, genocide, the rollback of rights and environmental protections, and an erosion of truth taking place, it was buoying to read poetry from all corners of the globe and find within its diversity common ground--light, song, sincerity, humor, wisdom and courage. It's more vital than ever to be culturally collegiate.... This prize is nothing if not radical, ingathering, communitarian and soul-searching; qualities clear and present in the work of the finalists. They are also technically brilliant, unique, indelible works." 

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The shortlist has been selected for the 2025 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. The winner, who will be announced December 1, will receive a jeroboam, a case of Bollinger Special Cuvée, the complete set of the Everyman's Library P.G. Wodehouse collection, and a pig named after the winning book.

Chair of judges Peter Florence said: "What a fabulous year for comic fiction. We're thrilled with this bumper shortlist of eight great reads. There is a delightful mix of comedies here from darkest satire and period farce to lightest humour. I can't wait for the final jury meeting. Whichever novel wins will be a comic banger Wodehouse might enjoy."

The shortlist:
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toskvig
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
Last Acts by Alexander Sammartino
Murder Most Foul by Guy Jenkin
The Book of George by Kate Greathead
The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade

"I come highly recommended to Mrs. Hattingh through sentences I tell her I cannot read." South African novelist Nadia Davids's twisting gothic drama Cape Fever, her U.S. debut, opens by highlighting narrator Soraya's ability to read, which she keeps from her employer. Soraya goes to work for the settler Mrs. Hattingh in 1920: hired as a combined cleaner and cook, the younger woman understands that the elder is not as wealthy as she wishes to appear. In the colonial city in which Mrs. Hattingh reigns over a large, lonely home, Soraya's close-knit, loving family lives in the nearby Muslim quarter; Soraya is permitted by her employer to visit only rarely. Her father is an artist in religious calligraphy, creating beautiful works of prayer and devotion. The word "proclaim," he instructs her, is "also read, recite. You see? For us, to read, to recite, is one," and "The person is a pen. The person is paper." Soraya's fiancé, Nour, is an accomplished scholar who works on a farm while saving for teachers' college.

There are moments in which Soraya feels something like fellowship with her employer, when she intuits that "every woman, rich or poor, madam or maid, dreams of escape." But working for and living with Mrs. Hattingh, under power structures bigger than the individual, is deeply unpleasant. "She's never understood the scale of what she wants and asks for." Soraya retreats, in her small room, into the stories and characters that have come to her all her life: the Gray Women, as she terms the spirits that she alone can see; a seawoman with ink for blood; a woman who makes a baby out of soap. She finds Mrs. Hattingh's house is teeming with spirits.

Mrs. Hattingh introduces a new comfort and stressor when she offers to write to Nour on Soraya's behalf. As one woman takes the voice of the other--and intercepts the correspondence that arrives in return--their identities blur in disturbing ways. Soraya holds what she can of her own life in private and cherishes her visits to her family's home, until even these are forbidden. In the increasingly claustrophobic manor, the tension between the two women builds, resulting in complex layers of psychological intrigue amid themes of class, race, love, grief, and haunting. In Soraya's compelling voice, Davids blends mysticism, quiet power and resistance, and pain born of a long stretch of history in this unsettling tale of suspense. Cape Fever is beautiful, discomfiting, and moving. --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia

Shelf Talker: A lonely colonial woman offers to write letters to the fiancé of her maid and the two become disturbingly intertwined in this evocative gothic tale of race, class, and spirits.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. Lights Out Collectors Edition by Navessa Allen
2. The Long Game by Eric Becker
3. Lights Out by Navessa Allen
4. Such a Pretty Picture: A Memoir by Andrea Leeb
5. Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver
6. Fourth Wing (Wing and Claw Collection) by Rebecca Yarros
7. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
8. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
9. Exceptional Experiences by Neen James
10. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]