Eight months after a fire destroyed the historic block on G Street in Arcata, Calif., "reducing Northtown Books to debris and ash," the bookshop reopened September 18 "to a crowd that stretched down the sidewalk, with community members eager to support the locally owned independent bookstore," the Times-Standard reported, adding that for owner Dante DiGenova, the moment was less about celebration than the marking of the end of a long, grinding rebuild and the beginning of a new chapter he wasn't sure he would ever see.

"It didn't really sink in when it was happening," he said. "Honestly, I was watching the fire from the plaza and just not even really accepting that it was happening. It wasn't until I walked away from it that I realized, you know, what was actually lost. It was after I ran into a couple of people, you know, who offered support, and I just thought, yeah, it really was gone, and that is when it hit me. That's when I started crying. But as I was watching it, I was almost just kind of numb, like not believing it was happening."

DiGenova spent months reconstructing inventory from a flash-drive backup, reestablishing institutional accounts, replacing computer systems, negotiating with publishers, and ordering thousands of titles to restock the shelves. All of the store's infrastructure had to be rebuilt from scratch.

"It feels like it's been in the works for so long, but you know realistically, we didn't really start rebuilding until pretty much mid-June; it's just been a lot of work," he added, noting that the community's response was the driving force behind reopening. "All the people who wrote in when they were donating to just tell a little story about what the store meant to them. It was very moving. It was really inspirational as far as wanting to reopen. That was really the driving factor--just how much people wanted the store back. It meant a lot to me, and it was, it was incredible."

Observing that he is happy with the way the rebuilt store has turned out, DiGenova said, "You know, we had shelves custom built by a local person, and I think he did a really beautiful job... and I've had a lot of help. You know, all the employees who were at the store when it burned down have come in and helped put it together. A couple of good friends have come in and done a lot of work. My sisters just came up this past weekend to help with getting the opening party together. So that's perfect. Yeah, it's been a great experience considering what a horrible experience it was in January."

The reopening celebration crowd "stayed steady with a constant flow of visitors entering the bookstore. People browsed, chatted, and compared notes on favorite sections. Several said they planned to buy something before leaving, even if they hadn't decided what yet," the Times-Standard wrote. " 'See how many people miss their books,' one attendee said as they stood in line at the register, while customers quickly paid for their items and shared gratitude and joy that the store had emerged from the ashes of the fire."

Sis's Stories, which opened last year as a mobile bookstore, will host a grand opening weekend celebration October 10-11 for its 1,400-square-foot brick-and-mortar storefront at 617 E. Saginaw St., Grand Ledge, Mich. Co-owners Shante Newbury and her daughter, Kali Mullen, have long shared their love of books with one another. 

Shante Newbury and Kali Mullen in their mobile bookstore.

"When I was younger, reading was a very big thing in our house," Mullen told the Lansing State Journal, which reported that the owners, who refer to one another as "Sis," still compare notes about the books they read: "Their book chats led to a shared dream, their own bookstore." Last summer, they opened the mobile version of Sis's Stories, housed inside a trailer they purchased on Facebook Marketplace for $2,300, and spent $10,000 remodeling it to be cozy and welcoming. They have been operating in coffee shop parking lots and at area events ever since. 

The move to a physical storefront has always been their "dream," Mullen said. Newberry added that the popularity of the mobile store made this leap possible: "I think it's grown more than we could have imagined in the beginning and now we just keep starting to think bigger and bigger." 

They had always intended to open a storefront, and looked at spaces in the Lansing area for several months. "We for sure wanted the Grand Ledge area," Mullen said. "We both are here in the community, and I think one of the things we're missing around this area is more independent bookstores." The bookshop will carry a variety of fiction and nonfiction, along with children's and used books. "In a bookstore, we can have thousands versus hundreds of books, so that'll be a huge difference," Newberry noted.  

The owners said what they are most excited for is the ability to host book-centered events, including book clubs, book bingo, and crafting sessions. "This will give us space to be able to do more of those and gather as a community," Newberry said. 

Sis's Stories mobile bookstore will also continue to operate, according to Mullen, who noted: "We do plan on still doing trailer events come trailer season again." 

PEN/Faulkner Foundation executive director Gwydion Suilebhan is stepping down after more than seven years in the position and will remain through November 15 to help with the transition. The board of directors is launching a nationwide search for a successor. Details on the search, including the position description and application process, are available on the PEN/Faulkner website.

Gwydion Suilebhan

Board co-president Anne Aaron said: "PEN/Faulkner has always been animated by a belief in the power of literature to deepen our understanding of one another and the world we share. We're grateful to Gwydion for his more than seven years of service at a time when superior agility was required to navigate unprecedented times. As we look ahead, we're building on a strong foundation thanks to his dedicated leadership, and we're excited about this moment of possibility--an opportunity to strengthen our programs and partnerships, reach new audiences, and imagine ambitiously what PEN/Faulkner can become."

Suilebhan commented: "As a writer and nonprofit administrator, I believe deeply in the mission of PEN/Faulkner. Serving as a champion of the breadth and power of fiction in America has been a tremendous honor. As I step down in order to pursue new opportunities, I want to share my gratitude for every staff member, board member, writer, partner, educator, and supporter I've had the good fortune to meet and collaborate with. Thanks to you, the future of PEN/Faulkner is bright."  

Co-president Elizabeth Shreve added: "We have an important literary legacy, beloved programs, a committed community of writers and educators, a talented staff, and deeply engaged supporters. Our next executive director will have the opportunity to carry that legacy forward while thinking expansively about our reach, relevance, and impact."

St. Mary's College of Maryland in St. Mary's City is finalizing a contract to hand over operation of its Campus Bookstore and the Daily Grind café to Barnes & Noble College, with the transition expected to begin during spring break in March 2027, the Southern Maryland Chronicle reported.

The Campus Store, which describes itself as "primarily a student-run organization," returns all proceeds directly back to the college, a structure that will change once B&N College takes over. "The Daily Grind has long been one of the more distinctive pieces of that setup: student-staffed, student-managed, and known on campus for hosting open mic nights and serving as an informal gathering spot rather than functioning as a typical corporate café," the Chronicle noted.

In a message on the Campus Bookstore Transition web page, college president Rhonda Phillips wrote, in part: "I understand why this decision has prompted concern, particularly for those who have strong connections to the Campus Bookstore and Daily Grind and recognize that these spaces create opportunities for students to gather and connect, form friendships and community, and create memories that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.... 

"An important factor in that evaluation was the financial performance of the bookstore. Like many campus bookstores across the country, ours has experienced significant operating losses for several years. As an auxiliary enterprise, however, it is expected to be financially self-supporting."

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maggie Haberman (r.) discussed her latest book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump (Simon & Schuster), with political commentator and host of the View Ana Navarro. The evening, hosted by Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla., drew 345 enthusiastic attendees and featured a conversation about modern American politics, followed by a q&a.

Click here to see the latest Independent Press Top 40, the weekly bestseller list celebrating the bestselling 40 fiction and 40 nonfiction titles from independent publishers, as sold by independent bookstores across the country. The list is sponsored by the Independent Publishers Caucus and the American Booksellers Association.

This week's debut fiction titles:

36. Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth (Melville House)

This week's debut nonfiction titles:

3. Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made by Kristin Kobes Du Mez (Liveright)
9. Call It Evil: Understanding the Trump Era by Susan Neiman (W. W. Norton)
17. Trash!: A Garbageman's Story by Simon Pare-Poupart (Melville House)
27. Supremacy: How Rule by the Court Replaced Government by the People by Nikolas Bowie, Daphna Renan (W. W. Norton)
31. The Adaptability Quotient: Rewiring Your Mind for Success in the Next Human Era by Alec Litowitz (Disruption Books)
40. Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry by JS Tan, Clarissa Redwine (Haymarket Books)

Beguiled Books in Seattle, Wash., imagined what might happen "when your TBR pile catches you at the bookstore (again)," noting: "I promise I'll get to it eventually. Don't forget to wish Mr. Beguiled a happy birthday in the comments! That theatre training is finally paying off."

"Stop in and check out the original foldable device--a book!" That was the sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Odd Bird Bookshop in Bel Air, Md. 

Fierce Attachments: A Life with Cats by Rosemary Sullivan, illus. by Colleen Sullivan (Douglas & McIntyre).

Today:
Fresh Air: Cheyenne Roundtree, author of Bad Boy for Life: The Rise and Fall of Sean Combs (Holt, $32.99, 9781250411167). 

Tomorrow:
The View: Heidi Skolnik, author of Your GLP-1 Game Plan: What Your Doctor Didn't Tell You About How to Eat, Move, and Thrive on Weight Loss Medications (Little, Brown Spark, $30, 9780316602518).

Drew Barrymore Show: Shefali Tsabary, author of Raising Conscious Sons: Cultivating Purpose, Connection, and Inner Power in a Chaotic World (HarperOne, $29.99, 9780063499515).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, September 26
12:20 p.m. Julia Azari, author of Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History (Princeton University Press, $29.95, 9780691246956).

Sunday, September 27
8 a.m. James Loeffler, author of Exceptional Hatred: Antisemitism and the Fight over Free Speech in Modern America (Metropolitan Books, $29.99, 9781250806079), at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.

11 a.m. Sari Altschuler, author of Before Disability: A History of American Citizenship (University of Pennsylvania Press, $45, 9781512829518). 

12:05 p.m. Alvin E. Roth, author of Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work (Basic Venture, $35, 9781541702011).

1:35 p.m. Carla Chung Mattix, author of National Parks and the Supreme Court: Groundbreaking Legal Battles (University of Nevada Press, $45, 9781647792589).

3:30 p.m. Simon Paré-Poupart, author of Trash!: A Garbageman's Story (Melville House, $18.99, 9781685892494). 

9 p.m. Gov. Andy Beshear, author of Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country (St. Martin's Press, $30, 9781250452719), at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.

A shortlist has been released for the 2026 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Prize, which recognizes the "best Canadian novel or short story collection of the year." The winner, who will be named at the Writers' Trust Awards in Toronto on November 10, receives C$70,000 (about US$49,670) and each finalist C$7,500 (US$5,320). This year's finalists are: 

Fancy Gap by Zak Jones 
My Person by Téa Mutonji 
Riverwork by Lisa Robertson 
Treat Them as Buffalo by Blair Palmer Yoxall 
Seven Heavens Away by Ashraf Zaghal 

The award is named in honor of Writers' Trust co-founders Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, who, with the help of several other writers, started the organization in 1976 to support Canadian literary culture.

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, September 29:

Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books, $24.99, 9781682818084) continues the Empyrean romantasy series.

The French Illusion: A Novel by John Grisham (Doubleday, $35, 9780385550543) follows a couple kidnapped while on honeymoon in France.

American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee (Cardinal, $36, 9781538752036) is an intergenerational tale about Korean immigrants in California.

Ruthless: A Novel by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press, $29, 9780593973301) follows a journalist who gets personally involved with a powerful man she interviews.

Ply: A Novel by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead, $32, 9780593719541) takes place centuries in the future where an orphan steals electricity to survive.

Come Closer: Childhood Wounds, Adult Love, and the Secrets of Emotional Intimacy by Dr. Galit Atlas (Avid Reader Press/S&S, $30, 9781668067147) reveals how our childhood wounds hold the key to understanding our adult relationships.

Trust Fall by Lynn Painter (S&S, $21.99, 9798347100217) is a rags-to-riches YA romcom featuring a young woman from Nebraska and a young man from New York City.

Mia's Cheetah by Amelia Bothe (Clarion, $19.99, 9780063472662) is a picture book in which Mia's long, boring trip to Grandma's house is utterly changed when she starts playing a game her dad suggests. 

A Librarian's War: The Man Who Fought World War II with Books and Brought the Joy of Reading to Millions by Molly Guptill Manning (Oxford University Press, $34.99, 9780197861240) is a biography of Ray Troutman, who as Chief Librarian of the Army was the driving force behind Armed Services Editions--paperbound, compact books, comic books, and magazines, many millions of which were distributed to American soldiers and sailors around the world.

The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown, $34, 9780316603782) targets gun violence in the U.S.

The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia by Robert Kolker (Doubleday, $35, 9780385551038) recalls a family of nine siblings with high risks for early-onset dementia.

PlantYou Quickies: 140+ Nourishing Plant-Based Recipes for Busy People by Carleigh Bodrug (Balance, $35, 9780306837517) includes recipes that take 30 minutes or less.

No Land to Stand On: Notes from Detention by Mahmoud Khalil (Metropolitan Books, $27.99, 9781250462008) is the memoir of a student in the U.S. imprisoned for speaking out against genocide in Gaza.

The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East by Simon Sebag Montefiore (Knopf, $40, 9780593805053) is a history of the Middle East since 1900. 

Paperbacks:
The Twelve Loves of Christmas: An Advent Romance Collection by Alexandria Bellefleur et al. (Atria, $23.99, 9781668250419).

Take a Chance, Sasha Sinclair by Ashley Herring Blake (Berkley, $20, 9780593816035). 

The Only Way Out Is Up by Django Wexler (Orbit, $19.99, 9780316392600).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison (Berkley, $30, 9798217188574). "Kiss Slay Replay makes the time-loop wedding weekend feel fresh by grounding every bloody turn in friendship, regret, and the lives we keep pretending we still want. I tore through it and immediately wanted to start over." --Stephanie Rose, Death by TBR Books, Bremerton, Wash.

Crocodilopolis: A Novel by John Manuel Arias (Bloomsbury, $29.99, 9781639738434). "A rich, fiery modern retelling of Cain and Abel with all the lush greens of Costa Rica. As a spider spins a web to catch his prey, Seth conspires to trap his brother Osario in the death roll of a crocodile; the ripples in the water reflecting their lineage of envy and corruption." --Sarah Valencia, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C.

Paperback
Saving Noah: A Novel by Lucinda Berry (Poisoned Pen Press, $19.99, 9781464292132). "This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is dark and heavy, and it does not shy away from uncomfortable themes. It pushes you to examine beliefs, assumptions, and morality in a way no book has done before or since for me. (Be sure to check the trigger warnings before you pick it up as the topics are HEAVY.)" --Candace Lynn, Sower Books, Lincoln, Neb.

Ages 4-8
I Will Eat You in the End by David Duff, illus. by Marianna Coppo (Neal Porter Books, $19.99, 9780823463930). "Deeply funny and pleasantly existential, a stellar book about mortality and interdependence for kids and adults alike. Simple, effective art with lots of charm, to boot. I really love this one!" --August Clarke, Seminary Co-Op Bookstores, Chicago, Ill.

Ages 8-12
Sisters Alone by Shifa Saltagi Safadi (Putnam Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9798217111091). "Safadi hit it out of the park with this middle grade novel in verse centering two Syrian sisters who in the midst of grieving their mother must find a way to survive a winter storm alone together. With beautiful and heartfelt poetic language, Safadi engages young readers in exploring important themes of mental health, sisterhood, friendship, and hope." --Fatuma Hydara, Tuma's Books, Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Ages 13+ (Indies Introduce)
Tom Burne Has Left the Chat by Seán Farrelly (Faber & Faber Children's, $12.95, 9780571388219). "When seventeen-year-old Jamie takes Tom Burne's phone after his suicide, he becomes deeply invested in Tom's digital life and tragic death. This profound mystery exploring grief, mental health, identity, and belonging in the age of social media is told with humor and candidness via Jamie's authentic teen voice. Plus, it transports you to Ireland!" --Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, Mass.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson (The Ministry for the Future) is well known for his Mars trilogy, but even he would attest that the closest human beings might get to experiencing Mars is to encounter Antarctica. The "Continent for Science" is sparsely inhabited by intrepid researchers and, every so often, artists and writers who seek inspiration from that vast, stark landscape. The Best Journey in the World: An Antarctic Story is an expansive work combining historical documentation, narrative nonfiction, autobiography, and classic adventure and nature writing as Robinson interweaves recollections and reflections on his own two trips to Antarctica with the history of human exploration of the continent.

Robinson's first excursion was to do research for his Mars trilogy, but his fascination began with Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World, a memoir of Robert Scott's 1910-1913 expedition to reach the South Pole. Cherry-Garrard's book outlined wish-list destinations for Robinson, and Robinson tried to follow in the steps of the explorers of the Heroic Age--the period where continental exploration was happening by rude means and without technological assistance.

More than a travelogue, The Best Journey in the World encourages readers to consider the planet with new eyes, to fall in love with Earth as it is, to understand the glaciers as not just places of mystery but as places that need protection, and as places where one can most starkly understand human impacts on the climate. Robinson considers the long-term effects of what happens if nothing is done. He reiterates throughout that the continent, which had no monetary value and therefore no importance in the minds of imperial powers in the early 1900s, is now devastatingly important to humanity's collective future.

Robinson's approachable, animated voice is punctuated with archival photographs as well as his personal photographs. He helpfully proffers Antarctica reading lists that include his "essential eight" as well as focused lists across memoir, biography, and history, among other genres. He offers a realistic, if optimistic, view of what must be done now, collectively, to cool the world, save the ice, and stabilize the climate. He urges humankind to work toward global cooperation for a "Good Anthropocene," a version of the world where the scientific cooperation modeled in Antarctica can be mobilized toward real steps to repair the damage humans have done to the climate. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Renowned science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson takes readers to Antarctica in a sweeping combination of history, narrative nonfiction, and autobiography, arguing for the continent's vital role.

The Booksellers Association Conference & Gardners Trade Show was held earlier this week in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. On day one, the BA posted: "We're off!... and we're so excited to welcome everyone to Hinckley for two days of brilliant conversations and the very best of the bookselling community.... Tomorrow sees a packed program of keynotes, Skills Labs and the Booksellers Association Awards. Swipe through for the full program, and we'll see you there!"

In her opening remarks, BA managing director Meryl Halls "touched on the main issues impacting booksellers currently--business rates and late payments, as well as other concerns such as direct to consumer discounting by publishers, reps depleted and under-supported by publishers, too much incentivizing of over-buying and poor communications and customer service--but sounded a note of optimism," the Bookseller reported.

Meryl Halls

She noted that there are 1,095 independent bookshops currently in BA membership and the organization's 2026 supply chain survey suggests "things have improved," adding: "Every year I've had some riff or other about living in interesting times and the pace of change being exhausting, especially for small business owners. While that's all true, we're not going to do that this year because we know already what we're up against.... There are lots of reasons to feel sober and overburdened in this complicated world, but we're also incredibly lucky to work in this industry where we get up close to ideas, to incredible creativity, wonderful authors and we get to work together on stuff that really matters and that changes people's lives for the better."

Debbie James

New BA president Debbie James, owner of Kibworth Books in Leicestershire, said she would be spending her two-year term "identifying sustainability allies at as many publishers as I can.... I think it's so important to know about a book's cradle to grave journey and how much carbon is spent on it, especially as consumers of any product become more and more discerning about its provenance and ultimate disposal."

Conference panels included The New Normal: Navigating Intimidation & Censorship; a "new BA Conference experiment" chaired by Mr B's Emporium's Nic Bottomley, which put "hot takes"--such as whether book prizes do anything for sales or recommended retail prices should be removed from books--to panelists. Other sessions focused on how to sell audiobooks, effective use of Instagram, and online bookselling, the Bookseller noted.

As always, however, the key ingredient to any conference is the response of attendees. Indie booksellers posting about the gathering included: 

Afrori Books, Brighton and Hove: "The BA conference is an important calendar date for us. @carolynnbain will be speaking to the conference today about how we build partnerships outside of the industry. A great opportunity to chat about our work with hair salons, youth organizations, prisons, and corporations."

Swindon Story Shed, Swindon: "Our very happy booksellers are at The Booksellers Association conference, chatting with loads of other booksellers, publishers, and authors."

Griffin Books, Penarth, Wales: "Three very happy, very tired booksellers! We've had the best two days at the Booksellers Association Conference and Gardners Trade Show.... We're heading back to Wales with heads full of ideas and suitcases full of books. Perfection!"

Dogberry & Finch Books, Okehampton: "Highlights were talks by the wonderful Ann Cleeves and Ben Macintyre (pictured), Phil Earle and Reece Shearsmith; a lively panel talk with Lucy Foley and Agatha Christie's great-grandson James Pritchard."

The Wonky Tree Bookshop, North Yorkshire: "We've got a busy couple of days.... Always a great opportunity to catch up with friends, network with publishers and be inspired."

The Book Shop, Lee-on-Solent: "What a conference! And boy have we got some amazing books and foresight for YOU!!... What a great few days of talks, interviews, skills labs and more. Huge thank you to The Booksellers Association and also to Gardners for putting on such a great event." 

Thistle & Thorn Bookshop, Clitheroe: "The shop is open as normal today thanks to our amazing team. But we've managed to stay at the Booksellers Association Conference for the second day! Authors 'pitching' over dinner last night and breakfast this morning.... Some amazing books and some lovely people. Lots of stories to share with customers when we are back in the shop... Real people giving real advice and feedback on what might be worth a read. Not an Amazon bot review in sight."

Bert's Books, Swindon: "It is a massive gathering of indie booksellers and publishers from across the entire country (and world!) full of inspiring people, interesting talks and great ideas. Nearly all done, one more dinner (it's a hard life)...." 

Quinns Bookshop, Harborough: "It is, officially, two days where we can find out about new releases ready for Christmas and hear about recently published or upcoming books for ourselves, with some great training for indie booksellers... but unofficially, it's a big meet-up (party) for booksellers and publisher reps, and is enormously good fun!"

Gwisgo Bookworm, Aberaeron, Wales: "Had a great couple days.... I didn't get many clips of the trade show as I was too distracted by all the books and talking to people! But had an excellent time meeting other booksellers and publishers, listening to authors and being surrounded by lovely people. Thank you to everyone involved to bring it together! See you next year!" 

It was also announced that, subject to final arrangements, next year's BA Conference will be held in Leeds.