"People ask me, 'What is the Black bookstore's response to these attacks on DEI and diverse books?' The Black-owned bookstore is the response. Black-owned bookstores aren't really impacted by book bans because they've always sold radical, dissident books, right? So it's not a question of what should they be doing now in this climate; their very existence pushes back on all of these attacks we're seeing."

Monstera's Books in Overland Park, Kan., hosted a grand reopening and ribbon cutting celebration on Saturday, December 6, more than three months after the bookstore, at 7930 Floyd St., suffered extensive smoke and water damage from an electrical fire that started at the restaurant next door. The shop originally opened in March 2024. 

Co-owners Kate and Justin Wieners packed their house "with books, plants and other merchandise from Monstera's Books after a fire forced their small business to temporarily close," the Kansas City Star reported. They have been documenting the journey back to reopening on a blog, featuring photos of the building's progress and their efforts to continue filling orders.

"Even though everything was intact after the fire, we had to completely clean out the store," Justin Wieners said. "Even the drywall and walls had to come out. It was down to bare studs." They hired a restoration company to clean and refinish the bookshelves, and used an ozone machine for the smoke smell. Employees helped with the long process of restocking items and preparing them for sale.

"The insurance process takes a while, and so we needed to figure out a way to bridge the gap," Justin Wieners said, adding that Monstera's saw some early success after it first opened, gaining loyal customers who rallied around the business when renovations began.

During the closure, store manager Laramie Appenfeller helped continue to fill orders, organize inventory, "and do just about anything else it took to reopen," the Star noted. In his blog, Justin Wieners said Appenfeller worked from the Wienerses' spare bedroom, kitchen counter, and her Toyota as she hand-delivered books around Kansas City.

At the store's grand reopening, Appenfeller said the motivation behind her work is to build community: "We did a lot of stuff trying to meet people throughout those three months. I was still doing drop-offs and meeting people on their lunch breaks to get them books. But it wasn't really about the books. It was just about wonderful people. And I think that's what sets us apart from a lot of places. People feel that the second they walk in."

Justin Wieners said the community has shown his family love and support during the grueling months of renovation, and their support allowed the bookshop to rebuild. Happy to be back doing what he loves, he added that the reopening celebration "was more of like a family reunion.... When people walk in, we say 'Welcome in,' and they're like, 'Welcome to you. So glad you're back,' which feels really good."

Janet and Tim Miller have purchased Hedgehog.INK Bookstore in Fort Scott, Kan., and are changing the name to Hedgehog Books, Fort Scott Biz reported. 

The Millers are taking over from Randi Witt, who purchased the new and used bookstore in early 2024 from original owner Jan Hedges. Aside from the slight adjustment to the name, the Millers do not intend to make any major changes.

In addition to now owning a bookstore, the Millers both have full-time jobs: Janet Miller works as a community entrepreneurship manager for Network Kansas, and Tim Miller is a history professor at Labette Community College. They both plan to be in the store often, though they will need help running the store day-to-day. To that end, they are currently looking to hire.

"We both love to read and enjoy stopping in bookstores anywhere we go--whether in a neighboring town or around the world," the Millers wrote in a Facebook post announcing the change. "Hedgehog.INK has been a favorite, so we're thrilled to take over ownership. And, we're very thankful to Randi Witt and her family for entrusting us with the store moving forward!"

Dianne Moggy is retiring from her role as v-p, editorial at Harlequin, effective December 31. Executive editor Bryony Green has been promoted to publishing director with responsibility for Harlequin's Series Romance editorial program.

Dianne Moggy

Moggy joined Harlequin in 1984, starting as an editorial assistant, then taking on multiple roles and successive senior editorial positions. 

Among her many achievements, Moggy launched Mira Books as its first editorial director, and played a key role in expanding Harlequin's publishing beyond series romance into trade publishing. She also oversaw the publisher's international editorial programs and growth, the company said, adding: "With tremendous energy and incomparable pride in the romance genre, Dianne's passion for books and their authors has shone throughout her successful publishing career. She has brought her love of the publishing world to romance authors, agents, and partners in HarperCollins offices around the world."

David Pryce-Jones, a British writer "whose world-spanning interests, balanced by a rock-ribbed opposition to communism and support for the state of Israel, made him a powerful and longstanding conservative voice in Britain and the United States," died November 17, the New York Times reported. He was 89. His essays and dispatches could frequently be found in right-leaning publications in Britain like the Telegraph and the Spectator, as well as the New Criterion and National Review in the U.S.

"He was a man of the right, but he was quite broad in his social circle," said Daniel Johnson, a writer and the editor of TheArticle, an online journal, "as long as he didn't feel you were betraying the deep values of Western civilization."

Pryce-Jones wrote 10 novels and 18 works of nonfiction, including biographies, travelogues, and histories. Among his nonfiction works are a biography of Graham Greene; a travelogue about Israel; political analysis, particularly of the Arab world; and two memoirs, including Signatures: Literary Encounters of a Lifetime (2020), a series of character sketches of people who had inscribed books to him.

"He had an expansive humanity about him," said Roger Kimball, who, as editor of the New Criterion and Encounter Books, published much of his later work. "He knew how the world worked."

Noting that Pryce-Jones "seemed to have known everyone," the Times wrote that he "counted Saul Bellow, William F. Buckley Jr., and the British American historian Robert Conquest among his friends. When the writer V.S. Naipaul received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001, he invited Mr. Pryce-Jones and his wife, Clarissa, to be his guests at the award ceremony in Stockholm."

Pryce-Jones's critics, "of whom there were many, accused him of essentialism and racial stereotyping, reducing the breadth of the Middle Eastern world to an extreme interpretation of Islam held by a small minority," the Times added.

He published his first novel, Owls and Satyrs, in 1961, and by 1963 was working as a freelance writer. "There used to be a type like David Pryce-Jones," writer Jay Nordlinger said. "They were mainly British. They were generalists. They kind of knew everything. There aren't people like that anymore."

New York City's Barnes & Noble Union Square celebrated the launch of Cassandra Clare's Better in Black (Knopf Books for Young Readers), 10 romance stories set in the Shadowhunter universe. Clare (r.) was joined by author Zoraida Cordova for the event.

Congratulations to Back of Beyond Books, Moab, Utah, which celebrated its 35th anniversary with a party Friday evening that included food, drink, a free mug with a $100 purchase, a 20% discount on everything, and more.

Founded in 1990, the store was named after Seldom Seen Smith's outfitting company and hideout spot in Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. Back of Beyond carries new, used, and rare titles, many from hard-to-find small press authors, with a focus on the geography, archeology, natural history, and guidebooks about the American Southwest and Colorado Plateau. The store also has a strong fiction section, children's room, and a carefully curated selection of YA and juvenile titles. There are also many indie bestsellers, games, and gifts.

C&T Publishing is distributing Leisure Arts, effective January 1. 

Leisure Arts publishes in the areas of lifestyle and craft instruction, offering books, digital downloads, and kits for crochet, knitting, cross stitch, quilting, and more. It has inspired makers of all skill levels with step-by-step guides and projects, especially through its popular beginner-friendly Little series. The partnership will add a backlist of 1,150 titles to C&T's catalog.

C&T publisher Amy Barrett-Daffin welcomed Leisure Arts "into the C&T Publishing family," adding, "The acquisition is a transformative moment for us, instantly expanding our reach in the mass market and providing an enormous, high-quality backlist of beloved titles in crochet, knitting, coloring books, and needlework. This significantly broadens our ability to serve the entire spectrum of crafters, securing C&T's position as a dominant force across the entire craft publishing landscape."

Sophie Kossakowski has joined Hachette Book Group as senior manager, international sales & marketing, and is based in New York. She was formerly international sales manager at Sourcebooks and earlier held international sales and marketing roles at HarperCollins. At Hachette, she will focus on customers in the open market (Asia, Continental Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America).

Brimstone by Callie Hart (Podium Audio).

Today:
Good Morning America: George M. Johnson and Leah Johnson, authors of There's Always Next Year (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780374391690).

Fresh Air: Patrick Markee, author of Placeless: Homelessness in the New Gilded Age (Melville House, $31.99, 9781685891671).

Democracy Now!: Judith Enck, author, with Adam Mahoney, of The Problem With Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late (The New Press, $27.99, 9781620979457). 

Tomorrow:
Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation (Viking, $35, 9780593296967).

A trailer is available for People We Meet on Vacation, based on the bestselling novel by Emily Henry, IndieWire reported. The movie will be released by Netflix on January 26, 2026. Brett Haley directs from a script by Yulin Kuang and Amos Vernon & Nunzio Randazzo. 

The official synopsis noted that the film follows "the free-spirited Poppy and routine-loving Alex, who have been unlikely best friends for a decade, living in different cities but spending every summer vacation together. The careful balance of their friendship is put to the test when they begin to question what has been obvious to everyone else--could they actually be the perfect romantic match?"

Poppy is played by Emily Bader (Lady Jane), with Tom Blyth (Plainclothes) as Alex. The cast also includes Sarah Catherine Hook, Lucien Laviscount, Miles Heizer, Jameela Jamil, Tommy Do, Lukas Gage, Alice Lee, Molly Shannon, and Alan Ruck.

"The fervor around the film is quite high already, and early looks at it have only further delighted Henry's readers (we see you, fellow romance nuts who went bonkers for that chaise lounge beach picture)," Indiewire wrote. 

Coco Zephir is a bookseller at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Mass., where she works on the events and marketing teams. She loves romance titles and here offers highlights of books that appeared this year:

Welcome to the best of the best in romance! Here's a list of six standout titles to round out the year.

Our first pick is Once Upon a Time in Dollywood (Berkley), a debut novel from Ashley Jordan. Once Upon a Time follows Eva as she navigates leaving the life she has always known as a playwright in New York City to retreat to her grandmother's cabin in Tennessee. As Eva seeks solace and rest, she collides with complications she wasn't expecting--namely Jamie, a single dad, who may just be as complicated and messy as she is. This story is for those looking for depth, human connection, and heart in their romances. It's an incredible debut from a promising new voice in the genre.

It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram (Forever) is the best second-chance romance of the year. When Ramin gets dumped while asking his boyfriend to marry him, he decides an escape is in order. What's more distracting than a trip to Italy to forget your ex? While roaming the cafes of Milan he runs into his high school crush, Noah, on a relocation tour with his ex-wife and son. Sparks fly between Ramin and Noah, and what began in their teens picks right back up in a journey of adventure, wine, and self-discovery.

In B.K Borison's First-Time Caller (Berkley), a preteen calls in to a Baltimore radio show Heartstrings, seeking relationship advice for her mom. The holdup? The host, Aiden Valentine, has lost faith in love. What ensues is a '90s rom-com, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired, delight of a romance featuring a radio show host and a young mom mechanic. Readers nostalgic for the '90s and lovers of first-rate banter will devour the lead rom-com in B.K. Borison's Heartstrings series.

Female Fantasy by Imam Hariri-Kia (Cosmo Reads/Sourcebooks) follows Joonie, who finds that men in real life can't compare to Ryke, the merman in the book she's reading. So when she learns that Ryke was based on a real human, she sets out to find him. Romance fans will love this paranormal comedy that alternates between her journey to locate her soul mate and the fictional world with Ryke.

Sarah MacLean offers us a stunner of a family saga, layered with one of the hottest romances of the year, in These Summer Storms (Ballantine). Alice is returning home to the family island for her father's memorial. Engaging with her family isn't the easiest, especially when it requires participating in an inheritance game led by an enigma of a man who happens to be very distracting. MacLean serves us a contemporary romance as if she's been doing it all along (not the 20-plus historical romances comprising her backlist), and we couldn't be happier about it. 

Lastly, Alix E. Harrow's The Everlasting (Tor) is a fantasy-romance pick. Harrow's lyrical prose follows a lady knight and a scholar tasked with writing her legacy. As the knight and scholar rewrite history, something deeper blooms that threatens to destroy the political establishment. This love story comes for your gut, while promising hope in a time of political upheaval. It's a fantasy, it's a romance, it's The Everlasting.

Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Minotaur Books) has won the Nero Award, sponsored by the Wolfe Pack: the Official Nero Wolfe Literary Society, and honoring "the best American mystery written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories."

"The Troubling Mr. Truelove" by Pete Barnstrom (to be published in the July 2026 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine) has won the Black Orchid Novella Award, sponsored by the Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to celebrate the novella format popularized by Rex Stout.

Black Orchid Novella honorable mentions were Paul A. Barra's "Beauty and Buford," Craig H. Bowlsby's "Last Train to Medicine Hat," Libby Cudmore's "Piano Man," Tom Larsen's "The Sheriff of Alabama Street," Josh Pachter's "Melancholia," and Daniel Peyton's "A Noir Satyr: Follow That MacGuffin."

Former Manhattan public defender Yosha Gunasekera convincingly takes to the page with The Midnight Taxi, her authorial debut. At 28, Siriwathi Perera is a New York City cab driver, more by circumstance than choice. Her immigrant father couldn't afford to buy a coveted taxi medallion, so he leased one instead, with the "promise of a good, reliable salary." His heart disease, however, kept him from the wheel, meaning Siri and her older brother had to cover his shifts. Alas, "Thathi never got better, my brother died, and we were trapped in a ten-year lease. It all fell on me," Siri admits. Family debts, disappointments, expectations loom large.

"My true crime podcasts are a lifeline," Siri confesses about the daily driving tedium. "I spend most of my time thinking about murder." Thinking becomes shocking reality late one night when the fare she picked up has somehow been stabbed dead in the backseat by the time they arrive at Kennedy Airport. Suddenly Siri is the prime suspect for murder. Serendipitously, she has the business card for criminal defense lawyer Amaya Fernando, whom she'd ferried earlier that night--and bonded with over their shared Sri Lankan heritage. Amaya may be her only hope to avoid detention on Rikers Island.

"Innocent until proven guilty is a farce," Siri quickly discovers, but Amaya's already working what seems to be a miracle when she manages to get Siri out on bail. They have five days before the grand jury presentation that will determine Siri's future. Despite Amaya's protestations about protocols, Siri is determined to stay involved--if nothing else, she knows exactly how to get around the city. Criss-crossing the boroughs leads to a pet python, an off-the-beaten-path pizza joint with bad reviews, family and colleagues, environmental activists, and plans for forcing changes "from the inside." Siri and Amaya just need to line up the clues in time to prove Siri's innocence.

Gunasekera writes with straightforward ease, relaying the step-by-step process of Siri and Amaya's fast-moving investigation. The Sri Lankan American background she shares with her protagonists adds cultural and sociopolitical enhancements to her narrative, broadening the scope beyond the usual whodunit. Her plotting proves notably clever, managing to lull readers into willingly nodding along with persuasive developments until the never-saw-that-coming twists near mystery's end. Oh, and to ensure audiences stay properly hooked on these tenacious sleuths, Midnight Taxi ends with the first three chapters of the next volume. --Terry Hong

Shelf Talker: Sri Lankan American attorney Yosha Gunasekera cleverly and convincingly introduces a New York City cab driver and public defender working together to solve a backseat murder.