"We've seen threats of violence, online harassment, in the attempt to intimidate people into canceling events," said Philomena Polefrone, associate director of American Booksellers for Free Expression, during Winter Institute 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pa., last week.

Polefrone served as moderator for a panel discussion about author events and censorship that included Sofia Brekkan, events manager at Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash.; Angie Zhao, events and marketing manager at bbgb books, Richmond, Va.; and Shane Mullen, event coordinator at Left Bank Books, St. Louis, Mo.

"We've seen protests that happen at events, disruptions of those events," Polefrone continued. "All of these--and you want to be really clear here--these are forms of censorship. That kind of intimidation, fear tactics, that is how people generally censor bookstores."

Brekkan reported that Elliott Bay Book Company hosts around 400 events per year and has experienced many forms of pushback. It can range from being flooded with e-mails and social media comments to in-person protests at events or having the store vandalized. As an example, Brekkan mentioned a recent event with an anti-Zionist Jewish author. Before the event, the store received about 500 e-mails in the span of two hours, and the day of the event, staff arrived at the bookstore to find it was covered with graffiti and posters (she noted that the event ended up being "hugely successful").  

From left: Sofia Brekkan, Philomena Polefrone, Angie Zhao, Shane Mullen

The store hasn't had to cancel events outright due to security concerns, Brekkan said, though Elliott Bay has occasionally brought in outside security, particularly to off-site events. Brekkan emphasized the importance of transparency in these situations, saying that it shouldn't just be the person running the event who knows what's going on--everyone at the bookstore should be involved. It is also essential to be upfront with authors, and Elliott Bay will usually reach out to them, tell them what the store is facing, and ask how they'd like to proceed.

Brekkan also brought up a relatively new wrinkle that has emerged in the past nine months or so: Elliott Bay has had to cancel events with about a half dozen Canadian authors after they were unable to get the correct paperwork to cross the border. 

As a children's bookstore, Zhao said, a huge part of bbgb's model relies on school author visits. The store works with about four or five authors per month, placing them at various schools, and the "number one challenge" the bookstore has run into is the last minute cancellation of author visits. Zhao noted that the cancellations tend to follow a "recognizable pattern." Often they are incited by a small group of very vocal parents, sometimes only one parent, who brings up an issue at the last minute with a school administrator and manages to "dismantle" the visit for the entire school. 

Logistically, a last-minute cancellation is a "nightmare," and there are few opportunities to "pivot" as one might with other types of events. What bbgb tries to do when a cancellation occurs, Zhao said, is to focus on "making sure that the relationships within this event are cared for." That includes communicating with the author and publicist as well as informing families, many of whom might have already purchased or preordered a book, and trying to answer whatever questions they may have. In those instances the bookstore tries to be as transparent as possible about the reasons for the cancellation and always encourages parents to reach out to their schools about it.

Her biggest takeaway, Zhao continued, has been the value of preparation. Having a plan in place will keep the staff steady "when and if the pressure comes," and the store has taken some proactive measures by implementing an event agreement form that schools must sign when confirming an author visit. The agreement outlines the expectations of the partnership and includes the store's cancellation policy, which states that if schools cancel the visit within 30 days, they must meet the book purchase minimum. The agreement gives the store "some level of protection" and makes schools not treat cancellation so casually.

Left Bank Books, which does around 200 author events per year, has experienced all manner of censorship attempts, Mullen said. That includes protests, threats, online trolling, vandalism, and sudden cancellations by off-site venues. The store typically requires RSVPs for larger or more politically-sensitive events and sometimes checks RSVPs at the door. That way, if anything does happen, the staff will be "pretty aware of who might be causing it." And given that St. Louis is in a bit of a "blue bubble," seeing a bunch of RSVPs for an event from people outside the area can be an early indicator that it has been "picked up by some people that are wanting to cause disruption." 

When it comes to responding to censorship attempts, Mullen said he is "all about the pivot." As an example, Mullen cited a longstanding event series with a local university. After it became clear that one particular event would draw protestors, the university said it could not take place on campus due to unspecified electrical issues. "We knew exactly why they were canceling the event," Mullen said; and the bookstore pivoted to doing an in-store meet and greet instead. Left Bank Books also ended the partnership with the university. Sometimes, pivoting also means adding outside security; the store has gotten publishers to pay for extra security before, and Mullen noted that it was worth asking.

Being in Missouri, the store has sometimes been in conversation with trans authors reluctant to visit the state, as it is "not a friendly state in a lot of ways." In those instances, the bookstore offers reassurance that while Missouri is not friendly, St. Louis is, and there are ways to provide safety and security. The team also stresses that Left Bank is a queer-owned bookstore, and "we are here living this life every day." --Alex Mutter

Steerforth Press has become an imprint of Pushkin Press US, two years after its acquisition by Pushkin Press, which has headquarters in London. Steerforth co-founder and senior editor Chip Fleischer will acquire approximately 10 nonfiction titles annually, allowing Steerforth to maintain its identity. 

Adam Freudenheim, Pushkin Press publisher and managing director, commented: "Thanks to our terrific U.S.-based team working closely with colleagues in London we've had a remarkable run of successful publishing, across Pushkin Press and Steerforth Press. We will continue to invest in and grow the U.S. business in the coming years. Mirroring the success of the London operation, we plan to develop the editorial team, its publishing program, and will be open to acquiring publishing lists or businesses to complement Pushkin Press US."

Steerforth's major titles for 2026 include Tad Stoermer's A Resistance History of the United States, publishing June 2, just before the country's 250th anniversary, and reframing American history through its various resistance movements, and Conversations with an Executioner, Sean Gasper Bye's translation of Kazimierz Moczarski's account of his interviews with Nazi war criminal Jürgen Stroop.

Pushkin said that North American sales increased by $1.6 million (or 119%) in 2025, and the Pushkin Vertigo crime imprint increased sales by 207% year on year. Pushkin added that Pushkin US's sales and marketing director David Goldberg and his team have overseen this period of growth alongside publishing operations director Devin Wilkie.

Ink & Page Book Boutique in Overland Park, Kan., will close this summer. Owner Erin Oliva had originally opened the Pretty Posy Boutique, a specialty clothing shop, in 2021 before relaunching the business as a bookstore in 2024.  

In a social media post announcing her decision not to renew the bookshop's lease, Oliva wrote: "After 5 years of owning a storefront in Downtown OP (first a boutique, then Ink & Page), I've decided not to renew my lease. Renewing would mean committing to another 5 years, and that forced some real soul-searching about what I want my life to look like and who I want to be most present for.

"I love so much about this shop. I'm proud of what I've built and of this growing community. The timing is incredibly bittersweet with the new farmer's market pavilion almost finished. We have made it through 18 months of construction and there are so many great things right around the corner. That makes this decision really hard.

"But owning a storefront is all-consuming. It can be joyful and fun, but it is also relentless. Every decision and every responsibility sits with me. From keeping the shop staffed and stocked to making sure the bills are paid to shoveling snow and cleaning up after the toilet over flows. And over time, it's taken more than I want to give. Especially time from my family.

"So even though the business is growing, I'm choosing to step away from the storefront. This is about being a more present wife and mom. I want my kids to be my #1 priority."

Ink & Page will be open as usual until July, buying and selling used books, restocking new titles, and fulfilling all preorders through June. Oliva noted that she may keep up the website after the storefront closes, but hasn't made a final decision yet.

"But for now, we're here and I'd love to see you," she wrote. "There are still plenty of books to chat about before we close these doors."

The Buxton, N.C., Civic Association has launched a scholarship fund in memory of beloved community member Marjean "Gee Gee" Rosell, the longtime owner of Buxton Village Books, "aiming to support Hatteras Island students as they pursue higher education," Island Free Press reported. Rosell died January 29.

Gee Gee Rosell

The BCA Marjean "Gee Gee" Rosell Memorial Scholarship was created by the association in collaboration with Rosell's siblings and a group of friends. Organizers said the scholarship reflects Rosell's lifelong commitment to books, learning, and the Hatteras Island community.

"While many memorial scholarships honor someone's life, organizers said Rosell's deep appreciation for education, literature, the arts, and the natural world made the effort especially fitting," Island Free Press noted. "The fund is intended to help local students continue their educational journeys while reflecting the values she championed throughout her life." 

Rose Lesniak, "a feminist poet who dazzled and upended the male-dominated literary scene in New York during the 1970s before suddenly bolting to South Florida, where she worked as a child abuse investigator and then--in the final act of her kaleidoscopic life--became a dog trainer," died on February 1, the New York Times reported. She was 70.

Rose Lesniak

Lesniak moved to Manhattan in 1977 after graduating from college in Chicago, where she edited Out There, a literary magazine. ''You know how they say somebody lights up the room?'' asked Bob Holman, a close friend from those days. ''Rose was actually the lightbulb. Being with her was like living on another planet. It was the Planet Rose.''

With her friend Barbara Barg, Lesniak "plunged into the avant-garde world that orbited the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, the Times wrote. "The stars were Allen Ginsberg, John Ashbery, John Giorno, and other men. At readings, Ms. Lesniak and her friends would heckle them, calling out their sexist tropes, sometimes by making loud animal noises."

''We weren't really anarchists, and we wouldn't hurt anybody,'' she said in an interview in Women in Independent Publishing: A History of Unsung Innovators, 1953-1989 (2024). ''We wanted to ask you: 'Why did you say that? Where'd that come from? Do you need therapy?' ''

Lesniak explained that she and her friends were fun: ''We'd all get high together, and we'd drink together afterward, and we'd get to know each other.'' They knew she was a serious writer, however, working on poems that were later included in her books Young Anger (1979) and Throwing Spitballs at the Nuns (1982).

Lesniak shared a loft in Chelsea with Barg, who was also a poet. They hosted readings and parties attended by Ginsberg, Giorno, Andy Warhol, and others. ''Everybody just wanted to be around Rose,'' said Eileen Myles, a poet and former lover of Lesniak. ''She was crazy beautiful. She was brash. She carried this big, exciting energy everywhere she went, in everything she did. There was nobody like her.''

To help pay the bills, Lesniak worked for Majority Truckers, "an all-female company that delivered gay male pornography to newsstands using old U.S. Postal Service trucks painted bright pink. (New York in the 1970s was something to behold.)," the Times wrote. Lesniak usually drove the truck. Author Sarah Schulman recalled that she "was the jumper. So we would stop at all these newsstands, and I would jump out with the deliveries. We'd go up Broadway and then come back down. Rose was extremely efficient.''

In the early 1980s, Lesniak helped start Out There Productions, an organization that funded and staged performance art, and the Manhattan Poetry Video Project, which produced short films in which poets recited their work.

''Rose was just full of life, love and the pursuit of poetry,'' Holman said. ''She was full of ambition for poetry and poets.''

In 1988, she left New York for Miami. ''I just wanted to get out and do something different,'' she said. ''I said, 'You know, I'm going to Florida, I'm going to do investigative work, that's what I want to do.' '' She worked as an investigator with the Florida Department of Children and Families, at an office in the special victims unit of the Miami Beach Police Department. In 2003, she reinvented herself once again by taking classes in positive-reinforcement, or ''force-free,'' dog training.  

Lesniak told her friends that she had put poetry aside once she moved to Miami, but she did keep writing. In 2023, she published What the Dogs Tell Me, a collection of poems about her dogs, Martha and Joey.

From her poem "Little Dog":

And I am so proud, little dog,
To take your paw ...
We look out at the
Beautiful world...
And bark like hell.

Haley Pham (left) celebrated the launch of her debut novel, Just Friends (Atria), with a sold-out event at the Strand in New York City. She was in conversation with Alex Aster.

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.

"Let’s just say parking remains suboptimal," the Book Shop of Beverly Farms in Beverly, Mass., posted on Facebook. 

Evelyn Maguire

Evelyn Maguire has joined Chelsea Green Publishing in the newly created position of sales, marketing, and publicity coordinator. She was formerly marketing coordinator at the New England Independent Booksellers Association. Earlier she was the digital marketing manager and publicity coordinator for several non-profit organizations and was an event and social media manager for BookBub. While completing her MFA in creative prose from UMass Amherst, she was the managing editor for the UMass literary magazine focused on nature and sustainability, Paperbark.

Today:
CBS Mornings: Annie Leibovitz, author of Women (Phaidon Press, $99.95, 9781837290499).

Will Gluck's Olive Bridge and Sony Pictures are developing a film adaptation of Lynn Painter's bestselling book, Fake Skating. Deadline called the novel "a heartfelt and banter-filled rom-com about childhood sweethearts whose icy reunion in their hockey-loving hometown unexpectedly thaws when they fake a romantic relationship." 

Gluck, Jacqueline Monetta, and Madison Jones are producing on behalf of Olive Bridge. Lynn Painter is an executive producer. Gluck most recently directed and produced the hit movie Anyone But You, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. He also helmed Friends With Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and Easy A, starring Emma Stone. His upcoming film One Night Only, featuring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, will be released in August.

A shortlist has been released for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. The winners--including the four Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards recipients and potentially, at the discretion of a specially appointed judge, Te Mūrau o te Tuhi Māori Language Award--will be named at a ceremony on May 13 during the Auckland Writers Festival. Check out the complete NZ Book Awards shortlist here.

The winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction receives NZ$65,000 (about US$38,545), with each of the other main category winners getting NZ$12,000 (about US$7,115). The Best First Book winners for fiction, poetry, general nonfiction and illustrated nonfiction, are awarded NZ$3,000 (about US$1,780) each.

---

The shortlist has been released for the NZ Booklovers Awards, recognizing works in the best adult fiction, children's picture book, lifestyle, junior fiction, and YA categories. The winner in each category will be named March 19 and each winner will receive NZ$500 (about US$295). Check out the shortlisted titles here. 

"It was a pleasure to read so many outstanding books written by talented New Zealand authors," said NZ Booklovers director Karen McMillan, adding: "We are thrilled to see the exceptional books that New Zealand authors have created. These are superb books that Kiwi families will read and treasure."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, March 10:

Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson (Little, Brown, $32, 9780316579834) features Alabama Judge Mary Stone, who draws a controversial case.

Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer (Putnam, $35, 9780593714447) is a biography of the beloved author and bookseller.

The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love edited by Alice Hoffman (Scribner, $22, 9781668209028) collects essays from 14 authors about their canine companions. 

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle (Atria, $27, 9781668025918) is about the women in a family, each of whom has the ability to turn back time--once.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (Pine & Cedar/Flatiron, $29.99, 9781250395238) features two happy podcasters--until one of them disappears and the other becomes a suspect.

Whidbey: A Novel by T Kira Madden (Mariner, $30, 9780063289680) connects three women to a murdered man.

It Girl by Allison Pataki (Ballantine, $30, 9780593873410), inspired by the life of Evelyn Nesbit, is about the rise to fame in the early 20th century of an ordinary girl to a star.

Served Him Right by Lisa Unger (Park Row, $30, 9780778360056) begins at a brunch with friends where Ana Blacksmith celebrates a breakup--when news of her ex's murder hits and she becomes the prime suspect.

These Shattered Spires by Cassidy Ellis Salter (Bloomsbury YA, $20.99, 9781547618637) is a YA high fantasy featuring four rival familiars.

Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros (Quill Tree, $19.99, 9780063092242) is a middle-grade time-travel adventure from a Pura Belpré Award-winning author. 

Paperback:
Mistakes Were Made (Story Lake #2) by Lucy Score (Bloom Books, $19.99, 9781464258732).

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

Hardcovers
Ashland: A Novel by Dan Simon (Europa Editions, $26, 9798889661672). "A sweeping family saga told in multiple voices and set in a dying town in New Hampshire, at once a lyrical ode to life in working class America and the power of storytelling. Sharp, brilliantly told, and unforgettable." --Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, Miss.

The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster by Shelley Puhak (Bloomsbury Publishing, $32.99, 9781639732159). "For history lovers and true crime lovers alike, The Blood Countess provides a new and excellently researched view on the story and myth of Elizabeth Báthory. A detailed glimpse into Báthory's life that contradicts the usual narrative." --Delaney McFadin, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, Calif.

Paperback
The Lamb: A Novel by Lucy Rose (Harper Perennial, $18.99, 9780063374614; Indie Exclusive Signed Edition Paperback, $18.99, 9780063489530). "A coming-of-age story meets the cabin-in-the-woods cannibalism trope. The senses are engaged for a moody, atmospheric ride spattered in blood and rot as Margot makes sense in a world of neglectful trauma and relative isolation." --Danielle Smith, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, Wash.

Ages 3-6
The Rare Bird by Elisha Cooper (Roaring Brook Press, $18.99, 9781250364395). "What a joy to follow Rare Bird's feline main character as he soars from couch to cloud to dream, and what a perfect book to remind us that imagination is limitless." --Victoria Sanchez, Bookshop West Portal, San Francisco, Calif. 

Ages 8-12
The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff (Aladdin, $18.99, 9781665985468). "I couldn't read The Aftermyth fast enough. Not only did I love the characters from the very beginning (somebody give me Fifi's energy--I'd never need coffee again), but the spin on Greek mythology is so fresh and different. Rick Riordan and Shannon Messenger fans will fall head over heels in love with this series!" --Hannah Davidson, Mystery to Me, Madison, Wis.

Ages 12+
Carnival Fantástico by Angela Montoya (Joy Revolution, $19.99, 9798217024469). "Looking for your next great read with star-crossed lovers and a traveling circus? This Latine-inspired fantasy has it all: magic, adventure, humor, dark secrets, and a fiery second-chance romance." --Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, Mass.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Though the Pulitzer Prize she received for her 2023 novel, The Night Watch, was well deserved, it didn't take that honor to confirm Jayne Anne Phillips's status as one of America's preeminent contemporary fiction writers. But in a career that has spanned nearly 50 years, Phillips has never produced a work of nonfiction. Small Town Girls, her varied and confiding memoir in essays, remedies that omission and further demonstrates the breadth of her talent.

Born in 1952, Phillips grew up in the tiny town of Buckhannon, home to West Virginia Wesleyan College and, during her childhood, a thriving coal-mining industry. Roughly half of the 22 pieces in the collection touch on how that upbringing helped shape her identity, while exploring aspects of the life and culture of her often-dismissed native state. It's a place--"geographically isolated and relentlessly exploited by outsiders and some insiders, all looking to sell paradise and make a buck"--that she views with a mixture of pride and candor tinged with melancholy.

The "star-crossed, dramatic life" of Phillips's mother, the descendant of a wealthy family that lost its fortune in the Great Depression, is a recurring subject. Phillips's characterization of herself as her mother's "spiritual emissary" underscores the closeness of their relationship, particularly in the aftermath of her parents' divorce, and especially in her mother's final days, as she died of lung cancer in Phillips's home, where she lived for the final 13 months of her life.

Phillips, who holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, also offers several impressive examples of her literary sensibility and journalism. Among them are tributes to novelist Stephen Crane and to Phillips's West Virginia contemporary Breece D'J Pancake, whose prose, she writes, "has the clarity of a struck bell" and who died by suicide in 1979, at age 26. She paints a vivid portrait of the notorious 19th-century feud between the Hatfields and McCoys, and recalls a shooting at a Paducah, Ky., high school in 1997 that took the lives of three girls as they left their before-school prayer gathering.

But Phillips's range isn't limited to pieces like these or recollections of her life in West Virginia. Through the accretion of modest details, "Real People" is a skillful and moving portrait of her observations at a distance of the young family that once lived across the street from her in a New Jersey suburb. In "On Not Having a Daughter," she frankly relates her experience of an abortion as a college student. In these and the other essays, she consistently penetrates to a subject's emotional core, in the process revealing to her readers her own life alongside a bit of their own humanity. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jayne Anne Phillips turns to nonfiction for the first time with an impressive collection of personal essays, literary criticism, and journalism.

AI stocks are wobbly of late, but will rise again. Experts keep saying nobody knows what the future holds for AI, but everyone seems to be buying or selling it anyway. The Onion makes sense: "AI Chatbot That Only Responds 'Huh' Valued At $200 Billion."

Take a beat. Read a book.

Last month, the Orange County Register ran a piece headlined "Southern California romance bookstores do not want AI for Valentine's Day," in which it cited a recent New York Times article about a romance novelist who had used AI and 21 pseudonyms to release more than 200 novels last year. The Register reached out to a couple of independent romance bookstore owners for their take.

Becca Title

"I sure do have some thoughts about that New York Times piece!" Becca Title of Meet Cute Romance Bookshop in La Mesa responded. "Romance novels, in particular, are about people's need for love and connection. I do not believe that an algorithm trained to regurgitate millions of pirated texts can write a good work of fiction because there is no possibility for real communication, real empathy, real sharing of wisdom between a reader and what is just a cunning facsimile of an author. And, I think it's worth asking, why would we want it to?"

Katie Mullin of In Bloom Bookery in Temecula observed: "I wholeheartedly believe that there is no place for AI in romance novels.... The heart of a romance novel is the human connection. Readers crave originality and admire the craft that authors pour their hearts into; I don't believe AI can replicate that.... Right now, it can feel like billionaires and bots are making too many decisions affecting our lives, but remember: Readers remain in control of what they read, and so we continue to speak out and support actual authors, independent bookstores, and our library systems to ensure that this continues."

In Bloom Bookery

"Terms like 'artificial' and 'robotic' aren't usually associated with satisfying romance, which seems to prefer the warmth and connection of a human touch," the Register noted. "But hey, we could always ask AI about passion and desire and see what it outputs. (Don't worry, we won't.)"

Well, I did... sort of. Although there are too many questions about AI to be answered (or even estimated) by AI at this stage in its development, my NI (Natural Intelligence) is curious about its frontline bookseller potential.

Note: AI responses here are edited by NI for brevity and because humans can do that just for the hell of it. Also: Google AI's "answers" change constantly, so these represent just a virtual snapshot. Results, as they say, may vary.

So this is how Google AI handled some classic customer requests: 

I don't know the title, but it has a red cover.
Based on the description of a "red cover," the book you are thinking of is likely a popular YA fantasy, thriller, or romance novel, as these genres frequently use red to evoke passion or danger.... If none of these sound familiar, it might be helpful to recall if it was a thriller (often dark red) or a romance (often bright red). 

Thanks... for nothing. 

Where's the nonfiction section in this bookstore?
Nonfiction sections are typically located in the main, quieter areas of a library or in the back, usually organized by the Dewey Decimal System (numbers 000-900) or by subject-based color codes. Look for rows of shelving labeled with subjects rather than just alphabetical author names, often arranged by specific topics like history, science, or biographies. 

Umm... I asked about bookstores? I expected it to say everything in the store was nonfiction except the fiction.  

Can I get a discount on this book?
Yes, you can often get a discount on a book by shopping around online, looking for sales, or considering used copies. The specific discounts depend on the book, retailer, and current promotions.

Too easy... and annoying.

Are you hiring?
I am an AI, so I don't personally hire employees.

Okay, that's a good one.

Where is the bathroom in this bookstore?
Based on typical bookstore layouts, the restroom is usually located toward the back of the store to encourage browsing, as noted in a Shelf Awareness article. In some specific, unconventional, or smaller shops, facilities might be found in specialized areas, such as in the science fiction section.

Thanks for the SA shoutout, Google AI, but what's the deal with the sci-fi diss?

Since you work in a bookstore, you must read all the time.
It is a very common misconception that working in a bookstore means sitting in a cozy chair and reading all day! While being surrounded by books is a major perk, the reality of the job is quite different... the job offers constant exposure to books, but not much time to actually read them.

Finally nailed it. Now for the big finish:

How will AI affect frontline booksellers?
AI will transform frontline booksellers from manual inventory clerks into tech-enabled curators by automating tasks like inventory management, stock forecasting, and basic customer inquiries. While AI handles routine work and provides data-driven recommendations, human booksellers will focus on personalized customer experiences, building community, and expert, nuanced curation that AI cannot replicate.

A little cold, and I never considered myself a "manual inventory clerk," but okay. One last question:

Will AI replace me? 
The short answer is no, AI is unlikely to replace 'you' as a person.... 

Unlikely? As book people know more than most people, words always matter. Even--perhaps especially--for Large Language Models (LLMs).

The following were the most popular book club books during February based on votes from book club readers in more than 94,000 book clubs registered at Bookmovement.com:

1. The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans (Crown)
2. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Atria)
3. Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine)
4. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Doubleday)
5. The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (Harper Muse)
6. Buckeye: A Novel by Patrick Ryan (Random House)
7. The Wedding People: A Novel by Alison Espach (Holt)
8. Wild Dark Shore: A Novel by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron)
9. Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir (Ballantine)
10. Heart the Lover by Lily King (Grove Press)

Rising Stars:
Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston (Pamela Dorman Books)
Heart the Lover by Lily King (Grove Press)