"I've actually been working at indie bookstores for close to 10 years now--on and off at various different indies--and it's probably my favorite kind of service job that I've ever had. I don't really have time anymore, because of all of the making of books, but I still work just 4 hours a week at an indie bookstore. I love it so much that I can't bring myself to quit.

"I love the environment of an indie bookstore. I love talking to people all day about books, about what they've learned, and what book covers they like. Indie bookstores are my favorite place to be other than in my studio at my drafting table."

Willbloom Books, a mobile bookstore based in Weaverville, N.C., will open a bricks-and-mortar shop later this fall, at 58 Weaver Village Way in the Weaver Village shopping center. Asheville's 828 News NOW reported that for nearly a year, owner Lindsay Johnson's bookshop had been a mint-green bus that toured around Western North Carolina as a pop-up. Her ultimate goal, however, was always to establish a permanent shop for the town where she lives.

"The bus was always the first stepping stone in this eventuality of opening up a brick-and-mortar," Johnson said. "I did the best to make sure what I was wanting to create and wanting to bring to Weaverville was gonna be wanted, received, all of that good stuff. I've had so much excitement, so much feedback from the community about really wanting a physical bookstore for families to go into. People have loved the bus, but it's... a unique model, and it's not always the easiest thing to do. Driving around your place of work is interesting, to say the least."

While organizing the pop-ups and three book clubs, she also kept a lookout for retail space. "Finally, something came available a couple of weeks ago, and I snatched it up as quickly as I could, because retail space goes so quickly and it's so hard to come by," she said. "It's so close to downtown Weaverville.... This is great because parking is super easy... I think this spot, because it is kind of tucked away a little bit, it's a little calmer back there. I think it's gonna be a really great spot for a bookstore to be."

Johnson plans to decorate the shop like an inviting "cozy cottage," with the goal of offering a community hub: "Yes, it's a retail place of business, but it's also gonna hopefully foster community for people and deepen ties with the people in town. That's what I'm really the most excited about, people being able to come to the store for dozens of different reasons."

Long Dark House bookstore, which focuses on horror, science fiction, and "other strange stories," officially opened September 5 at 1510 King. St. in Alexandria, Va. Zebra reported that owner Chanthal Harris "is vivacious, funny, and not a bit scary. She is passionate about books, community, and storytelling."

"I got into horror as a child," Chanthal recalls. "My Mom was into scary and my Dad was into sci-fi. Scaring each other is a fun memory. Scaring people was my love language!"

The bookstore will host a grand opening celebration on September 19. In a social media post, Harris noted: "Why celebrate for one day when you can celebrate all month? Long Dark House is officially open, and we are SO incredibly grateful for the response to our first week. The turnout has been much larger than we ever anticipated, and there have been quite a few happy dances happening behind the counter. So naturally... we’re doing it again.... We're ordering and restocking like crazy after the incredible response to opening week, so Part II will give us time to bring in more books, more titles, more genres, more goodies, and plenty of new discoveries."

Noting that "there is nothing that gives me more joy than a book," Harris told Zebra that when she decided to open a bookstore, she naturally went with what she calls her "comfort genre." For readers not inclined toward the scary, the store offers a "starter section" to help introduce those who have never read in this area. "Even if it's not your genre, give it a chance!" she said. "Horror is misunderstood. It allows you to explore the human condition. It teaches empathy." 

She is also passionate about building a community: "I envision a place where people will feel free to drop in, even if they don't buy anything.... I have fun ideas for all we can do, and I will announce those the first week we open."

B&N in San Antonio, Tex.

Barnes & Noble will open new stores tomorrow, Wednesday, September 9, in Orlando, Fla., and San Antonio, Tex.

The Orlando store, in the Vineland Pointe shopping center, will span 20,000 square feet and include a B&N Cafe. The grand opening tomorrow will feature a ribbon cutting and signing with Danielle Kelly, author of The Lost History of Walt Disney World: A Tour of the Forgotten, Little-Known, and Obscure History of the Most Magical Place on Earth (Adams Media).

The Vineland Pointe B&N is the second new store to open in Orlando this year, following the opening of the Lake Nona B&N in June. There are now five B&N locations in Orlando.

The San Antonio store occupies a 20,000-square-foot space in the Huebner Oaks mall and includes a B&N cafe. Kelsey Cox, author of Pretty Dead Things (Minotaur Books), will be on hand tomorrow for the ribbon cutting and signing. The costumed character Biscuit the Dog will also appear.

The San Antonio store is the third new B&N to open in Texas this year; six more stores are set to open throughout the state in the months ahead. There will soon be more than 60 B&N locations in Texas.

B&N intends to open 60 stores this year, and now has more than 720 stores nationwide. The chain had fewer than 600 stores as recently as 2023.

Robin Morgan, author, poet, editor, journalist, and leading feminist activist, died last Saturday, September 5, at age 85.

Robin Morgan in 2012

Morgan wrote more than 20 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and is best known for compiling and editing Sisterhood Is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement. A bestseller and highly influential feminist work, the book appeared in 1970 and included contributions from Kate Millett, Marge Piercy, Eleanor Holmes Norton, among others; documents and manifestos from various feminist groups; and "verbal karate," Morgan's phrase for statistics and quotes about women. 

Sisterhood Is Powerful was followed by Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology (1984) and Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium (2003).

Morgan was a contributor to Ms. magazine and was editor-in-chief from 1989 to 1994. She also contributed to a range of publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, the Atlantic, the Village Voice, Essence, the Feminist Art Journal, Sojourner, and more.

Her poetry collections included A Hot January: Poems 1996-1999 (1999), Depth Perception: New Poems and a Masque (1994), Upstairs in the Garden: Poems Selected and New 1968-1988 (1990), Death Benefits (1981), Lady of the Beasts (1976), and Monster (1972).

Morgan's novels included Dry Your Smile (1987), The Mer-Child: A Legend for Children and Other Adults (1991), and The Burning Time (2006).

Her nonfiction included Going Too Far (1978), The Anatomy of Freedom (1984), The Demon Lover: On the Sexuality of Terrorism (1989), The Word of a Woman (1994), and Saturday's Child: A Memoir (2001).

Among many other accomplishments in her very full life, Morgan co-founded the Women's Media Center with Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem, who died last Wednesday, September 2. She also founded or co-founded New York Radical Women, the Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (W.I.T.C.H.); the Sisterhood Is Powerful Fund; and the Sisterhood Is Global Institute.

She also helped organize the famous protest of the 1969 Miss America pageant; designed the feminist symbol of a raised fist inside the Venus symbol; and coined the phrase "herstory," in contrast to history or "his-story."

She was also a child actor, which she preferred not to discuss. Early in her adult life, she worked as a secretary at the Curtis Brown Literary Agency and as an editor at Grove Press, where she was arrested for occupying the offices after being fired for trying to unionize the house.

Book Passage, Corte Madera, Calif., in partnership with Dominican University, hosted Congressman Jared Huffman (D., Calif.), author of No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism (Norton). Huffman (r.) was in conversation with actor, Emmy Award-winning narrator, and writer Peter Coyote. (photo: Stuart Lirette)

"Timber stands (or lies, really) by his book recommendations!" Composition Shop in Longmont, Colo., posted.

"We are thrilled with our whimsical new window mural by Cass W. (@marmalade.goose) & Jenessa B. (@jenessa_arts ! They really captured Hugo and Copper's unique personalities," Analog Books in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, posted. "Kick off Lethbridge Arts Days with the Downtown Lens mural walking tour tomorrow, September 4 from 5-7 p.m. The artists will lead guests along the mural route, sharing insights into their work and answering questions along the way."

"Sure, maybe you don't need more books, but what if--and hear me out--the books need you?" That was the sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Main Street Books in St. Charles, Mo., which noted: "So many books that need shelves to call home.... Go adopt a book today from your local bookstore!"

Today:
Good Morning America: Harlan Coben, author of Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft: A Memoir on Writing (Grand Central, $32.50, 9781538784624).

Also on GMA: Jaclyn Smith, author of I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie: A Memoir (Gallery, $30, 9781982116644).

CBS Mornings: Siggie Cohen, author of You Are the Parent: Move from Overparenting to Balanced Parenting and Become the Leader Your Child Needs (Harvest, $30, 9780063448643). 

Today: Rebecca Blumenstein and Diana Kapp, author of The Last Free Women: A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America (Grand Central, $30, 9781538779002).

Also on Today: Jean Chatzkye, author of The Forever Paycheck: The New Retirement Strategy to Spend More, Worry Less, and Never Run Out of Money (Avery, $32, 9798217179473).

Live with Kelly and Mark: Lizzo, author of Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin' (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781665951449). She will also appear tomorrow on the View. 

Fresh Air: Casey Gerald, author of The Great Refusal: A New Vision of Resistance (Little, Brown, $28, 9780316597418).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Dave Winfield, co-author of Touching All the Bases: A Story of Power, Purpose, and Surviving the Bronx (Matt Holt Books, $31, 9781637748985).

The View: Ted Cruz, author of Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas (Sentinel, $35, 9798217181193).

Live with Kelly and Mark: Jim Kwik, author of Limitless Daily: 366 Keys to Train Your Brain, Master Your Mind & Win Every Day (Hay House, $28.99, 9781401978945).

Tamron Hall repeat: Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, authors of The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-filled World (Rocky Pond Books, $14.99, 9798217111916).

Renate Reinsve will star as Mary Wollstonecraft in Mia Hansen-Løve's (Bergman Island) "epic and intimate period drama If Love Should Die, Deadline reported, adding that the film is a co-production of Ireland, France, Norway, Spain and U.K., backed by Anonymous Content and RT Features. The cast also includes Johnny Flynn, Vicky Krieps, Charlie Kelly, Will Keen, Tom Sturridge, and Jane Beever. 

First announced in 2024, If Love Should Die "will focus on the remarkable last 12 years in the life of 18th century English writer, philosopher and women's rights advocate Wollstonecraft, who also is famed for being the mother of Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley," Deadline noted. "Set in England on the eve of the French Revolution, it follows Wollstonecraft, a then young, poor, solitary woman, as she carves a daring path through the ideals of the Enlightenment. Dismissed from her post as a governess, she resolves to live by her pen, against all odds."

"I'm thrilled that I'm finally able to make the film I've been preparing for a long time and that is particularly close to my heart," said Hansen-Løve. "It's a huge challenge: bringing Mary Wollstonecraft to the screen for the very first time. I'm also very happy to be supported by such a talented, committed team and above all, to share this adventure with the wonderful Renate Reinsve." 

Arrowsmith Press has released a list of finalists for this year's Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry, honoring the work of the St. Lucian Nobel Prize-winning poet by recognizing a book of poetry by a non-U.S. citizen published anywhere in the world. The winner receives a $2,000 honorarium. The 2026 Walcott Prize finalists are:

Mouth by Mona Arshi
Jonah and Me by John F. Deane
Minx by Karen Downs-Barton
At Beckett's Grave by Robin Durnford
The Inferno by Lorna Goodison
The Ruins by Ye Hui
Men of the Same Name by Evan Jones
Cold Thief Place by Esther Lin
Archivium by Theresa Munoz
Plenitude by Thomas McCarthy
The Anchorage by Bernard O'Donoghue
Namanlagh by Tom Paulin
Unravel by Tolu Oloruntoba
Banquet by Stav Poleg
Fenestration by Othuke Umukoro

In fiction and memoirs, Scholastique Mukasonga, an internationally renowned Rwandan writer living in France, has extraordinarily memorialized her horrific family tragedy during the 1994 Tutsi genocide, when 37 family members--including her mother--were massacred. In Murmurs from the Hills: Rwandan Tales, which reunites her with lauded author/translator Mark Polizzotti for a third collaboration (after Kibogo and Sister Deborah), Mukasonga pivots from that specific violence to entwine personal experiences and mythical events into six exceptional short stories.

The first-person narrator of the opening story, "The Rukarara," is named Scholastique Mukasonga, and her mother is Stefania, which is also Mukasonga's late mother's name. The story is filled with autobiographical details--Scholastique's birth "on the banks of the Rukarara," her family's removal from their native village, their years as "internal refugees," her struggles as an adult to return home, writing her novel Our Lady of the Nile. Into that intimacy, she then interlaces the journey of German explorer Dr. Richard Kandt (born Kantorowicz), notable for reaching the source of the Rukarara and declaring it to be the source of the Nile in 1898, as part of the colonial legacy he left behind.

In "The Wood of the Cross," a Rwandan sociology student writes a story for a white lover that he'll "likely never read," revealing the provenance of what he dismissively calls her "juju"--a pendant of sacred wood worn around her waist, bestowed by her mother. "Titicarabi" involves an enchantingly loquacious talking dog "in another Africa that was not Rwanda," a French song title, and a son's unwanted, discarded nickname. A schoolgirl finally hears the whole story, in "King Musinga's Cow," of how her grandfather was given a royal cow from the titular king, who resisted and was subsequently dethroned by the colonial Belgian administration. In "Misfortune," a small town blames all their calamities and catastrophes on a single woman, who was named "She-of-misfortune" by her own father because she was not born a boy. "Cyprien the Mutwa," about the young community outcast, gets a thoroughly satisfying resolution in the last paragraph.

As she always has, Mukasonga writes clearly and affectingly of difficult history, deftly inserting--without didactic pronouncements--references to German colonialism, Belgian domination, forced Christian catechism, racial segregation, and fatal bloodshed. Remarkable, too, is her seamless ability to integrate gentle levity and surprising humor. Expressive, startling, poignant, Mukasonga's stories capture a Rwanda long vanished, superbly recorded to enjoy in perpetuity. --Terry Hong

Shelf Talker: Scholastique Mukasonga's Murmurs from the Hills features six exceptional stories that together create a remarkable mosaic of Rwanda's difficult history.

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

1. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau)
2. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Atria)
3. The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans (Crown)
4. Whistler: A Novel by Ann Patchett (Harper)
5. Yesteryear: A Novel by Caro Claire Burke (Knopf)
6. The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (Harper Muse)
7. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (St. Martin's Press)
8. Culpability: A Novel by Bruce Holsinger (Spiegel & Grau)
9. Wild Dark Shore: A Novel by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron)
10: Buckeye: A Novel by Patrick Ryan (Random House)

Rising Stars:
The Road to Tender Hearts: A Novel by Annie Hartnett (Ballantine Books)
Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor by Christine Kuehn (Celadon Books)