"It's a small tribe we belong to; we have to do all we can to foster it. And also to discover what has been ignored."

Texian Books, a bookstore with a focus on contemporary fiction, children's literature and books about Texas or by Texas authors, has opened in Victoria, Tex., the Victoria Advocate reported.

The store is owned by Eveline Bethune and her husband, Kenneth Bethune, who own a variety of businesses in Victoria, including a clothing and accessory store and a distillery. Eveline Bethune told the Advocate that they decided to open Texian Books "in part to fill the gap left when Hastings closed in 2016."

The Bethunes opened Texian Books not in a conventional storefront but in an historic home in Victoria. For now, the store's inventory is small, with about 800 titles. The store is open only three days per week and, because it is in a residential neighborhood, visits are by appointment only. According to Bethune, the store may expand its inventory or even move into downtown Victoria depending on customer feedback.

The owners plan to have an adult-focused book club as well as a storytime for children, and Bethune will start a book subscription service in which she sends customers two books per month. The store's first event was a grand opening celebration last Thursday that featured hors d'oeuvres and cocktails.

"People can come and read and stay as long as they'd like," Bethune told the Advocate. "It's set up just like my house would be, so it really feel like a home."

A GoFundMe campaign created to save LEMS Life Enrichment Bookstore in Seattle, Wash., the last black-owned bookstore focused on the African diaspora in the Pacific Northwest, has raised more than $46,000 from almost 1,000 people since its launch in late February.

The campaign was created by Estelita's Library, a social justice community bookstore and library located in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood. The campaign's creators hope to raise a total of $75,000, which would allow them to pay off the bookstore's back rent, cover one additional year of rent for the bookstore and "re-ignite the bookstore services" by bringing Estelita's Library into the space and creating a small co-working space for communities of color.

LEMS was founded more than 20 years ago by Vickie Williams, who ran the store until her death in 2017. When LEMS first opened it was a Christian bookstore, and later became the Learning Educational Materials and Software (LEMS) bookstore, wrote the Seattle Times in an obituary of Williams. Over time, Williams added more children's books and literature by writers such as James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. LEMS has been in its current storefront since about 2008; prior to that it moved numerous times.

Estelita's Library, meanwhile, was founded in May 2018 by Edwin Lindo. The bookstore/library and community space has more than 300 active members, according to the Seattle Globalist.

Brier Books, Lexington, Ky., is closing its bricks-and-mortar location and has begun discounting inventory and selling fixtures, the store announced on Facebook. Brier Books will continue to take special orders online as well as do pop-ups and off-site events. The store added: "We love good books and love supporting local writers, so we're exploring our options."

Savannah Sipple and Jay McCoy founded Brier Books in 2017 after the closure of Wyn Morris's Morris Book Shop, which McCoy had managed for several years. The pair had tried to buy the Morris Book Shop, but when that didn't work out, they opened their store down the road from it.

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) is conducting a survey "to hear from booksellers about what they want and need from this organization that is dedicated to helping them. This survey will provide valuable insight into what booksellers' current needs and experiences are."

The survey runs through April 6 and is estimated to take 10 minutes to complete. All book industry professionals (publishers, booksellers, store owners, authors and book lovers) are invited to take the survey. (Fill out the survey here.) Participants will be eligible to win a grand prize of a $200 gift card to the indie bookstore of their choice, or one of four $50 American Express gift cards. The results of the survey will be released in June.

This marks Binc's third industry-wide survey, following surveys in 2014 and 2016. Those surveys identified "addition circumstances where booksellers needed help," Binc said. "As a result, Binc expanded its programs to include matching grants, homelessness prevention, utility shut-off prevention, and store disaster recovery assistance. These programs, which grew directly from survey responses, have since provided many booksellers a path to stabilizing their households and bookstore finances after a disaster or personal hardship."

Binc executive director Pam French added: "Binc is here to serve booksellers, and with the feedback we receive from them and industry professionals through our survey, we become better equipped to act on our mission--which is providing a financial safety net for booksellers. We cannot overstate how much we value the feedback we receive, so I encourage everyone to participate in this year's survey. Binc is your foundation and we want to hear from you so we can better serve your needs."

Rachel Ingalls, an American writer living in London who "toiled for most of her life in obscurity" until 1986 when the British Book Marketing Council named Mrs. Caliban (1982) one of the 20 best novels by living American writers after World War II, died March 6, the New York Times reported. She was 78.

Although Ingalls earned some recognition, "it was fleeting. She never sought the limelight, and it rarely found her," the Times wrote. In late 2017, however, editors at New Directions rediscovered and reissued Mrs. Caliban in the U.S., where it "won a new round of flattering reviews... and suddenly an Ingalls revival was underway." Last month, New Directions reissued Binstead's Safari (1983). Her 11 books also include Times Like These; The Pearlkillers; Something to Write Home About; Be My Guest; and Theft.

Despite a cancer diagnosis in her late 70s, she began to enjoy the recognition that had long eluded her. Sarah Daughn, her sister, said Ingalls "was so happy" as her stories gained wider readership and "felt she was getting to say everything she wanted to say."

In the Chicago Tribune, author John Warner wrote: "I had been hotly anticipating the release of Binstead's Safari ever since reading Mrs. Caliban, and here it is, just as the author is not around to appreciate its reappearance. It's a bitter pill. I'd been wanting to write about the brilliance of Mrs. Caliban for just about year. There is a file on my computer with the start of a column from last May. I decided not to finish it, because it wasn't timely, since the reissue of Mrs. Caliban had been out for a year and Binstead's Safari wouldn't be out for another 10 months. I regret it now. Why would I worry about making sure my discussion of a book is timely when we know that the books we most treasure are timeless?"

On Friday, Stanford University Press hosted Jeff Deutsch, director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago, for the press's first visiting bookseller program. Deutsch spoke with staff from production, sales, marketing and acquisitions about publishing from a bookseller's point of view. Pictured: Alan Harvey, director of Stanford University Press; Kate Templar, sales and exhibits manager; Jeff Deutsch; and Kate Wahl, publishing director, editor-in-chief.

In a story "Orlando Named One of Best Places to Live in America, Report Says," ClickOrlando.com noted that Orlando ranked No. 17 of the 100 best U.S. cities to live in, according to a study by Livability and Ipsos.

Singled out in the article was Writers Block Bookstore, Winter Park, Fla., as "the beloved bookstore of the area."

Congratulations to Eric Kelley, who on April 1 celebrates 40 years as owner of the Book Den, the new and used bookstore in Santa Barbara, Calif. He and business partner Michael Isador bought the store from previous owners Richard and Susan Phelps in 1979, when it mainly sold used books. Kelley bought out Isador in 1984. Since then, the Book Den has moved next door (and back again), opened a second store, in Isla Vista (and closed it), computerized its inventory, started selling books on the Internet, and added a large selection of new books to its offerings.

The Book Den was founded in 1902 and has been in downtown Santa Barbara since 1933. As Kelley wrote, "Like most successful bookstores, the Book Den owes much of its success to its customers--the generations of Santa Barbarans who have known the store all their lives, the visitors who say the Book Den is the first place they go when visiting Santa Barbara, and all those who have given their books a second or third life by selling them to the Book Den.

"Beyond that, the reasons for success and longevity fall mostly under the heading of innovation, the constant small changes that improve the look and operation of the store. In the past four decades, the Book Den has been through three sets of fixtures and furniture. The inventory system is like-wise on its third generation, the current one largely written in-house. The Book Den website lists every book in stock. And two decades of sales data help the buyers build a deep inventory of books in high demand, with little dead wood cluttering the shelves."

Keith Arsenault has joined commission group Chesapeake & Hudson as New England field sales rep, replacing Jill Cadogan. With more than 25 years of publishing experience in independent bookstores and a variety of marketing and sales roles, he was most recently national account manager for PGW/Ingram Content Group, selling to Barnes & Noble.

What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forché (Penguin Press).

Today:
Today Show: Alice Paul Tapper, author of Raise Your Hand (Penguin Workshop, $17.99, 9781524791209). She will also appear on CNN's New Day.

Fresh Air: J.M. Berger, co-author of ISIS: The State of Terror (Ecco, $15.99, 9780062395559).

NPR's Here & Now: Lizzie Post, author of Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, from Dispensaries to Dinner Parties (Ten Speed Press, $18.99, 9780399582394).

Hannity: George Papadopoulos, author of Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump (Diversion Books, $28.99, 9781635764932). He will also appear tomorrow on Fox & Friends and MSNBC's the Beat with Ari Melber.

Tomorrow:
Today Show: Anuradha Bhagwati, author of Unbecoming: A Memoir of Disobedience (Atria, $27, 9781501162541).

The View: Elisabeth Hasselbeck, author of Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work, Faith, and Freedom (WaterBrook, $23, 9780525652762).

Daily Show: Bobby Hall, author of Supermarket (Simon & Schuster, $17.99, 9781982127138).

Tate Ellington (The Brave) "is returning to NBC as a series regular opposite Russell Hornsby and Arielle Kebbel in Lincoln, a drama pilot based on Jeffery Deaver's bestselling the Bone Collector book series," Deadline reported.

Written by V.J. Boyd and Mark Bianculli and directed by Seth Gordon, the series features forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme, played by Hornsby. He forms a partnership with Amelia Sachs (played by Kebbel), "a young beat cop who helps him hunt the deadly mastermind while also taking on the most high-profile cases in the NYPD," Deadline wrote. Michael Imperioli co-stars.

Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials series, among other works, has won the J.M. Barrie Award, honoring "a lifetime's achievement in delighting children," the Bookseller reported.

Vicky Ireland, chair of Action for Children's Arts, which sponsors the award, praised Pullman for "his outstanding talent as a storyteller who appeals to all ages, especially to the young. We consider him a magical, magnificent spinner of yarns, who for many years has pulled his readers and audiences in by the power of his imagination to explore realms of wonder and adventure."

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Yesterday at NCIBA's Spring Workshop/ABA Forum, Martin Cruz Smith received his lifetime achievement award. From l.: Luisa Smith of Book Passage; Martin Cruz Smith; NCIBA executive director Calvin Crosby; Nell Smith; Em Smith.

The winners of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association's 2018 Golden Poppy Awards, recognizing "the most distinguished books published by Northern California writers and artists," are:

Lifetime Achievement: Martin Cruz Smith
Regional Title: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (Knopf)
Regional Title Honorable Mention: Carleton Watkins: Making the West American by Tyler Green (University of California Press)
Fiction: There There by Tommy Orange (Knopf)
Non Fiction: How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (Penguin Press)
Martin Cruz Smith Award in Suspense/Mystery: Through the Bookstore Window by Bill Petrocelli (Rare Bird)
Martin Cruz Smith Award in Suspense/Mystery Honorable Mention: To Die but Once: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper)
Poetry: Cenzontle by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo (BOA Editions)
Food: Season: Wine Country Food, Farming, and Friends by Justin Wangler, Tracey Shepos Cenami, with Tucker Taylor and Jackson Family Wines (Cameron and Company)
Young Adult: Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone (Disney-Hyperion)
Middle Reader: Love, Penelope by Joanne Rocklin (Amulet Books)
Picture Book: Boats on the Bay by Jeanne Walker Harvey (Cameron Kids)
Mirrors and Windows Honorees:
Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert (Disney-Hyperion)
Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love (Candlewick Press)

In Mind Fixers: Psychiatry's Troubled Search for the Biology of Mental Illness, historian of science Anne Harrington illuminates a complicated history that has had profound, if not entirely recognized, effects on American culture.

Mind Fixers is organized into three parts. The first is a comprehensive history of the profession of psychiatry from the 1870s to the 1970s. This hundred-year era saw incredible breakthroughs, such as the early discovery of the bacteria that causes "syphilitic dementia"; the development of transformative psychiatric medications; and important research on the roles that neurotransmitters and genetics can play in mental illness. But it was also defined by a snarl of professional rivalries and competing ideologies, and promoted practices that ranged from ethically dubious (over- and mis-prescription) to unspeakably cruel (lobotomies and eugenics). For decades, the profession shifted uneasily between rigidly biological approaches and misguided social ones, often at the expense of patients' humanity.

Harrington deepens the nonlinear nature of this history in the second part of the book by focusing on psychiatry's attempts to understand and treat three different illnesses in biomedical terms: schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.

In part three, Harrington shows that the 1980s marked a turning point, as the discipline's "biological revolutionaries" shook off the grip of lingering Freudian ideologies and took the discipline firmly in the direction of neuroscience, biochemistry and--of course--drugs. But, Harrington argues, this "optimistic biological psychiatry" unraveled in the 1990s and 2000s, in part because the profession's relationship with the pharmaceutical industry became increasingly problematic, and even more importantly, consistent biological bases for mental illness have remained elusive.

This history is compelling on its own, but it's crucial for understanding Harrington's conclusion and, arguably, her motivation for writing this book. She suggests a constructive, bold vision for the future of the profession--one that she admits would require "great professional and ethical courage." Strikingly she calls upon psychiatry to engage seriously with research in the social sciences and even the humanities "to ensure that, even as it retains its focus on biological processes and disease, it seeks to understand ways that human brain functioning, disordered or not, is sensitive to culture and context."

Deeply researched and thoughtfully organized, Mind Fixers is far from a myopic, academic slog. Instead, Harrington--with the rigor of a scholar, the drive of a reformer and the benefit of an outsider's perspective--cracks the insular discipline of psychiatry open, confronts its sometimes dark history and connects its professional identity issues to policies and campaigns that have played major roles in the lives of Americans since the 19th century. --Hannah Calkins, writer and editor

Shelf Talker: Mind Fixers will captivate those interested in mental illness, the history of medicine and the scientific, cultural and political ramifications of psychiatry's shifting professional identity.