Linda-Marie Barrett

Linda-Marie Barrett has been named executive director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, effective June 16. SIBA's search committee and board of directors noted that Barrett "brings a strong strategic vision to the organization at a time when the book industry is adapting to a rapidly evolving environment."

She succeeds retiring longtime head Wanda Jewell, who said, "I'm leaving SIBA in better hands than my own, and that feels really good. I couldn't be more delighted."

SIBA's executive director search committee "has completed an exhaustive pursuit," said committee member Shane Gottwals of Gottwals Books, Byron, Ga. "While we talked to many qualified and motivated candidates, it was abundantly clear that Linda-Marie Barrett is just the right person to lead SIBA. She knows the industry and can relate to the needs of core members in an unparalleled way."

Barrett brings three decades of industry experience to her new position, including work at all levels, from frontline bookseller to senior buyer, manager and co-owner of Malaprop's Bookstore/Café in Asheville, N.C. While at Malaprop's, she played a leading role as a bookseller advocate and activist. In addition, she is a past SIBA board member and has worked extensively with the American Booksellers Association, serving on the Bookseller Advisory Council and as a presenter at Winter Institute. For the past three years, she has been SIBA's assistant executive director.

Barrett observed: "During this very dynamic time in our industry, SIBA needs, more than ever, to offer programming that addresses current member needs. This means being in constant conversation with member bookstores to hear what's happening 'on the ground,' looking outside our industry for opportunities, and considering new partnerships in communities, and regionally. My passion, and SIBA's primary goal, is to give booksellers the tools they need to be successful and achieve their dreams. I'm so honored to be taking on this role and look forward to working with the SIBA board and all our member bookstores to see what possibilities we can create together."

Writing in support of Barrett's selection, Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books, with stores in southern Florida and the Cayman Islands, and former president of the American Booksellers Association, observed: "My admiration for Linda-Marie runs deep. She possesses a rare core of qualities that will guarantee success in this new position; she's incredibly organized, creative, entrepreneurial, and passionate about independent bookselling, and independent bookselling in the South, to be specific."

Gottwals noted that SIBA "stands like a beacon in the world of regional trade associations because of Wanda Jewell's 30 years of dedication. Our new executive director has a mighty legacy to follow, but Linda-Marie Barrett has the skills and experience required to keep us shining brightly for many years to come."

Odyssey Books, an independent bookstore in downtown Ithaca, N.Y., will have its soft opening this month, followed by a grand opening in mid-April, Ithaca.com reported.

Owner Laura Larson plans to carry something for everyone, and she hopes to turn her store into a communal space where readers can attend things like author signings and genre-specific events. The store will sell all new titles and have a large section devoted to plays.

"I believe bookstores are an excellent place for people to come together and both find what they have in common and get to know each other," Larson told Ithaca.com.

While Larson has no prior experience in bookselling, she's been a lifelong reader and has dreamed of owning her own bookstore for a long time. She's had to wade through a lot of red tape while doing renovations on her space, but now is on track for an opening this month.

Larson added that she wanted the bookstore to feel specific to the community, saying: "I want this bookstore to be like 'this is an Ithaca store, we celebrate Ithaca and all things Ithaca.' I love that there is a boat and a lake. It's about journeys and travels. And, honestly, I'm on my own little journey."

Bookselling Without Borders has announced the recipients of its indie bookseller fellowships to attend three international book fairs held this spring. However, because of the coronavirus outbreak, some changes have been made: Bookselling Without Borders will forgo the Bologna Children's Book Fair and the Turin Book Fair this year (but will partner with both again next year).

The recipients of Bookselling Without Borders fellowships to attend the Bogotá International Book Fair, April 21-May 6, in Bogotá, Colombia, are:

Ida Cuttler of Women and Children First, Chicago, Ill.
Michelle Malonzo of Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Ariz.
Stephen Sparks of Point Reyes Books, Point Reyes Station, Calif. (who will attend the 2021 Bogotá Fair)

Cuttler commented: "As a bookseller at a feminist independent bookstore, I am ecstatic about the opportunity to meet and engage with other booksellers who are excited about feminism in international literature. I am also looking forward to learning how I, as a bookseller, can best promote women's voices from around the world to my local community!"

Malonzo said: "Reading beyond ourselves, our experiences, our language and comfort zones is vital to understanding our world. It is important for us to examine and discuss how we in the industry consume, publish and market international fiction and nonfiction. This is an invaluable opportunity, and I'm proud to be a part of this program."

The recipients for the Turin Book Fair, May 14-18, are:

Justin Souther of Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, N.C., who will attend next year's Turin fair
Emma Ramadan of Riffraff, Providence, R.I., who will attend the Frankfurt Book Fair this fall

Ramadan commented: "Reading literature in translation has been a huge part of how I've come to understand myself and the world around me. When my co-owner and I opened our bookstore Riffraff, highlighting diverse and marginalized voices from around the world was our main priority. I am very excited to be a Bookselling Without Borders fellow this year so that I can gain a better understanding of the international book scene and use this knowledge to more effectively share literature from the world over with those in my bookstore's community.'

For the Bologna Children's Book Fair, which was postponed this year, Bookselling Without Borders will be back in Bologna in 2021 and urges booksellers to reapply next year.

The scholarships enable booksellers to take part in a program of specially designed tours, panel discussions, and meetings with international authors, publishers, and booksellers. With these scholarships, Bookselling Without Borders aims to connect booksellers to the global literary conversation and through them to widen Americans' perspectives of diverse and international literature.

Bookselling Without Borders is supported by Akashic Books, Catapult, Counterpoint, Europa Editions, Graywolf Press, Milkweed Editions, Other Press, Princeton University Press, Restless Books, Rutgers University Press, Seagull Books, Seven Stories Press, Soft Skull, Shambhala Publications and the University of Chicago Press.

Others can support the program here.

Applications are now being accepted for Indies with Impact, an grant to fund a community outreach project for an independent bookstore working with a community nonprofit or organization of its choice. The Book Industry Charitable Foundation is partnering with Penguin Random House, which has made a $1,500 donation, "to create and implement a program that strengthens their local community and encourages a passion for reading."

Bookstores can work with local schools, libraries, or nonprofits. The organizers said projects and partnerships should focus strongly on community needs and the bookstore's values and mission. Applications will be accepted until May 2, with a winner announced at the end of May.

To apply, bookstores must meet eligibility in one of these categories: A U.S. retail brick and mortar store (with a substantial portion of its revenue derived from the sale of books); or a mobile or pop-up bookstore which is open to the general public and maintains an annual average of 30 hours per week with a bookseller present. The community nonprofit or organization must be a different organization than the bookstore.

"This initiative sponsors the work of booksellers who are striving to make meaningful contributions to their communities," said Jaci Updike, president of sales for PRH U.S. "We are excited to continue our efforts to bolster community engagement and literacy by supporting independent bookstores in partnership with Binc."

Binc executive director Pam French added: "We are pleased to offer this award in conjunction with Penguin Random House for the second year. We understand the significant role every bookstore plays within their community so being able to help strengthen their community partnerships is exciting and rewarding."

Sarah MacLachlan

Sarah MacLachlan, president and publisher of House of Anansi Press, will leave the company at the end of June after 16 years at the helm. She joined the Canadian publisher as president in 2003, not long after Scott Griffin bought House of Anansi out of the General Publishing bankruptcy.

"Sarah has done an outstanding job as president and publisher of Anansi over many years and we are most grateful to her," Griffin said. "I am confident that the newly expanded team who are replacing her will take Anansi and Groundwood into the next phase of literary excellence."

"When I arrived at Anansi we had five employees and three titles on the coming forward list," MacLachlan recalled. "With the exception of our tremendous backlist we were to all intents and purposes a start-up."

Since then the company has grown significantly, acquiring Groundwood Books in 2005. MacLachlan became president of both companies, and in 2010 was appointed publisher of the Anansi list. Currently Anansi and Groundwood publish between 80 and 90 new titles per year, with an office of 37 employees. "I am so proud of what we've been able to achieve here at Anansi and Groundwood," said MacLachlan, "Over the years I have had the privilege of working with the most talented creators and the best people in the business. I have been truly blessed in my career, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this exceptional publishing house."

Groundwood publisher Semareh Al-Hillal will become president of Anansi and Groundwood. Bruce Walsh, who was most recently at University of Regina Press, will be publisher of Anansi and Karen Li, currently editorial director at Owlkids Books, will be publisher of Groundwood. Start dates for their new positions will be staggered over the next three months.

McNally Jackson at the South Street Seaport in New York City hosted the launch of Mark Kurlansky's Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate (Patagonia). The event featured Kurlansky (l.) in conversation with Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish, American Catch, and The Omega Principle.

The Raven Book Store, Lawrence, Kan., tweeted a handy list of "Tips for When the News Makes You Anxious":

→Turn off your phone
→Bury it in a drawer
→Wash your hands
→Go outside
→Take a walk
→Why not head downtown?
→Ah, here’s a bookstore
→Gosh it’s nice in here
→Look at all these books
→They have a cat!
→What were we talking about?

Ten independent booksellers from across the U.K. will "spend the night in a hotel burning the midnight oil with a limited edition proof of the new Elena Ferrante novel," the Bookseller reported. 

To celebrate the forthcoming publication of The Lying Life of Adults, translated by Ann Goldstein (June 9), Europa Editions launched a contest through the Independent Alliance newsletter, inviting indie booksellers from around the U.K. to enter for a chance to win a night in a Malmaison hotel of their choice, reading a limited edition proof.

The winners are Gayle Lazda of the London Review Bookshop; Pauline Giacomelli-Harris of Warwick Books; Sheryl Shurville of the Chorleywood Bookshop; Sue Porter of Linghams Bookshop; Fleur Sinclaire of Sevenoaks Bookshop; James Routledge of Forum Books; Julie Danskin of Golden Hare Bookshop; Jo Coldwell of Red Lion Books; Victoria Rossiter of Rossiter Books and Sandra Foy of Urmston Books.

"The lucky booksellers will be provided with a welcome hamper and breakfast the next morning," Europa said. "We are asking them to leave the proof behind at checkout time, and hope they will be moved to pen their comments on the title page. We'll treasure those copies."

"From Goa to Guwahati, here's where you should go if you love books and coffee!" Outlook Traveller noted in showcasing "12 bookstore cafes in India for the bibliophile in you." Included were spots where "you can sit around with your favorite book over a cup of tea, or enjoy sharing ideas with book club members, or take part in some of the interesting events they hold from time to time." 

War and Peas: Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers by Jonathan Kunz and Elizabeth Pich (Andrews McMeel).

German filmmaker Uli Edel (The Baader Meinhof Complex, Last Exit to Brooklyn) will direct Heisenberg, based on the book The Night of the Physicists: Operation Epsilon: Heisenberg, Hahn, Weizsäcker and the German Bomb by Richard von Schirach, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Marco Wiersch will adapt the book. KJ Entertainment, Fireworks Entertainment and Film Manufactures will produce Heisenberg with Kathrin Lohmann, Marian Redmann and Katharina Otto-Bernstein as producers. Principal photography is planned for early 2021.

HBO released a teaser trailer and announced an April 27 premiere date for I Know This Much Is True, based on Wally Lamb’s bestselling novel and starring Mark Ruffalo, Variety reported. The six-part limited series is written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, who also serves as executive producer along with Ben Browning and Glen Basner for FilmNation Entertainment, Ruffalo for Willi Hill Productions, Gregg Fienberg, Lynette Howell Taylor, Anya Epstein and Lamb.

The finalists are of the Hayek Book Prize, sponsored by the Manhattan Institute and honoring "authors who best represent the principles of F.A. Hayek," are:

Austerity: When It Works and When It Doesn't by Alberto Alesina, Carlo Favero, and Francesco Giavazzi (Princeton University Press)
Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero by Tyler Cowen (St. Martin's Press)
The Conservative Sensibility by George F. Will (Hachette Books)
Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography series by Charles Moore (Allen Lane/Penguin UK)
Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy by Anders Åslund (Yale University Press)

The winner, who will receive a $50,000 award, will be announced in the spring and will deliver the annual Hayek lecture in New York in June.

Juli Delgado Lopera is a Colombian writer and historian who lives in San Francisco. Delgado Lopera is the author of Quiéreme and the illustrated, bilingual oral history collection ¡Cuéntamelo!, which won a 2018 Lambda Literary Award and a 2018 Independent Publisher Book Award. They are the recipient of the 2014 Jackson Literary Award and have received fellowships from the Brush Creek Foundation of the Arts, Lambda Literary Foundation, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the SF Grotto and an individual artist grant from the SF Arts Commission. Their work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Eleven Eleven, Foglifter, Four Way Review, Broadly and TimeOut, among others. Delgado Lopera is formerly the creative director of RADAR Productions, a queer literary nonprofit in San Francisco. Their novel Fiebre Tropical was recently published by Amethyst Editions/Feminist Press. 

On your nightstand now:

Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker and Nuevas Lecciones de Histeria de Colombia by Daniel Samper Pizano. Both are books I'm reading as research for a new novel I'm writing. One is a memoir of a teenager, the other is a lesson on Colombia's history. Both are irreverent, honest and funny--everything I love in a book.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Encyclopedias about dogs! I was obsessed with dogs then. I had magic powers and could speak to the stray dogs that lived on my block. The librarians at my all-girls Catholic school in Bogotá would save all the dog books for me. I'd take meticulous notes and file them.

Your top five authors:

Pedro Lemebel--my sissy literary mother (although I never met him). Pedro Lemebel blew the world of language open for me with his maricón rococo tucu-tucu. He had no interest in clean, straightforward language, no interest in following the (masculine) tradition of Latinamerican voice, but rather in the embellishment of story like it's a bolero singing from the page. His use of Chilean slang is precious.

Rita Indiana--Rita taught me about rhythm. How do you write a novel that reads like a merengue? A novel that you can feel echando paso as you read? That's Rita.

Alison Bechdel--I discovered Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For as an undergrad while procrastinating in the stacks of UC Berkeley's library. I wanted to be a dyke to watch out for! Bechdel's complex--and hilarious-- lesbian world was everything I needed at a crucial time in my life when I wanted my experience echoed back. Here's is a cartoonist who brings the heart of every character with a just few strokes. And her dialogue! Like what? Lesbians can be this funny?

Miriam Toews--A Complicated Kindness is one of my favorite books. Toews writing feels like a spiral. You're taken on this hilarious emo trip until you realize it is dark, eerie and you're depressed--I love it.  

Joseph Cassara--The House of Impossible Beauties wins on voice y punto. Cassara elevates the potential of queer slang to another level. The writing in that book is so delicious, I literally wanted to eat it up. The voices of the characters are so strong, so precise, full and big that I remember them chatting it up in my head long after I had put down the book.

Book you've faked reading:

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I tried! But could not finish (or even begin).

Book you're an evangelist for:

Anything by Lynda Barry. I love the way she breaks down our relationship with the imagination, how intensely she advocates for us to return to our imaginative child roots. Lynda Barry breaks down the wall of adulthood by giving us permission to dream, imagine, doodle as part of engaging and connecting with life.

Book you've bought for the cover:

I'm such a cover junkie. Meaning, I care deeply about aesthetics. Bogotálogo by Andrés Ospina is a "dictionary" of slang use specifically in Bogotá, which is where I was born and raised. With incredible sass, Ospina maps the world of language that birthed me. The cover is a woman behind a typewriter giving us 1950s Criolla Secretaria Realness.

Book you hid from your parents:

Most of them! I grew up with very religious parents.

Book that changed your life:

Adiós Mariquita Linda by Pedro Lemebel. Lemebel is a genius, and if he didn't get as much international praise when he was alive, it was only because the literary establishment is, well, white and straight. This book is a collection of "crónicas" from his sissy life. Personal, political and juicy.

Favorite line from a book:

"Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your own hand. Aloneness was the air in your tires, the wind in your hair. You didn't have to go looking for it with open arms. With open arms, you fell off the bike: I was drinking my wine too quickly." --Bark by Lorrie Moore

Five books you'll never part with:

Ariel by Sylvia Plath (hello, angsty teenager)

The Essential of Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel--I collect Bechdel's comics.

Papi by Rita Indiana

All of my Pedro Lemebel books

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Anything by Lorrie Moore.

Providence, Max Barry's follow-up to the immensely entertaining Lexicon, is yet another example of his ability to deliver big ideas in the form of breathlessly efficient sci-fi thrillers. The title comes from the name of the enormous spaceship, Providence Five, that carries the novel's four protagonists into a far-off war against aliens, colloquially called "salamanders." The spaceship largely runs itself, thanks to an advanced artificial intelligence, leaving the crew members to stew in routine and boredom. At first, the story belongs to a long tradition of books and films about isolated spacefarers slowly going insane, but Providence adds a number of twists and turns.

The artificial intelligence pilots Providence Five deep into enemy territory, and its powerful weapons kill hundreds of thousands of salamanders before they can put up a fight. Barry's futuristic warfare is conducted at a dispassionate remove that echoes the modern use of drones and missile strikes. Meanwhile, the crew engages in a propaganda offensive: posting messages on social media to maintain public support for a hugely expensive war with uncertain goals.

Readers will not have trouble picking apart the political commentary baked into the plot, but Providence pushes past easy contemporary parallels to concern itself with existential questions of free will and purpose. The crew members are hostages to the artificial intelligence's decision-making, which is perhaps as alien and incomprehensible as the salamanders themselves. In their abundant free time, the crew are left to ponder how much influence they really have over the direction of their lives. One of the characters advances a theory that the war is something close to a fundamental process: "the war isn't even between people and salamanders. It's between human genes and salamander genes. They're just using us to fight it, as their throwaway survival machines."

In some ways, Providence is a reverse 2001: A Space Odyssey. Instead of a cruel and dispassionate AI, the main threat to the crew seems to be themselves. Anders starts playing dangerous games with ninja stars and disappearing into the bowels of the ship, Gilly becomes obsessively focused on small malfunctions plaguing the ship, Talia struggles with her increasing loneliness, and their commander, Jackson, is consumed by the trauma and regret of a battlefield disaster. Barry skips between each character's point of view, showing the crew's dysfunction from every angle.

For all the novel's heady ideas, Barry maintains a nonstop pace and an economical, riveting prose style. Though the subject matter can be heavy, Providence is ultimately a lot of fun, easily read in a sitting or two. As always, Barry excels at hitting the sweet spot between brainy and entertaining. --Hank Stephenson, manuscript reader, the Sun magazine

Shelf Talker: This smart and fun take on military science fiction meditates on the increasingly dispassionate nature of warfare, in the form of a crackerjack thriller set deep in enemy territory.

The scope of devastation wrought by tornadoes earlier this week in Tennessee is nearly unfathomable, but for people who live in the region it now must be fathomed and responded to. This week Shelf Awareness has shared news updates on book-related businesses there as we have learned details. Yesterday we heard from Lisa and Dave Uhrik, owners of Franklin Fixtures in Cookeville, center of the deadliest strike.

Dave and Lisa Uhrik

"While Nashville had significant damage, it is our home and headquarters about 80 miles east making national news as the worst tornado in America in seven years," Lisa Uhrik said. "Four more bodies were pulled from the hundreds of homes yesterday, representing all but three of the 28 deaths.... Many children displaced and schools remain closed. Our town is in a state of national emergency and the focus of CNN and all major news outlets. There are three book drives and thousands of volunteers."

Franklin Fixtures "is feeling the love from our customers and colleagues across the country," she added. "The tornado's path went right by our plant--yards--and right over our house but just didn't touch down."

Tornado damage in Cookeville.

An e-mail blast sent out Wednesday by the Uhriks expressed gratitude "for the outpouring of support and inquiries we've had from our bookstore and library customers and colleagues. Finding ourselves at the epicenter of the state's worst such disaster in history is surreal. Our physical plant and personal home were both in the direct path of the tornadoes, but thankfully untouched. Our employees lost family members. None have lost homes or been injured. As we write there remain many who are missing and do not have a count on the hundreds that are displaced with loss of homes." Cookeville Strong, which is collecting all of the giving mechanisms and volunteer efforts, has also highlighted several GoFundMe accounts.

Franklin Fixtures is coordinating a book drive with Terry Gant of Walls of Books and Phil Shaller of the Putnam County Public Library's Cookeville and Baxter branches, as well as Tennessee Tech University's education department. Uhrik noted that particularly needed are titles for children and adults "that can help the community find new strength and inspiration." She cited A Terrible Thing Happened by Margaret M. Holmes as an example, adding: "We'd love to hear from you--our book experts--about other titles you recommend for children who have been through traumatic events."

She described the book community's response thus far as "heartwarming. Peter Glassman at Books of Wonder [in Manhattan] wrote a thoughtful e-mail this morning with the promise of curated books... remembering 9-11 and the hurricane and offering empathy and support. His was among dozens of responses from our customers yesterday."

While there has not been an official count yet on the number of people who lost homes to the tornado, Uhrik said, "Our daughter's house was demolished--their good friends stayed inside a central room while the house was demolished around them and the six of them miraculously survived."

As a company dedicated to independent booksellers, libraries and museum stores, Franklin Fixtures' goal now "is to help through literacy because when tragedy strikes, we need to see and find hope among the wreckage.... Our company is also providing food for thousands of volunteers with the support of our partner Five Star, places to rest (employees are offering spare rooms and one is offering their AirBNB cabin for as long as needed) and counseling services for those who need to think through their next steps."

In addition, they are offering bookshelves for homes affected as the tornado victims begin to rebuild, as well as giving counsel and assistance to people in an affordable housing apartment complex that was obliterated.

The tragic losses are far more than structural, however. "One of our employees (Ralph Smith) lost a niece, who was crushed as she slept," Uhrik said. "We are focusing on her six-year-old son Logan and on gifting him a library. The funeral will be this weekend."

She observed: "We are thankful and passionate about using our assets to help those who were not so fortunate and thankful for the web of booksellers across the country who know the restorative power of books... when we have no words, we give the wise words of others."

To donate books for distribution through the Red Cross center, Walls of Books or Franklin Fixtures, send them to Franklin Fixtures, 621 Maxwell Street, Cookeville, TN 38501.

"We will receive and acknowledge any donations and let you know who is in receipt of them," Uhrik said, adding: "As I look around our community in Cookeville, I'm moved with pride at the displays of giving and humanity. In the midst of Super Tuesday there were only the politics of people in service of other people. And for us here at Franklin, we have the benefit of being surrounded by a cloud of customers and colleagues in a world unlike any other--this world of books, where we share a kinship and secret knowledge that our paths through this sometimes difficult world are aided by that treasured map of a book in hand. We have a super power in the face of things like this--that of putting shelves and books into the worlds of folks that have lost theirs."