"Sometimes, after what objectively is a good day--orders in the door, orders out the door, financial planning done, virtual event proposals submitted, Zoom meetings with other bookstore owners completed, no one sick--I pull away from my desk in the sun room and briefly weep: for my staff, for our world, for you. And then I take a breath, leave the laptop behind, and fix dinner.

"I was barely 21 years old when I sold my first book behind the counters at Left Bank. In 46 years, I have managed the bookstore through almost everything you could possibly imagine, including 9/11, but nothing compares to Covid-19....

"It is not surprising you turned to stories in this equally bewildering time. While we are in the midst of writing an unimaginable new story, it is helpful to remember, that in fact, the story IS imaginable. And so is the perseverance, the resilience, the hope, kindness, bravery, and community. We've got this, dear readers. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. Stay well, stay local. Stay. We're here for you." 

Next Tuesday, May 12, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) will distribute more than $950,000 raised by the Comicbook United Fund to comic store owners. The fund was created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic by Creators 4 Comics, Jim Lee, DC and Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group. Binc is distributing amounts ranging from $800 to $2,400 to 637 comic book shops across the U.S. and U.S. territories.

The Comicbook United Fund grew out of the Forge Fund, which Oni-Lion Forge established last year with a donation to Binc of $100,000. This year, DC added another $250,000 to the fund. In addition, after the pandemic hit, a coalition of artists, authors, comics creators and other supporters held more than 600 auctions on Twitter, and DC's Jim Lee began auctioning 60 original sketches in 60 days on eBay, with 95% of sales going to Binc.

In addition to the more than $950,000 that Binc is distributing to comic stores next week, Binc has distributed another $174,786 to 156 comic retail employees and owners to help with rent, mortgage, utilities, food and other necessities during this pandemic.

Binc executive director Pam French commented, "Everyone's collective effort means that hundreds upon hundreds of comic shops across the country will be receiving emergency store assistance that they would not have otherwise been able to obtain. This undeniable message of support and solidarity from individuals and every sector of the comic industry demonstrates how deeply people value their local comic shops and the valued roles they continue to hold in their communities."

Sam Humphries, comic book writer, television host and co-organizer of Creators4Comics with Kami Garcia and Gwenda Bond, said, "Comic book stores have supported us for years, now is the time for us to support them. Comic book creators and fans recognized the need immediately, and powered our campaign to over $430,000 in five days. Binc's experience with donations and distribution was crucial--without them, our community would not have been able to respond with such overwhelming support.”

Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group chairman David Steward II said, "In these most trying of times, helping our industry brethren is of the utmost importance to Oni-Lion Forge, and we're inspired by so many others who share this sentiment and have acted on it. The comic industry is as vibrant, strong-willed and resilient as any, and will thrive beyond this pandemic. But for now, these assistance measures are needed, and we're happy donations from all who have participated are being put to use immediately."

DC chief creative officer and publisher Jim Lee said, "DC is so proud to be a contributor to Binc and the Comicbook United Fund as well as part of this grass roots movement that is bringing fans and readers and creators and comic shops together to fight for our artform and our industry. Thanks also to the fans for supporting my sketch campaign, I'm halfway through the 60-day challenge and hope to continue to grow this campaign and find some extra gas in the tank for the final stretch!"

ReedPop has announced the schedules for BookExpo Online and BookConline, slated to run from May 26-31. All of the online programming will be free, open to the general public and streamed on the events' respective Facebook pages. 

BookExpo Online will open with Librarians' Day, featuring a slate of education sessions for libraries and librarians. The Book & Author Breakfasts are now dinners, scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28. The event will end on Friday with Buzz Day, which will highlight upcoming titles in a variety of genres.

BookConline will run May 30-31 and feature a full slate of author q&as and panel discussions. Nearly 100 authors will participate, including Cassandra Clare, Jenny Han, Judy Blume, Nic Stone and many others. Panel topics will include everything from the new age of superheroes to social justice and LGBTQ+ characters in YA and middle-grade literature.

In July, BookExpo will host an additional day of bookseller-focused programming that will include education sessions, publisher speed dating, UnBound sidelines content and more.

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The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Fall Conference, planned for October 25-27, in Baltimore, Md., is not going to be held in person and instead will be a "virtual event," NAIBA said. "We will still present publishers specials and exciting titles, education, networking, author events, and awards ceremonies. But this year it will be over a few more days and will all take place online. If it is deemed safe, we will also host very local gatherings throughout the region. We will share more information as we develop this new version of the NAIBA Fall Conference."

NAIBA is the second regional booksellers association to cancel an in-person fall show: on Wednesday, the New England Independent Booksellers Association said its Fall Conference will be held online.

This year's election involving the American Booksellers Association has been concluded, with the following results, according to Bookselling This Week:

Kenny Brechner of Devaney, Doak and Garrett Booksellers in Farmington, Maine, and Christine Onorati of WORD in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jersey City, N.J., have been elected to their second three-year terms, which will run 2020-2023. In addition, Tegan Tigani of Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle, Wash., has been elected to a full three-year term, also running 2020-2023. She had been serving the unexpired period of ABA president Jamie Fiocco's term as a board member.

Books-A-Million, which operates more than 200 locations in 32 states, has opened the "majority of its stores to customers following local guidelines for safe and secure shopping," the company said.

"We are extremely appreciative of the support we have received from our customers during these difficult times," said CEO Terrance G. Finley. "Through online ordering; the buy online, pick-up in store option; and curbside pick-up, our guests have continued to seek out great books, educational materials, puzzles and toys. Now that we are able to welcome our customers back to the stores in time for Mother’s Day, our booksellers stand ready to share the rich assortment of new books and products that we have been curating over the past weeks."

In addition to continuing the newly launched curbside pick-up offering and "Talk to a Bookseller" concierge service, most BAM stores are now open for in-store shopping, having implemented "additional efforts to provide a safe shopping environment for guests and associates with some noticeable precautions in place, including providing personal protective equipment for associates, installing acrylic register guards at all check-out areas and implementing self-distancing markers in aisles and at the registers," the company noted.

Bookshops in Ireland are set to reopen in June as part of an easing of lockdown measures introduced during the Covid-19 crisis. The Bookseller reported that, under plans released by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, small retail outlets that can observe social distancing measures will be allowed to open June 8, while other non-essential retailers will be able to open again June 29, with shopping centers to follow August 10.

John Keane, chair of Bookselling Ireland, said: "With around 40% of bookshops closed for all business and the remainder partially open--mainly doing mail order--and trading at an average of 20% of what their normal turnover would be, it's encouraging to see the light at the end of the tunnel for bookshops.

"We know that most booksellers are planning a phased reopening with shorter opening hours and reduced staff to begin with. We also know that customer and staff safety is paramount, so they will have appropriate plans in place for a secure shopping environment. And we know that the book-loving Irish people love their bookshops and can't wait to reconnect with them when they can."

Dingle Bookshop in Dingle, County Kerry, plans to open June 8. "Having fought off along with other independents the electronic threat of the '80s we are part of the thrilling revival of the walk-in bookshop, making the Irish Times top 30 list last year," said co-owner Camilla Dinkel. "That is our true identity. During the pandemic customers have been faithful to us online, but there is no substitute for the face to face conversation, even though it may be through a plastic screen.

"We appreciate that many people will be cautious about going into shops so our main emphasis once we reopen will be on keeping staff and customers safe through distancing and sanitizing. It won't be hard to lay out a path in our little shop, and until things return to normal we will be able to control the numbers. Our locals are our lifeblood, the more so as we expect very few visitors in Dingle this summer. We can't wait to greet them in person again."

Not everyone will make it though, however. The Bookseller noted that Blessington Book Store in Blessington, County Wicklow, is closing at the end of the month. Owner Janet Hawkins said she had tried her best to keep it going during the lockdown but reopening with social distancing measures would not be viable.

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Sales figures for the first week after many German bookstore reopened show "cautious optimism," according to a study done by Media Control for Börsenblatt. The analysis compared results during the week of April 20-26 (week 17 of the year) to the week of February 10-16 (week 7), "an average week" before the pandemic hit. In most German states, bookstores were allowed to open Monday, April 20.

In week 7, the first week of reopening, bookstore sales were 81.5% of what they had been in week 17, and the numbers don't include online sales, which had risen dramatically for bricks-and-mortar bookstores during the shutdown.

In some areas, the news was especially good. For example, in the state of Lower Saxony sales were up 10.9% in the first week of reopening compared to week 7. Börsenblatt commented: "A possible explanation for this uptick is that the shutdown generated new customers who then flocked to bookstores after the lockdown; another explanation could be that when customers finally had the opportunity to browse in bookstores again, this led to impulse buying and multiple purchases."

In addition, sales at bookstores in the first week of reopenings jumped 260% compared to the week before, April 13-19.

The study found that categories with sales increases included children's books and young adult fiction as well as humanities, art and music--and even philosophy. Not surprisingly, travel books had a substantial loss in sales.

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In India, after witnessing the "heavy rush outside bookstores after lockdown relaxations, the Chandigarh administration has now decided to permit owners to deliver books at the doorsteps," the Hindustan Times reported.

"The decision of delivering books at home was taken to prevent overcrowding at the stores," a spokesperson of the Union Territory administration said. "Meanwhile, the administration has also cautioned parents to ensure precautionary measures such as sanitizing books before giving them to kids while availing home delivery services."

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"It's kind of scary to think about what will happen in the future. It's not a time I ever want to repeat again," Janet Hoy, co-owner of the City & the City Books, Hamilton, Ont., told the Welland Tribune as she and partner Tim Hanna marked their first year in business amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "This is not how we wanted our first year to end. To lose it (the store) would be devastating.... We're working 75% harder for 75% less money. It's just a whole different way of doing work that is a lot more stressful."

The bookstore shuttered March 24 when the province announced the closure of all non-essential services. Ineligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, they had no choice but to reopen. Hoy runs the shop virtually, taking orders over the phone, through social media and by e-mail. The books are then picked up curbside or delivered by bike.

They are still waiting to see if they will qualify for a rent relief program announced by the federal government April 24. On the positive side, she noted that "the community has been incredible. People have been so great."

Arcadia Publishing, which specializes in books of local history and local interest, has acquired River Road Press, which publishes books about New Orleans, La., and the surrounding region.

Scott Campbell, founder and publisher of River Road Press, will join Arcadia as publisher of Pelican Publishing, which Arcadia bought last year. The River Road Press catalog will merge with Pelican's list.

Campbell founded River Road Press in 2014 after working for almost a decade at Pelican as the head of sales in New Orleans and the surrounding region. Prior to working at Pelican, Campbell co-owned an event production company, and also worked in marketing, public relations and development.

River Road Press's catalog includes The Incomparable Magazine Street by John Magill and Simon of New Orleans by Yvonne Spear Perret, as well as children's titles Who Got the Baby in the King Cake, written and illustrated by Johnette Downing and Cajun ABC by Rickey Pittman. Campbell is also the co-author, with his nine-year-old daughter Tallulah, of Things that Geaux, published by River Road Press last year.

Arcadia publisher and CEO David Steinberger said, "I couldn't be more pleased that this innovative company will join with Pelican, which has such an esteemed legacy of publishing in New Orleans and the surrounding region. I'm delighted that Scott, who spent a big part of his career with Pelican, is rejoining us to lead Pelican Publishing going forward."

Campbell said, "Having previously spent a decade at Pelican, I have the deepest appreciation for its unique role in New Orleans culture. I'm gratified to be working again with the Pelican team, and I'm looking forward to working closely with new colleagues at Arcadia."

Posted on Facebook yesterday by Main Street Books, St. Charles, Mo.: "Here it is, Dear Readers--a bespoke sneeze guard, lovingly crafted by Andy (co-owner, dad) and Ian (bookkeeper, husband), for your protection and ours."

"This painted rock showed up at our store front door," Bridgton Books, Bridgton, Maine, posted on Facebook. "Thank you to the mystery person for such a lovely gift."

Alexis Nixon has been promoted to associate director of publicity at Berkley. She was previously assistant director of publicity.

Bubble Kisses by Vanessa Williams, illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker (Sterling Children's Books).

A new trailer is out for Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt, a construction-themed animated comedy series for kids 3-6 years old. The project, based on writer/illustrator Chris Monroe's Monkey with a Toolbelt children's book series, will debut on Netflix beginning May 8. It will be produced by Silvergate Media (Hilda, Octonauts, Sunny Day and Peter Rabbit).

Silvergate is supporting the Netflix launch with several marketing initiatives, including supplementary short form promotional content that will be available on its YouTube channel and an educational outreach program in partnership with Young Minds Inspired targeting elementary schools across the U.S.

A longlist has been released for this year's Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, which celebrates "the very best in crime fiction" and is open to U.K. and Irish crime authors. The award is produced and curated by arts charity Harrogate International Festivals and is presented in partnership with T&R Theakston Ltd, WH Smith and the Express. Check out the longlisted titles here.

The 18 titles will be promoted in a dedicated online campaign from WH Smith, and digital promotional materials will be made available for independent bookstores. The public votes for a shortlist of six titles, which will be announced June 8.

The winner has historically been named on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival as part of Harrogate International Festival Summer Season, which this year was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the winner will be revealed at a virtual awards ceremony July 31, and receive £3,000 (about $3,730), and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier.

photo: Jo Taylor

Tom Gauld is a cartoonist and illustrator. He does weekly comic strips for the Guardian and New Scientist, and his comics have been published in the New York Times, the Believer and on the cover of the New Yorker. He's also designed many book covers. Gauld's previous books include the collections Baking with Kafka and You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack as well as the graphic novels Goliath and Mooncop. Gauld lives and works in London. His new collection, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, was recently published by Drawn & Quarterly.

On your nightstand now:

I've just finished The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks. With the world in such a difficult place right now, it's been very nice to escape into a completely different universe of spaceships and new planets. I've also been reading Angela Carter's book of fairy tales The Bloody Chamber, which is exquisitely dark and beautifully written.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I loved The Hobbit when I was a boy. The story enchanted me, but I especially loved all the extras: the cover, the map, the illustrations, the passages written in runes. I'm still a sucker for a book with a map at the front.

Your top five authors:

It's an impossible choice really, but today I shall plump for: Kurt Vonnegut, P.G. Wodehouse, Hilary Mantel, Chris Ware, Anthony Powell.

Book you've faked reading:

In my job making literary cartoons for the Guardian, I made at least three cartoons about Jane Austen's books, despite never having read a word of her writing. I'd riff off the idea of a Jane Austen novel that most of us have. But I began to feel guilty and decided to read Pride and Prejudice, which turned out to be brilliant and won me over to her work completely. I still occasionally make cartoons referencing Joyce's Ulysses, but I haven't read that either.

Book you're an evangelist for:

There's an underrated comic book called I Killed Adolf Hitler by the brilliant cartoonist Jason. It seems like it's going to be a silly, pulpy, action story but unexpectedly turns into an understated meditation on passing time.

Book you've bought for the cover:

I got into reading McSweeney's because I was attracted by the eccentric design of the books as objects, which looked like nothing else in bookshops at the time. I bought every issue and discovered some great writing in it.

I've possibly more often done the opposite: not buying a book because of an unattractive cover, or because it's an unnecessarily huge, ugly hardback.

Book you hid from your parents:

My parents were very encouraging and open about all reading, so I don't think I actually had to hide anything. They used to take us to the local library every week, and my brother and I were left to choose whatever we wanted. I do remember discovering J.G. Ballard's books there and thinking I was reading something transgressive.

Book that changed your life:

Around the same time, in the same library, I chanced upon Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut. I'd never heard anything about him and was probably attracted by the cover and the fact that he's done some charmingly crude illustrations and diagrams throughout the book. Slapstick taught me that funny and thoughtful aren't opposites and books for adults don't have to be hard work to read.

Favorite line from a book:

Kurt Vonnegut has lots of great lines, but what sticks with me most are three paragraphs in Slaughterhouse-Five where the protagonist sees a war movie in reverse. It's simple, almost joke-like conceit, but Vonnegut makes it beautiful, strange and sad. I've been trying to pick a line from it to quote here, but nothing really works when separated from the whole, which is perhaps a sign of its greatness. You can find it online pretty easily and I'm always telling people to look it up. The rest of the book's not bad either.

Five books you'll never part with:

I love books, but I'm not a fetishist about first editions. Though I made an exception for The Vinegar Works by Edward Gorey. It collects three of his best illustrated books in a beautifully designed slipcase. I've been inspired by Gorey's work since I first discovered it at college, so I'd have to keep these. I'd also like to hold on to The Inheritors by William Golding and Teratoid Heights by Mat Brinkman.

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

I've read P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves books many times, but it would be wonderful to do it again for the first time. The joyfully playful language and generous warmth of his stories always improves my mood.

Cycling for competition or leisure has long been a male-dominated sphere: the vast majority of riders (at least visible ones) and celebrated cycling pros are men. But women have been riding--quite capably--in huge numbers for decades, and their love for the bicycle has become intertwined with other social transformations. Avid cyclist Hannah Ross delves into the history of cycling and feminism in her first book, Revolutions.

Ross begins with a scene from Cambridge University in 1897: a group of male students protesting a resolution to grant women students degrees (which failed), then tearing an effigy of a female cyclist to pieces. During that era and ever since, women on bicycles have been seen as "liberated," forward-thinking and sometimes dangerous. At the very least, they've shown their unwillingness to stay where they are and do what they're told, which has unnerved the men in charge of business, politics and other areas of society.

Revolutions is part cycling history, part feminist rallying cry. Ross has done her research, and her narrative brims with information about specific types of bicycles and the groups of women who used them. Suffragettes, especially in England and the U.S., were known for their championing of "rational dress" (i.e., sensible clothing that did not restrict movement), which dovetailed nicely with their desire to hop on a bike. Ross traces the lineage of these early "cycling queens" through the 20th century to today's all-female cycling groups, which still offer women and girls a chance to learn a skill and enjoy the freedom of riding. Along the way, she discusses the importance of bike-friendly infrastructure (on full display in countries like the Netherlands) and offers a few glimpses of women who are riding in historically repressive countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

Ross tells the stories of all kinds of cyclists: women who entered men's races under false names, women who have cycled around the world and women who simply enjoy getting out for a few miles on a Sunday afternoon. She celebrates the advances in the industry--more programs for women, (some) more bikes and gear made especially for women--and calls for the systemic change that's still needed. Cycling, she says, should be for everyone: the speedy commuter, the retiree, the child just learning to pedal, the disabled person who also longs for freedom and fun. Revolutions is an informative, entertaining and inspiring look at what it means to be a woman on a bike. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Avid cyclist Hannah Ross explores the intertwined histories of cycling and feminism in her first book.

With the entire sports universe reduced to watching classic game replays from past decades and endlessly arguing over NFL draft choices for a season that may never happen, stats junkies have had few places to turn for a fix. I, however, buried myself in a new survey conducted by BookNet Canada exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on book reading, borrowing, and buying.

Conducted from March 30 through April 9, the survey found that 450 out of 748 respondents read or listened to at least one book (in any format) during the past month. Light readers (1-5 books) account for more than 80% of the respondents, followed by moderate readers (6-11 books) at 13% and frequent/avid readers (12 or more books) at about 5%. Since the majority of those surveyed are light readers, BookNet Canada chose to refer to readers of six or more books as heavy readers.

Among the respondents, 59% identify as women and 41% as men; 53% are parents; 43% are married; 54% work full time (16% part-time, 11% unemployed, 11% retired and 7% students) and 86% are currently working from home, social distancing, in isolation, and/or in quarantine.

The survey found that 58% of Canadian readers are reading more, 39% the same amount as before and 4% less. In addition, 22% are buying more books than they did in February or before, while 15% are buying fewer. Only 20% are getting books from a physical bookstore through in-store/curbside pickup or delivery, with online retailers or apps (43%) leading that category. TBR piles are also getting much more attention.

A sampling of Covid-induced buying habits among respondents:

All readers

• Slightly more men than women buy their books from bookstores and retailers (58% and 54% respectively).
• Bookstore buyers and subscription service users are more likely to be in the 25-34 age group than in the 55-64 age group.
• 62% of buyers are reading books more often now, while 36% are reading similar amounts. Only 3% of book buyers are reading less.
• Almost 30% of respondents now get books from a subscription service or from a physical bookstore (28%). (Respondents were able to select multiple answers.)

Light readers

• 49% are likely to continue to buy books
• 40% choose to mainly buy books from an online retailer/app

Heavy readers

• 59% are more likely to get their books online from a retailer, 45% from a free Internet site, 41% from a library and 37% through a subscription service
• Buy from a thrift or used bookstore more than light readers, while light readers buy from a bookstore more than heavy readers
• 67% are likely to continue to buy books

While the age of physical distancing has meant more time spent at home, this hasn't necessarily translated into more time to read. BookNet Canada found that among heavy readers, 59% are reading about the same amount, with 38% reading more. Among those reading more, most are women 25-34 years old. Of those reading less, most are men 45-64.

For print books, readers 18-24 make up the majority of respondents reading more (36%). Among light readers, 57% are reading the same amount of print books as before, compared with 48% of heavy readers who are reading similar amounts.

Men in the 25-34 age group comprise 51% of readers who are listening to more audiobooks now, while women account for 64% of audiobook listeners who said they're listening to the same amount as before.

According to the Booknet Canada survey, readers are primarily discovering books by word-of-mouth, online book retailers, social media and online media, options that are especially popular among readers 34 and younger, and least popular for those 55 and older.

Among women respondents using social media, 83% are on Wattpad, 80% on Pinterest, 64% on Snapchat and 61% on Goodreads. More men than women are using WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Reddit. Instagram, Reddit and Wattpad have higher percentages of users in the 18-34 age group and lower for those 45 and over. Snapchat is used the most by the 18-34 age group, Twitter for those 25-34.

Of the readers who said they discovered books via podcasts, 54% are men and 42% of them fall into the 25-34 age group. Book discovery from libraries is most popular among readers 25-34 (31%). Bookstore discovery is highest for those readers who belong to the 45-54 age group (22%).

More than 60% of women say they discover books via digital apps, websites and online communities. Discovering books through bestsellers, award winners and online communities is most popular among readers 25-34 and least popular for those 65 and over. Heavy readers discover books mainly through online book retailers (42%), followed by online communities (40%). When it comes to book-specific social network sites, 15% of all readers are visiting these sites more often, but 72% say the frequency of their visits hasn't changed.

Okay, I've had my data fix. Next week, back to words.