Mountain Shire Books & Gifts has opened in Cooper Creek Square in Winter Park, Colo., and will hold a grand opening celebration this coming Saturday, July 17, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. The opening celebration will feature raffle giveaways, kids' storytime with Molly Bush, and dessert and champagne throughout the day

Owned by Miriam Roskam, Mountain Shire offers adult and children's books as well as a variety of sidelines, including art supplies, puzzles, adult and children's coloring books, toys, cards, journals, trail maps, tarot cards, sketch pads, soaps and lotions.

The store said that in creating Mountain Shire, Roskam "is combining two of her loves--one for books and one for the gorgeous mountains of Colorado. She wants to share those loves with you. Miriam is a long-time avid book reader and lover. Miriam firmly believes reading is an essential component of life and should have its own classification in one's hierarchy of needs. Growing up and to this day, she can often be found carrying a book around with her, wherever she roams. She is thrilled to bring her love and passion for the written word to others and is excited to see what the future has in store for the Mountain Shire."

The store plans to host such community events as monthly book clubs, author events, poetry, creative writing classes and other readings, as well as kids' storytime. The store added: "We are excited to see everyone and host a safe space for the creative mind, where individuals are encouraged to seek solace within the pages and to gather with others to read, learn, research, and share their artistic abilities with one another."

Jenny Shima in front ot the future Lit Books and Bar

Lit Books & Bar will open this fall at 122 N. Neil St. in downtown Champaign, Ill. The News-Gazette reported that owner Jenny Shima will sell new books in the 2,000-square-foot space, offering a selection that "will be curated over time to suit what local shoppers want." She will also host speakers, events for kids, and booksignings, noting that "she sees Lit as more than a bar and a bookstore. Along with home and work, she wants it to be a third place where people can come and feel like they belong." An Indiegogo fundraising campaign has been set up for the new business.

Shima is partnering with Kaya Speagle and Kelly Hieronymus Whiting, owners of Hopscotch Bakery & Market, which is opening a second Hopscotch location inside Lit, with the goal of operating a bookstore and bakery by day, and a bar serving wine and beer in the evening, with appetizers and desserts also available.

"Like our first brick and mortar, we will focus on beautiful inventive pastries and local coffee with the addition of fun savory small plates, salads and snacks," Whiting said. "Beer, wine, zero-proof and plated desserts for a fun evening date post-dinner with an emphasis on local collaboration to highlight our new location and partnership with Jenny Shima of Lit."

A remodeling of the former Hank's Table interior is underway, with the goal of creating a lighter and brighter space, according to Shima. Outdoor seating will also be available.

(photo: Zillow)

After 31 years, Califon Book Shop in Califon, N.J., has closed. The bookstore, which sold bestsellers, new releases, children's books, toys, custom stationery and more, officially closed on June 30.

In a Facebook post announcing the closure, the bookstore team thanked their "fabulous customers" for sharing books, stories, laughs and conversations over the years. They also thanked the store's original owner and founder, Lori Busby.

In response to a customer comment, the store wrote, "The building is being sold. But who knows...you might see us pop up someplace else."

Buchhandlung Mahr, Langenau; Die Andere Buchhandlung, Rostock; and Müller & Böhm, Dusseldorf, were the top three winners of the German Bookstore Prize. Altogether 118 stores were honored and received a total of €850,000 (about $1 million). The top winners receive €25,000 (about $29,650) each.

The prize presentation was made by German Culture Minister Monika Grütters, who noted, according to Buchreport, that the pandemic has severely challenged booksellers who "nonetheless have helped us through the crisis with their competence, their selections and their counsel."

She added that besides the annual German Bookstore Prize, federal support for bookstores includes €29 million ($34.4 million) from the Neustart Kultur program and a further €10 million ($11.9 million) that will come from a new program as "recognition grants for bookstores."

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Borders at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai.

More than a decade after the parent company of Borders filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., the bookstore chain "is more than holding its own in the UAE and other Gulf markets. And Borders remains a core part of the Al Maya Group's portfolio, which is otherwise dominated by its supermarket chain and foodstuffs trading," Gulf News reported. 

"In today's times, and especially with Covid-19, people need an escape," said Vivek Bahirwani, the group director overseeing Borders operations. "What better way to escape reality than to read and travel through authors' words and views. Bookstores allow individuals to be transported into different worlds when an escape from day-to-day life is required."

When Al Maya Group acquired the full regional rights, the company did not consider dropping the Borders branding. "The name was already an established name in the minds of our consumers--a change of name would have required a lot more than just rebranding," said Bahirwani. "The rights for Borders was bought in 2006 when the first store was opened in Mall of the Emirates. We have the lifetime rights." 

Al Maya Group negotiated with the new owner in 2015 to acquire lifetime rights to Borders in the Middle East. "From being in a category that was supposedly going extinct, Borders in the UAE and the Gulf keeps stretching the possibilities," Gulf News wrote. 

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French bookshops are celebrating 40 years since the fixed book price law was established in the country. To mark this milestone, the French Independent Booksellers Association (Syndicat de la librairie française) "launched a summer campaign aiming to raise awareness and celebrate the single cost of books everywhere," the European & International Booksellers Federation's NewsFlash reported. "Under a slogan 'no, a book does not cost more in a bookstore--but the purchase has more value,' the campaign looks to also educate consumers on the experience of independent bookstores and the virtuous consequences of shopping there."

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In the U.K., the Bookseller has named its 2021 Rising Stars, the annual list of "the book trade's up-and-comers and leaders of the future--and the second list unveiled in the shadow of the pandemic." Phoebe Morgan, editorial director, HarperFiction, is this year's Shooting Star, a member of the Rising Stars list the Bookseller chooses "to give that extra bit of recognition."

A clear trend for this year's group "is that they have been tested by the coronavirus, but emerged all the stronger for it," the Bookseller noted. "Another thread is that in the interviews with the Rising Stars, so many told stories of difficulties in cracking into the trade....

"These stories, particularly from the Stars who are from working-class, Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds, are not rare. Almost every one of them related a similar tale. Now, of course, getting into the business should be rigorous. But at a time when the industry is meant to be reaching out wider in its recruitment, it seems some systemic roadblocks are still in place, even for some of the most talented people.... Still, maybe that is why this list has a particularly DIY feel to it, with many entrants seeing something that doesn't exist, or needs changing, and going on to create it themselves."

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Kinsale Bookshop in Kinsale, Ireland, whose customers have included Michael Jackson and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, is closing after 33 years in business, the Irish Independent reported. Owner Liam Barrett, who is retiring at the age of 77, opened the shop in 1988 and saw it as a way to combine his hobby with a business opportunity: "There was no bookshop in Kinsale at the time and I had a serious interest in literature, reading and the fun of running a bookshop." 

Barrett observed: "We had wonderful support from the local community. A bookshop like that being at the center of the community is a little bit like the local pub, you meet everybody coming and going and everybody chats, there's no moments of silence in a bookshop. People were always friendly and talked about their interests and what they read." --Robert Gray

Michael Horovitz (via)

Poet and editor Michael Horovitz, who "championed poetry as a vital and democratic force that needed liberating from the academic world and the printed page," died July 7, the Guardian reported. He was 86. Horovitz wrote 12 books of poetry, but is best known for his editorship of New Departures, a small poetry magazine he co-founded with Anna Lovell and David Sladen in 1959.

"Tired with the parochialism of British literary culture of the time, in which T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden dictated taste, Horovitz embraced the transnational avant-garde. The first issue of New Departures began with William Burroughs and ended with Samuel Beckett, setting the magazine’s tone for the next three decades. Contributors included Jack Kerouac and Ted Hughes, and there were illustrations by David Hockney," the Guardian wrote.

Beginning in the early '60s, Horovitz and Pete Brown, the poet and Cream lyricist, toured the U.K. with Live New Departures, a series of poetry, folk and jazz happenings where interaction between artist and audience was central. The Guardian wrote that although he was often associated with the Beat generation, Horovitz's influence "extended far beyond the countercultural scene."

In 1969, he edited Children of Albion: Poetry of the Underground in Britain, which featured more than 60 poets. His other works include four volumes of the Poetry Olympics and his last publication, A New Waste Land: Timeship Earth at Nillennium (2007), "a jeremiad on the state of the nation, and the state of the planet," the Guardian said. 

Horovitz was appointed OBE In 2002, and in 2010 he unsuccessfully ran for the position of professor of poetry at Oxford, telling the Guardian: "I would hope to shake things up--not in a negative, destructive way but in a truly Shakespearean way, restoring the authority of poetry in one of the great centers of culture.... My hope with everything I do is to try and bring audiences and poetry together."

Into his mid-80s, Horovitz continued to give readings and performances, most recently with the artist Vanessa Vie, his long-term collaborator. Her book, Open Windows, Open Doors: Poems, Pictures, and Reflections (2020), was the final publication for New Departures press.

"In February of this year, beloved Bancroft Elementary School teacher and true ray of sunshine, Miss P., passed away suddenly after a short illness," Andover Bookstore, Andover, Mass., noted. "To honor her sunshine and spirit, the community is partnering with Andover Bookstore to create a special book collection for the Bancroft school library. Would you like to Be the Sunshine and help support 'Miss P's Sunshine Library'? Drop in anytime this summer and pick a book from the selection curated by the Bancroft librarian, sign a special bookplate for your donation, and take home a sweet Be the Sunshine sticker. Not local? Give us a call and we'll help you out."

Posted on Facebook yesterday by Duck's Cottage Coffee & Books, Duck, N.C.: "Walk in... drive in... bike in... however you get here, don’t forget to make #duckscottage the first stop of your #ducknc #outerbanks vacation!"

Simon & Schuster is now handling sales and distribution worldwide to the bookstore market for Devil's Due Comics.

Devil's Due Comics, Chicago, Ill., publishes in an array of genres and has a mix of creator-owned and licensed products. Titles include the recently announced Trailer Park Boys comic book license (based on the hit TV series), Josh Blaylock's supernatural action series Mercy Sparx and historical graphic novel Operation Nemesis: A Story of Genocide and Revenge, based on a true story, and K. Lynn Smith's YA supernatural Western, Plume.

Egg Marks the Spot by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Algonquin).

"The week in chalk art. Stop by, grab a new favorite read and leave some art!" Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, Mich., posted on Facebook.

Tomorrow:
Tonight Show: Cecily Strong, author of This Will All Be Over Soon: A Memoir (‎Simon & Schuster, $28, ‎9781982168315).

Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, Tron: Legacy) will direct Chariot, based on the graphic novel written by comic book creator/screenwriter Bryan Edward Hill (American Carnage, Bitter Root), drawn by Priscilla Petraites (Rat Queens) and edited by Axel Alonso, CCO of Artists, Writers and Artisans (AWA), the Wrap reported. Julian Meiojas is writing the script

Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen are producing with Kosinski via Levy's 21 Laps. The executive producer is AWA's Zach Studin. Chariot "marks the first project for recently formed AWA Studios, the film and TV arm of the publisher," the Wrap noted. Rebecca Cho is overseeing for Warner Brothers.

Winners have been named for the Aurealis Awards, which recognize the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers. Check out the complete list of Aurealis category winners here.

The incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II is undoubtedly one of the most egregious episodes in 20th-century U.S. history. Third-generation Japanese American Naomi Hirahara carves a little-known sliver from that grievous experience and layers it with mystery to create her provocative novel Clark and Division.

The War Relocation Authority eventually began releasing young adults to relocate in small numbers in such cities as Chicago, Denver and New York--because they were forbidden to return to their West Coast homes. In September 1943, Rose Ito was the first in her family to be discharged from Manzanar to resettle in Chicago. Her parents and younger sister, Aki, apply to follow her in the spring, although the official government literature states, "Don't bunch up in numbers more than three." Aki wonders about their quartet being "too many," but tragically, Rose is killed on the tracks of Chicago's Clark and Division subway station the night before the family's reunion. Her death is ruled a suicide, but "Rose wouldn't do that," Aki insists. She's convinced she knew her beloved, feisty, determined sister best, but is shocked when the coroner reports that Rose had had a recent abortion. Aki's doubts and questions immediately multiply; her stubborn streak is emboldened as she chases down Rose's roommates, friends, any acquaintances willing to talk. What Aki uncovers couldn't be more timely--anti-Asian racism and violence, illegal medicine, mob control, dirty cops.

Born in California to a Japanese immigrant mother and a father born in California and raised in Hiroshima, Hirahara's lauded literary career highlights her dual heritage. The author of nonfiction, young adult and three mystery series (Mas Arai, Ellie Rush, Leila Santiago) delves into her first historic fiction with Clark and Division. Although she's skillfully integrated historical events in many of her previous titles, her 10th novel incorporates three decades of researching and collecting the oral histories of Americans imprisoned for being of Japanese heritage. As a former journalist and editor for the Rafu Shimpo, the nation's most prominent Japanese American newspaper since 1903, Hirahara was involved in reporting on the Japanese American demands for redress and reparations that resulted in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which issued a national apology and $20,000 to each incarceration survivor.

While Clark and Division is currently a standalone endeavor, Aki Ito shows plenty of intriguing tenacity to star in a series of her own. Readers are sure to agree. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon

Shelf Talker: A thought-provoking novel featuring a Japanese American family transitioning from World War II imprisonment to resettlement in 1940s Chicago.