Cellar Door Bookstore, Riverside, Calif., has lost its lease and must leave by the end of March, the Press-Enterprise reported. The store has been in the same 1,735-square-foot Canyon Crest Towne Centre location since it opened in 2012.

Owner Linda Sherman-Nurick learned of the decision via e-mail only last week and is scrambling to find a new location, ideally in the same downtown area. (In the original e-mail, the store was supposed to vacate the space by the end of February.) The store had been on a month-to-month lease since 2016, following its agreement not to pay a common-area maintenance fee in exchange for giving up a long-term lease. In the store's initial statement on Twitter, Cellar Door Bookstore said, "They are within their legal rights, but their common decency and respect for people who think differently than they do is just a bit lacking."

Sherman-Nurick and store customers on social media expressed deep sadness and anger toward the landlord. Many believe that the decision to oust Cellar Door Bookstore was in reaction to the store's liberal politics, quarterly drag queen story times and masking policies, especially since the notice came three days after the most recent drag queen storytime, which drew several protests.

The store's initial statement added, in part: "There is a lot of love in our community, but right now I'm hearing from you a lot of rage, and I'm feeling the same, so I'm rereading Myisha Cherry's The Case for Rage. 'Remember that the aim of Lordean rage is change,' not just for Cellar Door but for all the libraries, bookstores, authors and readings that are being challenged throughout the country. Our voices will be heard."

In a statement to the newspaper, Jeff Lerch, general manager for the Canyon Crest Towne Centre, denied that the decision to oust the bookstore was "politically, racially or otherwise motivated and tied to Cellar Door Bookstore's special events and patrons." He said that following the deaths in the past year and a half of two key members of the family that owns the shopping area, he has taken over management and has plans for "a larger strategic initiative" for the center. The Press-Enterprise called it an "upscale center, known for its Ralphs market, restaurants, red-tile roof and bubbling fountain."

Lerch also said that in deference to the store, he shifted the date for the store to vacate the space from the original end of February to the end of March.

Next Chapter Books, a pop-up bookstore in Grosse Pointe, Mich., is extending its stay at the former Alger Theater in Detroit at least until the end of the month, Grosse Pointe News reported.

Store owners Sarah and Jay Williams are looking to open a bricks-and-mortar bookstore in the Grosse Pointe area eventually. They opened the Alger Theater pop-up as a holiday shop and planned to shut it down at the beginning of this year and move on to other locations. The pop-up was so well received, however, that they will continue to do business there with some modified hours.

"Many neighbors, including many Grosse Pointers, came to support our endeavor," Sarah Williams told GPN. "Seeing people's excitement over the prospect of a local bookstore, particularly one with a new and used model, has been a joy."

The bookstore sells titles for all ages and across all genres with an eye toward spotlighting local authors and authors from underrepresented communities. The owners plan to continue building a customer base and learning what the community wants while exploring options for a permanent location.

From SF Mercantile

Karen Finlay, owner of Alibi Bookshop in Vallejo, Calif., reported that the store did very well with sidelines over the holidays. Bestsellers included socks from Funatic and Out of Print; candles from Luminary & Co. and Fly Paper Products; and pins from Dissent Pins, Unemployed Philosophers Guild and Literary Emporium; as well as Flame Tree journals, RP Minis, tarot cards and "everything with the 'bear hug' image from SF Mercantile." As always, greeting cards sold in high quantities, with Laughing Elephant cards proving especially popular; Finlay remarked that anything with a "cat or axolotl" on it will sell well. 

Finlay said the store has recently expanded its selection of boxed stationery and pens, and she's heard from a number of customers that "they want to go back to writing personal notes instead of texts and e-mails." Tom Killion notecards from Heyday have been a hit, and Alibi "can't keep i-clips and Note Pals in stock." Puzzles, meanwhile, have slowed down in the last few months; she attributed that to people being "out and about more."

On the subject of perennial favorites, Finlay pointed to magnets, prints, postcards and notecards from Found Image that feature vintage images of Vallejo, which constitute the store's biggest sellers year round. Store-branded T-shirts and totes are also strong sellers, and the bookstore team is in the process of designing new ones. Other favorites include stuffed dragons made by a local artist named Stan Clark, who also does Astro Botanicals.

For children's sidelines, there are plushies from Merrymakers and Wild Republic, as well as onesies, socks and T-shirts from Out of Print. Finlay pointed out that with a Lego store across the street, they don't want to carry anything that would compete directly. Anything related to Dungeons & Dragons or Minecraft is usually a hit with both children and adults, she added.

Finlay said she hasn't had to deal with many supply-chain issues related to sidelines, though the post office "lost a bunch of the Woobles kits we ordered." Faire in particular, she said, has been "great."

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Stickers at Red Balloon

At Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn., stickers have sold well ever since the store brought them in early in the pandemic, said toy and gift buyer Jaya Anderson. Popular vendors include Turtle's Soup, the Found and Marika Paz Illustrations, and some of those designs have been "favorites of the staff and customers."

For the holidays, the store added felt animal ornaments from the Winding Road that sold out, and crystal growing dinosaur terrariums from Toysmith that "seemed to fly off the display." Asked about locally made sidelines, Anderson said the store carries Frostbeard candles, "which are always popular and smell delightful." And roughly a year ago the store partnered with a local nonprofit called Hippy Feet to create Red Balloon socks.

Anderson noted that as a children's bookstore, Red Balloon tries to carry sidelines for all age levels, from 0 months to teenagers. For very young children, Fat Brain has a "great selection," and the recently introduced wide-ruled journals from Decomposition have been popular with school-aged kids. Ooly's glitter highlighters, meanwhile, "are fun for teens and adults." As for supply-chain problems, Anderson said there weren't many over the holidays, "though some vendors are still backed up."

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From Fly Paper Products

In Frederick, Md., Curious Iguana has had a lot of success with vinyl stickers for the last two years, reported manager and buyer Lauren Nopenz Fairley. The shop added a "whole display just for stickers" and orders them "from a variety of artists and companies" found on the wholesale site Faire. Fairley noted that book-themed and current events-themed stickers "do equally as well."

Journals, especially the "more elaborate ones" from places like Paperblanks, are also constant sellers, and tote bags from Out of Print and Buy Olympia, Fairley added, consistently do well. The store has carried items from Fly Paper Products for a few years now but recently brought in their soy literary-themed candles, and those have done "surprisingly well for us."

Curious Iguana carries two card lines from local companies: Second Story Cards in Washington, D.C., and the Dancing Cat in Baltimore, Md. Children's offerings, meanwhile, include bookmarks from Peter Pauper Press and kid-sized totes from Out of Print and Gibbs Smith.

On the subject of supply-chain issues, Fairley said the store had "a lot of trouble getting any journals in for the holidays and ended up not having any." That was disappointing, and Fairley pointed out that all three of the store's larger journal suppliers are still behind. --Alex Mutter

Eileen Ahearn, former administrator of the James Baldwin Estate and a behind-the-scenes publishing consultant, died on January 6 at the age of 75.

As interest in Baldwin expanded during the last decade, Ahearn was involved in all aspects of the estate, including the transfer of Baldwin's archives to the Schomburg Center of the New York Public Library, the optioning of film rights to If Beale Street Could Talk, and the naming of the James Baldwin Library at MacDowell.

Ahearn began her publishing career as a typist at Random House in the early 1970s, alongside the late Carolyn Reidy, the longtime head of Simon & Schuster, with whom she worked and consulted for five decades.

After leaving the typing pool, Ahearn became secretary to Toni Morrison, who at the time was an editor at Random House. She became a lifelong friend of Morrison as well as an adviser, accompanying the author to most personal appearances until her death in 2019.

While working for Morrison at Random House, Ahearn developed an expertise in contracts, particularly in foreign rights. Eventually corporate leadership relied on her to coordinate, modernize and streamline the overlapping functions of legal, contracts, rights and IT departments in order report royalties more accurately and fairly. In the late 1980s, she performed that function for Reidy when she was president of Avon Books.

"Cozy up with a good book," Theodore's Books, Oyster Bay, N.Y., recommended on its winter-themed sidewalk chalkboard.

"There's nothing quite like the thrill of an undiscovered bookstore," according to Southern Living magazine, which showcased "20 bookstores everyone should visit in Florida," noting that the "feeling of walking down a quaint, tree-lined downtown street and spotting a historic bookshop, or perhaps the anticipation of a famed author's visit to a new book seller in town. Or maybe it's a favorite stop on your Southern vacation each year: the cozy nook where you eagerly devour beach reads and spend hours immersed in the aisles, poring over titles. 

"Florida has no shortage of wondrous haunts for book lovers, from newer bookstore restaurant concepts to vibrant, longstanding shops that boast frequent author visits and robust writers' groups. From the panhandle to the Florida Keys, here are some of the Sunshine State's hottest bookstores and the reasons to add each of them to your bucket list."

Simon & Schuster is now handling sales and distribution worldwide for Papercutz, which publishes graphic novels for kids, tweens, and teens that include a range of genres, including humor, action adventure, mystery, horror, and favorite characters.

Chris Fernandez, publisher of Mad Cave Studios, said the agreement will help "in providing great graphic novels for all ages where young readers can learn, explore, and discover imaginative new worlds."

8 Steps to Energize Your Faith by Joe Paprocki (Loyola Press).

Today:
Rachael Ray: Dolly Parton, co-author of Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Makes It Big (Penguin Workshop, $19.99, 9780593661574).

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for Dear Edward, the series from Jason Katims that is based on Ann Napolitano's 2020 novel. Starring Connie Britton, Taylor Schilling and Colin O'Brien, the series will make its global debut February 3 with the first three episodes of a 10-episode first season, followed by one new episode each through March 24. 
 
The cast also includes Amy Forsyth, Eva Ariel Binder, Brittany S. Hall, Idris Debrand, Carter Hudson, Maxwell Jenkins, Jenna Qureshi, Audrey Corsa, Anna Uzele, Ivan Shaw and Dario Ladani Sanchez.
 
Dear Edward is written by Katims, who serves as showrunner. He executive produces through True Jack Productions alongside Jeni Mulein. Fisher Stevens, who will direct the first episode and serve as executive producer on the pilot.

Shortlists have been announced for the Sarton Awards and Gilda Prize, sponsored by the Story Circle Network and honoring May Sarton and Gilda Radner. Winners and finalists will be announced in April. To see the shortlists, click here.

Recollections of a long-ago romance and the life choices made in its aftermath haunt the narrator of Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas, an Australian-born author and musician living in the U.S. whose writing has been featured in Paris Review Daily and Literary Hub, among other publications. Lucas's debut, set in a picturesque beach town in New South Wales, Australia, deconstructs an intimate love story from the sun-bleached, sand-encrusted remembrances of a woman yearning to make peace with her past. The narrator, now in her late 30s, is an unattached Australian who's teaching writing in New York. While searching online, she discovers a photograph of her former lover Jude and his young child. The photograph dislodges an avalanche of memories of their affair when the narrator was in her 20s and Jude was 18 years her senior. They met one summer while the young woman and her mother vacationed in Jude's hometown, Sailors Beach.

The narrator, raised by a loving yet restless mother who frequently changed jobs and apartments, is attracted not only to Jude's "rough grace" but also to the steady, solid life he has crafted for himself. His drafty home, the "Old House," and his big brass bed represent the stability she lacked as a child. The narrator abandons her friends and bookstore job in Sydney to move in with Jude, and the two adopt an affectionate old dog. Being with Jude allows her to retreat into the safety and comfort of his ready-made world instead of facing the uncertainties of her post-college life. The specter of motherhood hovers in the background, the narrator mistaking her isolation for the desire for a child.

Thirst for Salt derives its lyrical power from the lapping waves of the ocean, wind-rustled trees and abundance of birdsong, which form the chorus of this engrossing drama, inviting readers to share in the sheer magic of passion ignited and the sweet domesticity that is the reward of everyday love. Lucas's writing captures the emotional intensity of the affair: the narrator envies the other lives Jude had already led before they met. When Jude's longtime friend, the beautiful Maeve, appears on the scene and announces she is pregnant with her married lover's child, the dynamics in the Old House suddenly shift. As the narrator's memories unravel the tendrils of past truths, readers will be irresistibly drawn into the mystery of all that remains unsaid in Lucas's captivating story. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer

Shelf Talker: Set in a coastal town in Australia, this debut novel about a long-ago love affair revels in the lyrical language that describes its rugged landscape and the emotional intensity of new love.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. Wild Irish Moon by Tricia O'Malley
2. The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
3. A Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn
4. Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score
5. Never Marry Your Brother's Best Friend by Lauren Landish
6. Thorne Princess by L.J. Shen
7. Fire by Abby Brooks
8. Ignite by Melanie Harlow
9. Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden
10. Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]