Early last week, Glad Day Bookshop, Toronto, Ont., Canada's oldest 2SLGBTQ bookstore, launched a campaign to raise C$300,000 (US$220,000) to get over "a crisis point" that has threatened the future of the store. The amount includes C$100,000 (US$73,400) to pay back rent and avoid eviction; the rest would go to stabilizing finances and gaining "time to consult with our communities, explore our options, and create the next version of Glad Day."

The community has responded: during the week, Glad Day raised C$112,000 (US$82,160), CBC reported yesterday. Glad Day co-owner Michael Erickson told CBC that the response feels like a "Pride miracle. The fact that 2,000 people supported us within three [to] four days is pretty incredible."

On its fundraiser page, Glad Day said that the store was "close to being financially stable" when the pandemic started. Subsidies in 2020 and 2021 helped, but when the subsidies ended in 2022, "Our revenue did not return to pre-pandemic levels. With inflation on overdrive, we saw a sudden, massive decrease in sales about 9 months ago as people were forced to be careful with their money. Glad Day is still busy, but everyone spends less per visit, and many folks can't spend anything at all."

The store's costs include C$18,000 (US$13,200) each month in rent plus C$6,000 (US$4,400) for insurance, water, and gas. "So that's $24,000 [US$17,600] a month before we have paid for an hour of staff time, paid for one book or paid for coffee beans."

Glad Day has reluctantly cut expenses. It hasn't had a general manager since 2020 or a bookstore manager since 2022. It cut daytime hours, reduced the size and scope of its book inventory, reduced its social media presence, and reduced "high risk/high reward" events like dance parties.

Money raised beyond the C$100,000 for rent will go to hire a part-time fundraiser; subsidize insurance; pay performers and artists for in-store events, improve the sound system, lighting, and build a stage; refresh book inventory, with an emphasis on Canadian authors; repair and improve the accessibility of the store's front door and washroom; and more.

Glad Day hopes to change that and continue the mission its had since its founding in 1970. It noted proudly that it has been "at the heart of Canadian struggles for sexual liberation, free speech and creativity. Since moving to our large ground floor space on Church Street in 2016, Glad Day's community and cultural impact was radically amplified and expanded.

"In many ways, Glad Day is like tofu. We take on the flavour of the people using the space. Many different groups and collectives use the space over the course of the year and we try to support this by reducing the barriers to space use, providing informal mentorship to new organizers and nurturing a vibe that values safety, diversity and imperfection.

"Glad Day funds, supports and organizes many activities, events and services including, but not limited to: performances; literary events; community meetings; workshops; referrals to community and social services; tourist support; informal peer support; crisis intervention; an informal 2SLGBTQ speakers bureau; research support; teacher education; 2SLGBTQ neighbourhood safety; social justice advocacy; and responding to community-related emergencies."

A year after leaving Hachette Book Group, where she was a champion of reading and independent bookstores and renowned for her sales and marketing prowess, Karen Torres has launched K T Consulting to officially expand the informal consulting she's done since she took Hachette's voluntary retirement package.

Karen Torres

It's not so much a new chapter as an "ongoing chapter," she emphasized to Shelf Awareness. In the last year, she continued, "People have been reaching out to me in different ways, engaging with me, wanting to know about all kinds of things. Sometimes it's Hachette-specific. Sometimes they're general questions. They've been wonderful conversations that have reinforced my own love of the business and are great opportunities for me to help people. So I thought, why not give consulting a try? I have something to offer, and I want to put it out there that I'm available. I want to continue the conversations."

As she noted on her website, she is happy to speak with bookstores, authors, publishers, literary agents, book clubs, and others. To bookstores, she wrote, "Let's talk about your mission and how to grow your business. We have something for everyone [whether the stores are] brick-and-mortar, pop-ups, B2B, school fairs, non-profits, and community centers."

She said that she wants to help booksellers new to the game as well as veterans. "I can help with bookselling in general, as well as the nuances of the business end." She noted that she has worked with booksellers across the country, with relationships spanning several generations and multiple owners at many stores. At the same time, she emphasized that she wants to help the many bookstores that have opened in the past several years. "We need booksellers who believe in their stores and in what inspired them to open their stores."

To publishers, she wrote: "Let's talk about deepening your relationship with booksellers and how to help them help you and how to support the growth of independent accounts."

Authors: "Let's talk about what you're writing about and why and how to work with your agent, publisher and booksellers to reach your goal and your audience."

And book clubs: "Let's talk about connecting with bookstores, libraries and publishers early in the process. Our team of branding experts will help you develop a unique brand identity that sets you apart from your competitors. We'll work with you to create a brand strategy that resonates with your target audience and builds brand loyalty."

Torres began her 36-year career at Hachette and its predecessor companies as a marketing assistant, then rose to marketing manager, then to marketing director, and then to v-p of account marketing. In 2013, Torres added the responsibility for managing Hachette's field sales team that calls on independent bookstores across the U.S. She also oversaw the library and academic marketing teams for the company.

During her career at Hachette, Torres worked with a range of booksellers, authors, publishers, and literary agents. She was involved with Binc when it launched, served on the boards of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, and is a trustee of the Professional Booksellers School.

The range of people who have endorsed Torres on her site is striking, including such booksellers as Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage, Corte Madera, Calif.; Calvin Crosby of the King's English, Salt Lake City, Utah; Noëlle Santos of The Lit. Bar, Bronx, N.Y.; Paul A. Swydan of the Silver Unicorn Bookstore, Acton, Mass.; Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books, Wichita, Kan.; Eileen Dengler, executive director of NAIBA and head of the Professional Booksellers School; and authors Min Jin Lee, Elin Hilderbrand, and Michael Connelly.

All evidence that, as Torres said, "I was blessed working with one company and so many wonderful people. I love the business, and at the very least I can give something back."

It's official: Indigo Books & Music is a private company, following Trilogy Investment's purchase last Friday of all shares of the company that it didn't already own. Trilogy is headed by Indigo's controlling shareholder Gerald Schwartz, who is on the board of directors and is the spouse of Indigo founder and CEO Heather Reisman. Indigo will soon be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the company will no longer need to report publicly its sales and earnings.

Reisman said, "We are pleased to have concluded this transaction and look forward to continuing our work on Indigo's transformation strategy. We remain deeply committed to our customers and to all our stakeholders as we work together to inspire reading and enrich the lives of booklovers across the country."

In the last several years, there was turmoil in executive suite and on the board, which included Reisman retiring but then returning when the new CEO, Peter Ruis, resigned, and the resignation of several board members for unexplained reasons. Last year, a ransomware attack shut down many Indigo systems and its website. And sales have dropped significantly in the last year (down 12.3% in the final quarter of 2023), resulting in major layoffs in January. The company's stock price plummeted over the years and was down to C$1.48 (US$1.09) when Trilogy made its initial offer of C$2.25 (US$1.65) a share. The deal was accepted when Trilogy improved its offer to C$2.50 (US$1.84) a share.

Indigo's move marks the last major North American bookseller either to go private or disappear. As recently as 15 years ago, publicly traded booksellers in North America also included Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Books-A-Million.

Adele Faber, a former high school teacher who, with her Long Island neighbor Elaine Mazlish, wrote child-rearing bestsellers such as How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk and Siblings Without Rivalry, "which became bibles for generations of parents," died April 24, the New York Times reported. She was 96.

The parenting guides have sold more than four million copies in North America alone, according to estimates by their publisher, Scribner. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen has been published in nearly 40 countries.

The co-authors were mothers of three living in Roslyn, N.Y., in the late 1960s when they began attending parenting lectures given by the prominent child psychologist Haim Ginott, author of Between Parent and Child (1965). Dr. Ginott "was known for his view, daring at the time, that parents should speak to their children as if they were equals in dignity, instead of scolding or criticizing them as inferiors," the Times wrote.

Faber and Mazlish were instantly enthralled. "We joined for an eight-week course and we stayed for 10 years," Faber said in a 1982 Times interview. In 1985, she told the Times that Dr. Ginott "spoke about methods of communication that could speak to a child's heart as well as his mind.... New ideas like how to express anger without insult or substitute a choice for a threat, or how to give a child in fantasy what you can't give in reality."

On a drive home from one lecture, Faber and Mazlish decided to write their own book based on their experiences applying Ginott's methods. With his encouragement, they published the first of seven books, Liberated Parents, Liberated Children, in 1974. The follow-up work, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (1980), was a smash hit. Their book Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too (1987) was another bestseller and remains a parenting staple.

The co-authors also noted changing demographics among their followers. "Audiences have become larger and even more enthusiastic," Faber said in an interview. "In the early years, the majority were mothers. Now, about one-third are men.... People welcome the new methods. They don't want to repeat the same hurtful patterns they grew up with."

McNally Jackson at the Seaport, New York City, hosted the launch event for Sara B. Franklin's The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America (Atria). Franklin (r.) was in conversation with Deb Perelman, author of the Smitten Kitchen cookbooks. (photo: Debbie Norflus)

Congratulations to Alibi Bookshop, Vallejo, Calif., which celebrated its fifth anniversary on Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, something the bookshop hadn't been able to do when new owners Karen Finlay and Jon Burchard opened the former Vallejo Bookstore in 2019 under a new name. 

After the ribbon cutting with Chamber of Commerce president Shawna Gillroy, Burchard said, "I think I have something in my eye, but I just want to say thank you. I'm so proud of all of you keeping this open. All of you were the ones that did this for us. We opened up right before the global pandemic. I've never had good timing. I could blabber on, but I'm really excited about these scissors." 

Last week, Finlay spoke with the Times-Herald about the significance of the ribbon-cutting. "We didn't get one when we first opened. We talked about having one for the three-year anniversary, but we thought that wasn't right after the fire to the Pantry store nearby. So I told everyone, 'if we can make it to five years, we'll have one.' It's going to be a fun day full of pomp and circumstance."

She also recalled that Alibi Bookshop launched "just before Covid hit and a lot of stores closed during that time so we're happy. Vallejo didn't let us close. This is a celebration for us and them. It's win-win for everyone. It's our bookstore, but it's also Vallejo's bookstore. And we're going to keep growing, which is a good thing.... Since we opened we have more books in stock, more book clubs, author events. We've really grown into the community fabric."

Their customers are the thing they appreciate most about owning the shop. "It's all about less comments, more conversation," Finlay said. "We need to engage the people, have the people engaged with books. I see myself as more of a matchmaker than a bookseller. When you pick up a book, you're investing your time, you're investing your money. I love when people tell me that a book I recommended reached them and that I hit it out of the park with the recommendation. Reading books shouldn't be a guilty pleasure. It should just be a pleasure. If you read 20 minutes a day, it's been proven you can sleep better, think better and feel better."

"Happy Pride Month, Readers! Come check out the LGBTQ+ kid books, graphic novels, fiction, nonfiction, stickers, and more that we carry year round!" Bookstore on the Square, Fort Collins, Colo., posted on Instagram along with photos of the shop's displays.

At Bloomsbury Publishing:

Elena McAnespie has joined the company as academic marketing & publicity director. Since 2021, she ran her own marketing consulting company working with academic publishers. Before that, she was head of sales & marketing at the University of California Press.

Daniel Bean, currently U.S. manager at Cambridge University Press, is joining the company in the newly created role of sales director, U.S. academic and professional, effective July 1.

The Tinkering Workshop: Explore, Invent & Build with Everyday Materials; 100 Hands-On STEAM Projects by Ryan Jenkins (Storey Publishing).

Today:
CBS Mornings: Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (Penguin Press, $30, 9780593655030).

Good Morning America: Ashley Graham, author of A Kids Book About Beauty (DK Children, $19.99, 9780593847107).

Today Show: Rahul Jandial, author of This Is Why You Dream: What Your Sleeping Brain Reveals About Your Waking Life (Penguin Life, $29, 9780593655719).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Jamie Kern Lima, author of Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life (Hay House, $27, 9781401977603).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Colson Whitehead, author of Crook Manifesto: A Novel (Vintage, $18, 9780525567288).

Today Show: Michael Richards, author of Entrances and Exits (Permuted Press, $35, 9781637589137). He will also appear on the View.

The View: Chris Colfer, author of Roswell Johnson Saves the World! (Little, Brown, $18.99, 9780316515047). He will also appear on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Swindled the World by Yepoka Yeebo (Bloomsbury) has won the £1,000 (about $1,275) Jhalak Prize, which celebrates books by writers of color in the U.K. and Ireland.

Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan has won the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize.

---

The shortlist has been selected for the £10,000 (about $12,750) 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. The winner will be announced September 19. The shortlist:

Light Over Liskeard by Louis de Bernières
Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller
Saltblood by Francesca de Tores
Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili

LibraryReads, the nationwide library staff-picks list, offers the top 10 June titles public library staff across the country love:

Top Pick
Sandwich: A Novel by Catherine Newman (Harper, $26.99, 9780063345164). "This story focuses on Rocky, a woman filled with menopausal rage and immense love for her family. The witty banter and poignant musings will have readers laughing hysterically while mopping up tears a few pages later. This is a no-brainer for fans of Ann Patchett and those who enjoy a good family drama. Perfect for women's book discussion groups." --Robin Beerbower, LibraryReads Ambassador, Ariz.

Swift River by Essie Chambers (‎Simon & Schuster, $27.99, 9781668027912). "In this heartbreaking debut set in the 1980s, Diamond, a Black girl growing up in New England town, feels like a misfit. When she gets a letter from an estranged branch of the family, everything she thought she knew about herself is turned upside-down. Secrets from the women that came before her allow Diamond to realize her full potential." --Kaite Stover, Kansas City Public Library, Mo.

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell (‎Berkley, $29, 9780593640272). "Twisty denouements abound in this psychological suspense about a woman falling for a suspected serial killer as she corresponds with him in jail. The author is able to depict the questionable choices of a down-on-her-luck woman who naively becomes entangled with a dangerous man. This is a darkly humorous, sexy, and entertaining thriller." --Andrienne Cruz, Azusa City Library, Calif.

That Night in the Library: A Novel by Eva Jurczyk (‎Poisoned Pen Press, $32.99, 9781464216879). "A group of students gather for a party in the library's basement the night before graduation. Things quickly go awry, and bodies start piling up. There are seven main characters and multiple POVs, but readers will be able to keep up thanks to Jurczyk's witty writing. It’s a bonus to get an inside look at a rare books library." --Danielle Hansard, Westland Public Library, Mich.

Same As It Ever Was: A Novel by Claire Lombardo (Doubleday, $30, 9780385549554). "Julia is in her late fifties and seemingly has it all, but a chance meeting with an old acquaintance quickly uncovers the fissures in her carefully constructed existence. Lombardo skillfully moves back and forth in Julia's life with an incredible gift for writing seemingly mundane but charged moments in her characters' lives." --Alisa Stanfield, LibraryReads Ambassador, Ill.

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden (‎Poisoned Pen Press, $32.99, 9781464223815). "Millie's just moved into her dream house but soon discovers it may not be as ideal as she'd hoped, with strange neighbors and happenings in the house. Those unfamiliar with the first two Housemaid books will still enjoy this standalone novel, an engrossing, psychological thriller with plot twists that will keep readers guessing." --Kristin Skinner, Flat River Community Library, Mich.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books: A Novel by Kirsten Miller (Morrow, $30, 9780063348691). "Lula Dean's mission is to rid schools and libraries of all books she deems inappropriate, and she erects a Little Free Library filled with her chosen titles. But someone is changing the books by leaving the covers and substituting a wide variety of banned books. This timely tale shows how hate is banished and books can better your life when not restricted." --Judy G. Sebastian, Eastham Public Library, Mass.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom, $28.99, ‎ 9781250290281). "This is a hilariously biting dystopian tale about a world where human civilization has collapsed and robots are stuck in poorly programmed loops that cause them suffering. We follow the adventures of a valet robot as he wanders across a bleak post-apocalyptic landscape, seeking a position where he can be of service to humans. Give this to Murderbot fans." --Ariel Zeitlin, Montclair Public Library, N.J.

Margo's Got Money Troubles: A Novel by Rufi Thorpe (Morrow, $28, 9780063356580). "A heartwarming and luminous coming-of-age tale of a 20-year-old single mother trying to make it on OnlyFans. Readers will be rooting for Margo and will fall in love with the wacky cast of characters, especially her dad. Thorpe perfectly captures the intensity of caring for a newborn while crafting a smart and relatable heroine." --Shannon Gruber, River Forest Public Library, Ill.

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate (Ballantine, $30, 9780593726501). "In this emotional dual narrative, National Parks Ranger Val is determined to solve a mystery surrounding the recently uncovered gravesite of three children. Shifting to the early 1900s, the narrative expands to expose the abuse of Choctaw children and feature the women crusading against illegal child labor at the dawn of Oklahoma's statehood." --Erin Downey Howerton, Wichita Public Library, Kan.

The Age of Loneliness, the debut by translator and creative writing professor Laura Marris, is a perceptive, moving collection of nine braided essays linking personal experience of loss with illuminating analyses of aspects of the climate crisis.

The late E.O. Wilson coined the term "Eremocene" ("Age of Loneliness") for how the displacement of other animals is leaving people alone on a depleted planet. Disconnection from nature appears here as a modern ailment to which attention and purposeful action are potential salves. In "Lost Lake," Marris mourns the intimacy with the natural world that vanished with her father, who died when she was 19. "Shadow Count" loops back to consider how she might rebuild the childhood knowledge of birdlife he instilled in her by participating in community science projects like Christmas Bird Counts.

"Cancerine" is a strong example of the pairing of personal and environmental concerns. Cancer, the sign of the crab, was her father's cause of death. Horseshoe crabs were ground into fertilizer in the 19th century, and to this day their blood is harvested for biomedical testing. Thus does society advance by treating creatures as commodities.

Roads and skyways, too, prioritize human convenience over other species' survival. In "Vertical Time," Marris contrasts her father's earnest 1984 cross-country road trip with highways' imperiling of animals through habitat fragmentation and roadkill. "Flat-Earthers" warns of the dangers that car culture, including driverless cars, pose to safety as well as to deep familiarity with landscapes.

"Safer Skies for All Who Fly," a standout essay reminiscent of Helen Macdonald's longform journalism, is a devastating exposé of "bird strikes." There were over 15,000 collisions between U.S. aircraft and birds in 2021. A dedicated Smithsonian laboratory identifies the remains, and researchers are developing radar that will help pilots avoid migrating birds.

Bereavement, career, and relationship struggles are threads in multiple pieces. A backdrop of biodiversity loss and the exploitation of nature puts such private matters into perspective, but never negates their gravity. Marris endured a long-distance relationship; even once she had settled with her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., she continued commuting to Boston by plane. "The Echo," in the vein of Terry Tempest Williams's work, investigates ongoing ecological and health problems near Buffalo's Love Canal, a toxic-waste dump site.

Driven by curiosity and environmental conscience, these reflective essays ponder human responsibility and resilience. Fans of Cal Flyn and Lyanda Lynn Haupt can read them and feel less alone. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader and blogger at Bookish Beck

Shelf Talker: Laura Marris's affecting debut essay collection weaves together personal experiences of loss and loneliness with the wider environmental worries of the "Eremocene."