Nook & Cranny Books in Seattle, Wash., has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help support a move to a new space. 

According to store owner Maren Comendant, she was informed last November that her lease at 324 15th Ave. E., in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, would not be renewed, and she has until March 31 to vacate the space. Funds raised through the Indiegogo campaign, which has a goal of $12,000, will go toward expenses such as deposits, additional shelving and furniture, and more inventory.

Comendant noted that although the move's timing is a challenge, it does present an "amazing opportunity for growth." The current location is only about 320 square feet, and a larger storefront would allow for greater capacity for events, more space for customers to sit and relax during the day, more inventory and display space, and room for pop-ups with local artisans and other businesses.

In 2022, Comendant purchased the bookstore Oh Hello Again, which resided in the same space. She took over the lease, changed the name to Nook & Cranny Books, and put her own spin on the bookstore.

It carries a curated collection of fiction and nonfiction, with an emphasis on elevating underrepresented voices. Books are organized by "theme or vibe," rather than by genre. Comendant and her team host open mics, book clubs, discussion panels, and author events, and there is a monthly artist-in-residence.

The Book Club, a "boozy bookstore cafe," will open early this year at 5735 Johnson Drive in Mission, Kan. The Johnson County Post reported that Kimberly and Matthew Hoppock, who launched the novelty gift shop Truly Madly Depot in 2024, "will soon expand their downtown Mission presence with another concept." 

The right side of the Book Club will feature books of various genres and categories, while the left side of the space will offer wine and some cocktails. The cafe will also sell coffee "as well as food items like pastries and things that typically 'marry well' with wine (such as charcuterie)," the Post noted.

The owners plan to host community events at the new space. "We're still figuring it all out, but it's really exciting," Kimberly Hoppock said. "We're excited that other people are so excited about it."

Along with Jenny Kane, operations manager for Truly Madly Depot--which is located nearby--the Hoppocks hope to open the Book Club in February.

"We'd been scheming about opening a coffee shop or a bookstore for a long time," Matthew Hoppock said. "The location was just a no-brainer--it just made good sense."

"(We're looking forward to) having a bigger space for people to gather and find friends in the area that share their interest," Kane added. "And just being a safe and welcoming space in Mission."

They noted that they have enjoyed getting to know their community better through Truly Madly Depot, and look forward to continuing that with their new venture. Kimberly Hoppock said: "People really are craving more places to gather, more places to shop and do activities. We're leaning into it, and we are hoping that by doing this, it will keep attracting more similar businesses to keep coming to this area."

After a decade in business, Pages Bookshop in Detroit, Mich., will close permanently at the end of the month, the Detroit Free Press reported.

In a message to customers announcing her decision, store owner Susan Murphy wrote: "I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the community of readers that formed around Pages Bookshop. This community will be what I will miss most about bookselling. 

"I've come to know you and your families. You've told me about births, deaths, weddings, and celebrations and all the newsy things in between. I will truly miss your visits to the store. Thank you for ten years of support and including Pages Bookshop in your life!"

The store's last day in business will be January 31. Beginning this week, everything in store is 25% off. Murphy noted that Pip, Page's bookstore cat, will relocate to her home after the store closes.

Murphy plans to retire, and told the Free Press that she looks forward to traveling with her husband and spending more time with family. She founded Pages Bookshop as a pop-up store in 2014 before finding a bricks-and-mortar home at 19560 Grand River Ave. a year later. "I love my customers. I love this neighborhood," she said.

Barnes & Noble will host a grand opening celebration next Wednesday, January 15, for its new bookstore at 1140 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, Wash. The opening marks B&N's return to Bellevue; the chain operated a store downtown for 29 years before closing it in 2022 to make way for a residential development.

"We are delighted to return to Bellevue where we have had a bookstore for close to three decades," said B&N. "Our new bookstores have been exceptionally well received and the Bellevue store is the first we open in 2025."

The Bellevue Square location is one of five new B&N bookstores set to open in January, alongside new stores in California, Colorado, Florida, and Texas. The company has said it expects to open more than 60 bookstores in 2025 after opening a similar number of stores last year. It currently operates approximately 660 stores.

Following a soft opening last month, a new Books-A-Million location in San Marcos, Tex., will celebrate its grand opening this weekend, the University Star reported.

Located at 3939 I-35 Frontage Rd. within the Premium Outlets shopping center, the new BAM store will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow, Friday, January 10, followed by a grand opening celebration on Saturday, January 11. The celebration will include face painting, a photo op with Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and a variety of giveaways.

Clarence Antill, Books-A-Million district manager, told the University Star that the San Marcos location is the retailer's first in the area between San Antonio and Austin.

Joseph Monninger, author of more than 30 books and a former English professor, died on January 1. He was 71.

Joseph Monninger spoke with Laura Knoy in 2023 at Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, N.H., about his book Goodbye to Clocks Ticking.

Monninger's books include many novels for adults and young readers and three works of nonfiction. His most recent title, Goodbye to Clocks Ticking: How We Live While Dying, published by Steerforth Press in 2023, was an elegant, meditative account of how in 2021 he received a diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer and a life expectancy of four months, but then, because of an unusual gene mutation, was able to take a drug that gave him a new lease on life. (See our review here.) In October, Steerforth will publish a new edition of his 2006 book, Two Ton, about a heavyweight boxing match between Joe Louis and Tony Galento, under the new title Fight Night 1939: The Champ, the Challenger, and a Portrait of America on the Brink.

Monninger's writing appeared in many publications, including American Heritage, Scientific American, the Boston Globe, Glamour, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, and Ellery Queen. He received two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as a fellowship from the New Hampshire Council for the Arts. He was also a longtime English professor at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, N.H., and an avid fly fisherman.

Steerforth Press senior editor Chip Fleischer said, "When Steerforth published just one of Joe's many books back in 2006, we became friends and stayed friends. When I received a brief e-mail from him in the fall of 2021 asking if I'd consider his latest project for Steerforth, I was delighted. When I opened the attached file and read--'I'm dying.'--my heart sank. But as I continued to read, my spirit soared. Joe would go on to produce a book-length contemplation of how to live well that eschews the platitudes, pablum, and sentimentality that so often find their way into works about death and loss. Joe was all about doing, and since writers write, he was also about telling. Goodbye to Clocks Ticking drove home for me the simple fact that we are all dying, every minute of every day, in ways that have enriched my existence immeasurably. I will be forever grateful for his example, and for his friendship."

To honor Monninger, his family encourages readers to make a donation to their local Humane Society or town library.

Posted by Anthology for Books, Geneseo, Ill.: "We've been bursting to share this beautiful moment with you! Now that the happy couple have told all their people, we can reveal what happened at the bookstore just before Christmas. Kody had a remarkable vision for his marriage proposal, and it had to take place at Anthology. His plan: surprise Braelyn by hiding a ring in a book that we kept safely behind the counter, awaiting their arrival during Geneseo's magical Christmas Walk.

"The couple strolled in from the cold just after 7pm that Saturday evening. Jim handed Kody the book, Kody handed it to Brae, and the unsuspecting bride-to-be sloooooowwwwwly studied the book jacket. At long last, with a little page-turning from Kody, she found the gem and gasped just as he dropped to one knee and proposed.

"She. Said. Yes. Laughter, tears, so much joy! We're honored that this precious moment took place in our bookstore. Please join us in congratulating this special couple as they plan the next chapter of their sweet love story!"

Toni Martinez has been appointed v-p, people, at Abrams, and will lead human resources and accelerate Abrams' strategic growth initiatives, driving "organizational transformation as Abrams expands its leadership in illustrated books, comics and graphic novels, and children's and young adult publishing across global markets and digital platforms."

Martinez has more than 20 years of HR experience at major media companies, including Tribune Publishing, Fuse Media, and MTV Networks.

---

At Grand Central Publishing:

Tiffany Porcelli has been promoted to marketing director, Grand Central Publishing.

Alexandra Hernandez has been promoted to publicity manager, Balance.

Allison Schuster has joined as marketing director. She was previously deputy marketing director at Ballantine Bantam Dell.

Laura Gonzalez has joined as associate marketing manager. She was previously senior marketing associate at Harper Amistad/Harper Via.

Rachel Rodriguez has joined as marketing associate. She was previously a marketing assistant at Crown.

Macmillan Publishers is selling and distributing Darrington Press, the tabletop game publishing company that was established in 2020 as the publishing arm of media company Critical Role.

This spring Darrington Press will launch Daggerheart, a high fantasy tabletop roleplaying game. Macmillan will ship the official Daggerheart Core Set to coincide with the game's launch.

In addition, Macmillan will handle U.S. and international sales for the Darrington Press titles Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, Candela Obscura Core Rulebook, and new titles in 2026 and 2027.

"Crafting and inspiring storytelling through games has always been our passion, and our partnership with Macmillan will allow us to share our roleplaying books to an even broader audience," said Ed Lopez, COO of Critical Role.     
     
Liz Tzetzo, v-p, publisher services and distribution for Macmillan, added: "Critical Role and Darrington Press have a passionate following and their creative vision makes them leaders in the TTRPG world. We look forward to bringing their books to a wider trade audience."

The Mother: A Graphic Memoir by Rachel Deutsch (Douglas & McIntyre, U.S. dist. by PGW).

Today:
Fresh Air: selections of interviews over the years with former President Jimmy Carter.

Tomorrow:
The View: Jamie Oliver, author of Simply Jamie: Fast & Simple Food (Flatiron, $39.99, 9781250374004). He will also appear on the Sherri Shepherd Show.

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, January 11
9:30 a.m. Heath Hardage Lee, author of The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington's Most Private First Lady (‎St. Martin's Press, $32, 9781250274342). (Re-airs Saturday at 9:30 p.m.)

4:45 p.m. Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, author of The Age of Revolutions: And the Generations Who Made It (‎Basic Books, $35, 9781541603196).

Sunday, January 12
8:40 a.m. A discussion of If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose by Refaat Alareer (OR Books, $24.99, 9781682196212), who was killed in Gaza in December 2023. (Re-airs Sunday at 8:40 p.m.)

10 a.m. Adam Chandler, author of 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life (Pantheon, $28, 9780593700570). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Josh Cowen, author of The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers (Harvard Education Press, $34, 9781682539101), at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz.

3:10 p.m. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures (One World, $34, 9780593229361).

4:30 p.m. Mark L. Clifford, author of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic (‎Free Press, $28.99, 9781668027691).

5:25 p.m. Michael Mandelbaum, author of The Titans of the Twentieth Century: How They Made History and the History They Made (Oxford University Press, $34.99, 9780197782477).

6:40 p.m. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering (Little, Brown, $32, 9780316575805).

Winners have been announced for the 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Awards, sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association and selected by PNBA booksellers. The winners:

Eve by Cat Bohannon (Knopf)
It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over by Anne de Marcken (New Directions)
Log Life by Amy Hevron (Simon and Schuster)
Coexistence by Billy-Ray Belcourt (W.W. Norton)
Becoming Little Shell by Chris La Tray (Milkweed Editions)
Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts (W.W. Norton)

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, January 14:

The Texas Murders by James Patterson and Andrew Bourelle (Little, Brown, $32, 9781538711019) is book three in the Texas Ranger Thriller series.

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Vendetta by Brian Freeman (Putnam, $30, 9780593716489) continues Ludlum's Bourne series.

The Queen's Spade by Sarah Raughley (HarperCollins, $19.99, 9780063344389) is historical fiction based on Sarah Forbes Bonetta, African goddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Hope: The Autobiography by Pope Francis and Carlo Musso, trans. by Richard Dixon (Random House, $32, 9780593978771) is the first autobiography published by a Pope.

Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer (Riverhead, $30, 9780593420287) shares wisdom from more than 100 silent retreats at a Benedictine hermitage in California.

The Motherload: Episodes from the Brink of Motherhood by Sarah Hoover (Simon Element, $29.99, 9781668010136) is a memoir of postpartum depression.

The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North by Michelle Adams (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $35, 9780374250423) explores the struggle to integrate schools in Detroit's suburbs during the 1970s.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (Berkley, $30, 9780593548981) takes place in 1970 at a home for unwed mothers who receive a powerful occult book.

Beautiful Ugly: A Novel by Alice Feeney (Flatiron, $28.99, 9781250337788) is a thriller about a man's missing wife.

Greatness by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt (Little, Brown, $18.99, 9780316491174) is a photographic trip through Black history by the 2022 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award winners.

Love Is Taylor Swift by Patty Michaels, illus. by Ruth Burrows (Simon Spotlight, $9.99, 9781665973519) is a picture book that asks, "What does it mean to be a Swiftie?"

Paperbacks:
Things No One Taught Us About Love: How to Build Healthy Relationships with Yourself and Others by Vex King (HarperOne, $19.99, 9780063278172).

Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter (Berkley, $19, 9780593817087).

Voices of the Fallen Heroes: And Other Stories by Yukio Mishima, edited by Stephen Dodd (Vintage, $17, 9780593804353).

Frankie: A Novel by Graham Norton (HarperVia, $18.99, 9780063436473).

The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy (Vintage, $19, 9780593314715).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
Sister Snake: A Novel by Amanda Lee Koe (Ecco, $28, 9780063355064). "A unique book about two ancient sisters who are both human and snake. Su lives her life as humanly as possible; Emerald is very much herself. Though this novel was pitched as dark humor, it explored themes of identity, queerness, and family poignantly." --Sara Landon, Paragraphs Bookstore, Mount Vernon, Ohio

Shy Creatures: A Novel by Clare Chambers (Mariner, $30, 9780063258228). "An inventive and satisfying novel. Not just a story you'll look forward to cozying up with, but a brilliant affirmation of non-conformity, self-determination, and the power of art. For fans of Elizabeth McCracken, Tessa Hadley, and Ann Patchett!" --Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books, Birmingham, Ala.

Paperback
The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac: Stories by Louise Kennedy (Riverhead, $18, 9780593540930). "Kennedy displays why she was able to make her name, writing with a delicateness that articulates a great love for these characters as they weave through domestic peril. Her ability to fit complex characters into a short window is remarkable." --Richard Dixon, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C.

Ages 3-7
Bigfoot's Big Heart by Sarah Glenn Marsh, illus. by Ishaa Lobo (Viking Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780593352243). "This is adorable! Bigfoot and all the cryptids around the globe find some unexpected (and very determined) allies in scouting kids worldwide. Here's a perfect Valentine for all the introverts or shy kids or delightful weirdos!" --Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle, Wash.

Ages 10-14
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows (Holiday House, $18.99, 9780823456383). "Never want to say goodbye to Bye Forever, I Guess! The perfect middle grade novel about the changing nature of friendship, finding your fit while remaining true to yourself, and where to sit at lunch. Plus, a focus on nerdy girls rocks!" --Susan Williams, M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers, Greenville, S.C.

Teen Readers
The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew (Joy Revolution, $19.99, 9780593710357). "Jill Tew's debut is everything readers have been waiting for. I was completely sucked in! With its swoony romance, twisty plot, and all the thrills, it's sure to make its way into the canon of YA dystopia." --Vania Stoyanova, Brave + Kind Bookshop, Decatur, Ga.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

British fantasy novelist Kat Dunn crafts a sensuous, bloodthirsty delight in Hungerstone, a twist on the classic vampire tale Carmilla, set during the Industrial Revolution.

Lenore works hard at being a good wife to the handsome and wealthy steel tycoon Henry. This includes staying collected and well-kept, managing her emotions, always knowing exactly what to say, and never asking too many questions, even as he becomes increasingly cold and secretive toward her. But Lenore knows she's lucky; marrying Henry got her and her family out of a precarious financial situation and he has the dashing appearance of a young husband any woman would envy.

But on the way from London to their countryside estate for a hunting party, a carriage accident throws the enigmatic and alluring Carmilla into their paths. At first, Carmilla appears to be a pale, weak, helpless young woman, of high birth but no discernable origin. As Lenore's household nurses Carmilla back to health, however, Lenore comes to recognize the woman as so much more: a vital, manipulative, seductive creature who might see Lenore's life more clearly than Lenore herself does. As Carmilla awakens a new rage and new hunger inside Lenore, local girls begin dying. And soon, Lenore, too, begins developing a taste for blood.

Dunn excels at capturing the classic gothic atmosphere of her setting. The narrative luxuriates in period-specific details like "paper soft with wear," "hoofs striking flagstones and splintering wood," and "the ceiling... buckled with damp after the storm." Through thick drapes and misty moorlands, Lenore's first-person voice, which starts strained with care and reserve, becomes increasingly untethered. While Carmilla has her own appeal, it is Lenore and her unraveling internal monologue that really seduce readers. Her raw desire and ferocity that ultimately burst through feel more like a relief than a sign of devastation.

Dunn isn't shy, either, about digging into the dual gore and heated sexuality underlying Lenore's world. While this pulsing presence ultimately does surface in explosive ways, it is present in glimpses even from the start, like when Lenore watches Carmella "tearing off delicate strips of lamb and eating with flashing teeth... the watery blood from the meat pooling on her plate." Although this "delicate" violence holds the promise of something as intoxicating as it is vicious, the other places violence lurks are less appealing. After an accident at Henry's factory, for example, one worker is left with a piece of machinery "wedged under his cheekbone, and his tongue laps at the blood filling his throat." In this truly disturbing, rather than deliciously macabre, rendering of violence, it becomes clear that Henry's world of industry and capitalist ambition is the true horror story, a nightmare of "blood and metal merging." --Alice Martin, freelance writer and editor

Shelf Talker: Kat Dunn's Hungerstone is an atmospheric, blood-drenched, feminist twist on classic vampire tropes, a sapphic delight and industrial horror story.