Flutter Romance, a romance bookstore that debuted in Austin, Tex., on February 1, is hosting a grand opening celebration tomorrow, February 14, Community Impact reported.

Located at 2903 Ranch Road 620 N, Flutter carries a wide assortment of romance titles across plenty of sub-genres, along with romance-related merchandise. It is owned by Laurelin Paige, a bestselling romance writer, and the store hosts events with other romance authors.

The grand-opening celebration will take place all day tomorrow and include a food truck, snacks, goodies, and surprise author visits.

Paige founded Flutter from a desire to create "a space dedicated to books and devoted to romance, a sanctuary for readers, and a gathering place for like-minded people to find their community."

The Loyalty Bookstores location in Petworth, Washington, D.C., will reopen Saturday, February 15, following a move.

The Petworth store at 843 Upshur St. closed earlier this month in preparation for the move around the corner, to 4203 9th St. NW. There will be a preview night and party for Loyalty members tomorrow, February 14, followed by a full opening on Saturday. Hours will remain limited through the rest of the month, with the Loyalty team planning to expand hours and host a grand opening block party in March.

Earlier this year, Loyalty co-owners Hannah Oliver Depp and Christine Bollow announced that they would be relocating in February once the store's lease was up. At the time they noted: "after talking through options with our landlord and partners, we came to the conclusion that we would need to make a change. Our move is motivated both due to operating costs in the current location and what kind of work we want and need to do in order to get to our next milestone anniversary with our community."

The store's last full day of operation on Upshur St. was February 2. Loyalty first opened in Petworth in February 2019.

Loyalty also operates a location inside the Parks at Walter Reed in partnership with the DC Pop-Up. The store's location in Silver Spring, Md., has been closed since January 5 while Bump & Grind undergoes significant renovations. Although a reopening date for Silver Spring remains TBD, all inventory and customer holds have been moved to the DC Pop-Up.

In their message announcing the Petworth reopening, Bollow and Depp wrote: "We all see that corporations have pre-emptively caved to fascism by dumping BIPOC and queer partners, publishing books at all is under threat, and whatever visibility the billionaire-owned platforms once touted has disappeared. With all this stacking up against marginalized booksellers, we are reminded that our neighborhood built Loyalty and it is to our neighborhood we continue to dedicate ourselves."

Hachette Book Group has joined Batch for Books, which streamlines invoice management and payment processes for both booksellers and publishers. 

"This is an exciting milestone for Batch for Books," said Nathan Halter, U.S. program manager for Batch. "We are thrilled to partner with Hachette Book Group, whose commitment to supporting Batch underscores their dedication to fostering real, lasting change for independent bookstores. Together, we're building a stronger future for indie booksellers and the publishing ecosystem."

The Batch for Books platform is paperless and is currently used by more than 450 bookstores across the U.S. Its American publishing partners include Penguin Random House, Macmillan, HarperCollins, IPG, Microcosm Publishing, Arcadia Publishing, Blackstone Publishing, and Gardner's US. Batch was founded in 2000 by the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland and is currently used in more than 80 countries.

"We are delighted to be joining Batch in the U.S," said Matt Wright, HBG US Distribution CEO. "Amongst a number of service improvements, this is another important step for supporting independent bookstores, and we are excited to see it grow in the years ahead."

Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, said: "We're thrilled to see Hachette Book Group's strong support for the indie channel this past year. Their participation in Batch is further proof of their commitment to both the indies and innovation within the book industry, and ABA is grateful for their participation and leadership."

HBG is expected to be fully integrated with Batch by June. Booksellers interested in signing up for Batch can inquire via e-mail at support@batchforbooks.com.

Books Across Borders has announced its Spring 2025 Fellows:

Ramunda Young, co-founder and owner of MahoganyBooks in Washington, D.C., and Melissa Taylor, co-owner of E. Shaver, Bookseller, in Savannah, Ga., will be attending the RISE Bookselling Conference in Riga, Latvia, in March; and Shane Mullen, events coordinator at Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Mo., will attend Salone Internazionale del Libro in Turin, Italy, in May.

At the same time, Books Across Borders has opened applications for the Fall 2025 to Spring 2026 season. Booksellers interested in diverse and international literature and fostering relationships with the international literary community are encouraged to apply.

Fellowships include fair attendance, travel expenses and stipend, networking events, the opportunity to report on the event in Shelf Awareness (as Spencer Ruchti of Third Place Books did for last year's Frankfurt Book Fair and Veronica Liu did for the Guadalajara Book Fair), and participation on a panel.

Fellows are chosen by the Books Across Borders board of directors, with "strong consideration" given to those with a history of reading and promoting international literature and a kinship with the organization's mission and values.

Applications will be accepted until May 1.

At the St. Martin's Publishing Group, Lisa Senz, who's been with Macmillan for more than 30 years, is retiring as v-p, associate publisher, effective March 14. Senz held many roles at Macmillan, including overseeing distribution clients, before moving to the publishing side. She was named v-p, associate publisher in 2000 and has worked with authors across St. Martin's fiction program, including Kristin Hannah, Nora Roberts, Mary Kay Andrews, and more.

With Senz's retirement, Jennifer Enderlin, president and publisher of the St. Martin's Publishing Group, announced that Anne Marie Tallberg, currently senior v-p, publishing director of Griffin, mass market, and St. Martin's Essentials, will become senior v-p, publishing director, SMPG Fiction. She will oversee all St. Martin's fiction, excluding Minotaur, Wednesday Books, and Saturday Books.

In addition, Laura Clark, currently v-p, associate publisher, nonfiction, will become v-p, publishing director, SMPG Nonfiction. She will oversee all nonfiction, including St. Martin's Essentials.

Amer Anwar, a Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award-winning thriller writer, died earlier this month. He was 55. The Bookseller reported that Anwar was signed by agent Jane Gregory of Gregory & Company in 2008 "after he submitted three chapters of his work in progress for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, for which Gregory was a judge."

Amer Anwar (photo: Steven Joyce)

That excerpt evolved into Brothers in Blood, the first installment in the Zaq and Jags series, 10 years later. The novel was followed by Stone Cold Trouble (2020), which was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger in 2021. 

Gregory, who represented Anwar until her retirement in 2020, recalled her "long and delightful working relationship with a truly charming man who became a friend. Sadly, Amer's work and family commitments meant that he was unable to devote as much time as he would have liked to his writing, but he was a voracious reader and enormously knowledgeable about the crime and thriller genre. I shall miss our convivial conversations. It is a really sad loss." 

Sharmaine Lovegrove, founder of Dialogue Books, commented: "I was introduced to Amer by Courttia Newland at a reading at Waterstones Piccadilly shortly after I had established the Dialogue Books imprint. It was respect and adoration at first sight. Amer gave me a copy of his self-published book and I read it overnight and knew we had to publish it on Dialogue.... Everyone at Dialogue Books and Little, Brown loved working with Amer, and we'll miss him dearly as we are so proud to have published his Zaq and Jags series." 

David Headley, managing director of Goldsboro Books, added: "Amer was more than just a friend and colleague--he was a force of nature, someone who brought warmth, wit, and wisdom to everything he did."

Open Door Romance at The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, Mo., teamed up with Berkley Romance for a Galentine's Extravaganza. More than 550 people turned out for (l.-r.) Kristina Forest (The Love Lyric), B.K. Borison (First-Time Caller), and Ali Hazelwood (Deep End) at the Keating Center for Performing Arts, in a lively conversation about their books and how romance builds community and brings people together. The store staff annotated copies of each of their books, which were then raffled off in support of the bookstore's nonprofit, The Noble Neighbor.

"Our staff is cuter than Jeff Bezos #ShopLocal!" That was the chalkboard message at Paper Places Bookshop, Jasper, Ala., which noted: "Just in case you were wondering. A little reminder--supporting local businesses means investing in your community, fueling dreams, and getting unique, personalized service. Shop small, make a big impact!"

Posted on Facebook by White Birch Books, North Conway, N.H.: "We can all appreciate a nice shoveled out walkway--especially one that leads to unlimited stories and adventures! Welcome!!"

How Do I Wonder? by Gianna Davy, illus. by Brenda Rodriguez (The Collective Book Studio).

Today:
Fresh Air: RaMell Ross, director and co-writer of the screenplay for The Nickel Boys, the Oscar-nominated film based on the 2019 novel by Colson Whitehead (Vintage, $16, 9780345804341).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Stephen Chandler, author of Relationship Road Map: Step-by-Step Directions to Finding Your Spouse (WaterBrook, $26, 9780593194287).

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, February 15
4:55 p.m. David Greenberg, author of John Lewis: A Life (Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781982142995).

5:55 p.m. Nigel Hamilton, author of Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents (‎Little, Brown, $38, 9780316564632), at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Mass.

Sunday, February 16
8 a.m. Bill Gates, author of Source Code: My Beginnings (‎Knopf, $30, 9780593801581). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9 a.m. Tamara Lanier, author of From These Roots: My Fight with Harvard to Reclaim My Legacy (Crown, $30, 9780593727720). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

10 a.m. Anson Frericks, author of Last Call for Bud Light: The Fall and Future of America's Favorite Beer (Threshold Editions, $29.99, 9781668070901). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Author Mac Barnett, the ninth and current Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, discusses the importance of picture books and his efforts to reach and connect with young readers and their parents.

The longlists have been selected for the 35th annual Reading the West Awards, sponsored by the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association and honoring books set in MPIBA states or by authors or artists living in the region. Booksellers will select a shortlist from the nominated titles, and category winners will be determined by bookseller and public voting. See the more than 200 titles in eight categories here.

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The Women's Prize Trust has released the longlist for the 2025 Women's Prize for Nonfiction, sponsored by Findmypast. The award, which is "open to all women writers across the globe who are published in the U.K. and writing in English," is a sister prize to the Women's Prize for Fiction. The inaugural Women's Prize for Nonfiction in 2024 was won by Naomi Klein's Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. See the complete 2025 longlist here.

This year's shortlist will be unveiled March 26, with the winner named June 12 at the Women's Prize Trust's summer party in London. The winner will receive a cheque for £30,000 (about $37,255) and a limited-edition artwork known as the "Charlotte," both given by the Charlotte Aitken Trust.

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, February 18:

Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend by Rebecca Romney (Marysue Rucci, $29.99, 9781982190248) explores the writers who inspired Austen.

Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary by Victoria Amelina (St. Martin's Press, $29, 9781250367686) documents the war in Ukraine prior to the author's death in 2023, and includes a foreword by Margaret Atwood.

Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison (Random House, $36, 9780812988871) is a biography of Lorne Michaels.

Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart (Bloomsbury, $29.99, 9781635578546) profiles the authoritarian reactionaries seeking to dismantle democracy.

Killer Story: The Truth Behind True Crime Television by Claire St. Amant (BenBella, $28.95, 9781637746059) is the memoir of a true crime TV producer.

The Quiet Librarian: A Novel by Allen Eskens (Mulholland, $29, 9780316566315) follows a middle-aged librarian in Minnesota whose early life in war-torn Bosnia comes back to haunt her.

Midnight Black by Mark Greaney (Berkley, $30, 9780593548189) is the 14th Gray Man espionage thriller.

A Dragon of Black Glass by James Rollins (Tor, $32.99, 9781250768179) is book three in the Moonfall fantasy series.

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn (Zando, $28, 9781638932161) is a reimagining of the 1872 Gothic novella Carmilla.

Death of a Smuggler by M.C. Beaton and R.W. Green (Grand Central, $28, 9781538743331) is the 37th mystery with small town constable Hamish Macbeth.

Almost Sunset by Wahab Algarmi (HarperAlley, $15.99, 9780063355668) is a middle-grade graphic novel about a Muslim American boy trying to find balance between family and school during Ramadan.

Good Golden Sun by Brendan Wenzel (Little, Brown, $19.99, 9780316512633) playfully explores Earth's relationship with the sun.

Paperbacks:
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming (Berkley, $19, 9780593818633).

Sun City by Tove Jansson, trans. by Thomas Teal (NYRB Classics, $16.95, 9781681378657).

The Dressmakers of London by Julia Kelly (Gallery, $18.99, 9781668032725).

We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big by Eric Blanc (University of California Press, $24.95, 9780520394919).

You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon (Forever, $17.99, 9781538768556).

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

Hardcover
The Business Trip: A Novel by Jessie Garcia (St. Martin's Press, $29, 9781250364418). "This story of two strangers meeting on a plane is full of suspense from start to finish. I read a lot of thrillers and I could not put this one down!" --Marilyn Negip, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Conn.

The Note: A Novel by Alafair Burke (Knopf, $29, 9780593537084). "A long overdue girl's weekend is upended when a seemingly random stranger goes missing. Old rivalries, distant connections, and very real deaths seem unrelated... at first. In this very well-crafted novel, Alafair Burke is at the top of her game." --Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Café, Wichita, Kan.

Paperback
Death in the Downline: A Multi-Level Marketing Murder Mystery by Maria Abrams (Quirk Books, $18.99, 9781683694144). "I absolutely loved this twisty thriller! Centered in the world of a women's beauty brand multi-level marketing company, this book had me guessing from the get-go and made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. An incredibly strong debut! " --Val Partenheimer, Books Are Awesome!, Parker, Colo.

Ages 4-8
Toto by Hyewon Yum (Neal Porter Books, $18.99, 9780823453894). "I adore Toto--the book as well as the birthmark who bears the name! A lovely story that focuses on learning to embrace what makes you different. Yum's evocative, warm illustrations and gentle prose deserve a place on your shelf." --Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga.

Ages 8-12
Will's Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 9780316299336). "This was so enjoyable! This book highlights a part of history you don't see very often from a child's perspective. I loved reading about the Land Rush and the free Black people who participated in it. Lots of action and suspense and honest emotion." --Izzy Stringham, White River Books, Carbondale, Colo.

Teen Readers: An Indies Introduce Title
Honeysuckle and Bone by Trisha Tobias (Zando/Sweet July Books, $19.99, 9781638931027). "Don't let the duppy get you! Honeysuckle and Bone transports you to the canicular heat of Jamaica as the secrets heat up with each turning page. Evocative horror that pays homage to the rich oral history that is Caribbean folklore." --Morgan Haywood-Joy, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Filipino journalist F.H. Batacan's Philippine National Book Award-winning debut, Smaller and Smaller Circles, is widely regarded as the first Philippine crime novel. All manner of crimes--corruption, assault, murder--along with everyday injustice, haunt Accidents Happen, Batacan's magnificent, searing collection of 11 partially linked stories.

At least three irresistible recurring characters are ready for standalone titles of their own. The trio--police officer Mike Rueda, journalist Joanna "Joe" Bonifacio, Father Augusto Saenz--make their collective debut in "No. 1 Pencil," which opens with a woman's corpse at the bottom of the stairs. Rueda needs Joe to connect him to Father Gus--a full-time priest and part-time forensic anthropologist--to figure out how the young, silent stepdaughter who lives in the "dark, narrow, musty room beneath the stairs" didn't do it.

Joe and Father Gus briefly reconvene in "The One Cry" over the exhumed body of an assaulted, murdered 19-year-old whose hope for "half-justice... [is] [s]ometimes... all we can hope for; most times that's all we can get." Murder won't let the priest sleep in "Comforter of the Afflicted," after he's called in by Rueda to figure out what happened to the twisted body of a 39-year-old banking official who lived alone: "she wasn't into sports but had climbed six mountains, wasn't much into clothes but had forty-three pairs of shoes."

Beyond murder, Batacan is particularly adept at inserting unexpected, disturbing relationships among the living. A lonely professor begins to care for--and becomes righteously attached to--a neighbor who uses a wheelchair and whose much-younger wife seems to blithely neglect him in "Door 59." In "Promises to Keep," a couple who parted after an intense three-month relationship reunite after he calls her to his bedside 11 years later. "Easy, white men" prove to be "transparent... predictable" targets for the narrator in "Harvest" for work she must do to keep her six-year-old daughter safe. In "Original Sin," a Filipino man reverse immigrates back to his family home in Manila from the U.S. and finds "nothing's changed" with the woman who reluctantly greets him there.

Batacan is a gloriously sly writer, never allowing complacency to simplify her narratives. Amid rising body counts and unpunished infractions, she occasionally assumes the role of both judge and executioner, adroitly inserting necessary, satisfying consequences--as with a specialty knife able to exact deserving vengeance on cheaters in "The Gyutou" or punitive spirits that wreak mass destruction on abusers in "Road Trip." Machinations and manipulations couldn't be more welcome. Audiences will only want more, more, more. --Terry Hong

Shelf Talker: All manner of crimes determine the superbly satisfying stories in Filipino journalist F.H. Batacan's magnificent story collection, Accidents Happen.