Hawaiian bookseller Talk Story Bookstore is moving from Hanapepe after nearly 20 years due to insurance issues with its 93-year-old building. Pacific Business News reported that the bookshop's new location is a mile away in Kaumakani, on the south side of Kauai, and the planned opening date in the new space is June 1. The current Talk Story will close sometime between April and May for the move.

Talk Story's current location.

Owner Ed Justus, who founded Talk Story in 2004 and has been in the current location since 2006, said his landlord told him a few months ago that the insurance company would not renew the property insurance coverage, due to the building's age and condition.

"As much as we would love to stay there forever because we love the building and it's a great place and our landlords have been fantastic, we needed to find another spot for the future of the business," he noted, adding that he had "cast a really wide net" in his search.

"We saw that there was a building that... my wife and I thought had a lot of similar character to our existing location," he said. "It's an older building and it's got a lot of history--it was the old Gay and Robinson Community Hall and it was built in 1946."

They are in the process of renovating the new store, "but one of the most significant changes--which they are still waiting on permitting for and will not be completed for a few months--is constructing a classic western facade at the front of the building, similar to the existing location," Pacific Business News noted. The store has set up a fundraising campaign on its website to help finance construction costs. 

The new space is about 500 square feet larger than the current 1,550-square-foot store. "There is more room to grow and expand certain sections," Justus said, adding that there is a back garden that could be used to host events. "We think Kaumakani is a really cool spot to be moving into. It has some great businesses there already."

Blue Marble Books, Fort Thomas, Ky., has been put up for sale, LINK nky reported. The children's bookstore was founded in 1979 by the late Tina Moore. After her death in 2016, her husband, Peter Moore, assumed control of the business, but now is looking for buyers to continue running the shop, which is located at 1356 S. Fort Thomas Ave., close to downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Blue Marble Books has been in its current location since 1991.

Moore said that he is looking for a buyer who is ready to step in and buy both the building and business immediately. The business is currently staffed, but any transitions or changes are at the discretion of the buyer. All publisher accounts, ABA and regional memberships, and subscriptions are transferable. Equipment, furniture, and inventory included. The bookstore maintains several accounts with local schools and libraries, both for ordering and book fairs.

In an Instagram post announcing the sale, Blue Marble Books noted that Tina Moore "made Blue Marble a celebrated influence within the bookselling world.... Moore opened Blue Marble Books' doors for the first time in June of 1979. She built up connections with children's authors and illustrators, making life-long friendships with some of the biggest names in children's literature. She helped schools to invite authors and illustrators to speak to their students and would invite them to the store as well. She also connected with her customers by remembering names, faces, and books they enjoyed."

For more information, contact Pater Moore at 859-801-2237 or moorepe31@gmail.com. Real estate questions can be directed to John Coffman at 859-441-8090 or johncoffmanjr@coffmansrealty.com.

Barnes & Noble is opening a new bookstore on Wednesday, March 26, in the Village at Knapp's Crossing at 2236 E. Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids, Mich. Author Erin Craig will be cutting the ribbon and signing copies of her books. The bookstore will also feature a B&N Café.

"We are delighted to be opening this brand-new Barnes & Noble, our second in Grand Rapids," said B&N. "When we first announced this new bookstore we received an outpouring of enthusiasm from our local customers, and our booksellers cannot wait to welcome them into their new Grand Rapids Barnes & Noble."

Also on March 26, B&N will host a grand opening celebration for its new bookstore in the Tequesta Shoppes at 151 N US Highway 1, Tequesta, Fla. Author Jasmine Mas will be cutting the ribbon and signing copies of her books.

"Tequesta may be a small community, but they have shown outsized enthusiasm since we announced this new Barnes & Noble," said B&N. "Our Tequesta booksellers have been hard at work filling the shelves and curating displays with local readers at top of mind."

In addition, B&N had rescheduled its planned February 26 grand opening for the company's new store at 301 Walt Whitman Road, Huntington, N.Y. That bookstore will now launch March 26 with a ribbon cutting by author Tessa Bailey. B&N had moved out of a larger space in East Northport. The new store is about 14,000 square feet. 

Next summer, B&N will open a store in Springettsbury Township, Pa., the York Daily Record reported. The new store will span 30,000 square feet and will reside in the former Christmas Tree Shops location at 2925 Concord Rd., in the York Town Center Shopping Plaza. It will also feature a B&N cafe. The company expects a July opening.

Emma Lowe has been named director of the London Book Fair, succeeding Adam Ridgway, who is retiring after a 36-year career in conferences and exhibitions. Lowe becomes director in July; previous fair director Gareth Rapley, now interim portfolio director for the London Book Fair at RX, owner of the fair, will oversee the fair until then.

Emma Lowe

Lowe has more than 20 years of experience in the book industry, starting at RX working at the London Book Fair as head of sales. From 2014 to 2023, she was commercial director at the Bookseller, where she led such events as the British Book Awards, FutureBook, and the Marketing & Publicity Conference. She then worked at GlassBoxx as publishing account director and most recently was head of events at HarperCollins UK, which included planning the publisher's pre-London Book Fair party.

David Roche, non-executive chair of the London Book Fair advisory board, said: "Emma Lowe is the ideal person to lead LBF, particularly with the resurgence of book fairs post-Covid and a fully operational Olympia coming on stream over the next couple of years. She has a unique set of skills and experiences, having worked for Reed/LBF and the Bookseller, for publishing services companies, and in the progressive industry giant, HarperCollins. This combination will be welcomed by the trade, as will Emma's empathetic personality and winning persona, as well as the stability her appointment brings. The LBF advisory board and I look forward to working with Emma and her team."

Lowe commented: "The London Book Fair was my runway into this wonderful world of books and I'm delighted to be returning at such an important moment for in-person businesses. We are an industry that thrives on face-to-face interaction and the moments when we come together are absolutely vital to our publishing ecosystem.... Opportunities like this don't come up very often and having gone from the Bookseller to a tech disruptor, to a big four publisher, I am hugely excited to be getting back to my roots at the centre of the trade, and reinforcing London as the natural home of the international rights business."

W. Hodding Carter III

The University of North Carolina Press has created a new imprint, W. Hodding Carter III, and a new editorial position endowed in the name of Carter, who died in 2023 and was a journalist, soldier, diplomat, and professor. He finished his career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was a supporter of UNC Press. During the administration of Jimmy Carter (no relation), he was Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and spokesperson for the State Department.

The Carter imprint's first book is about "the long, violent story of policing of Black people by white people in the United States" by Gautham Rao, associate professor of history at American University.

Debbie Gershenowitz has been named the inaugural W. Hodding Carter III executive editor by Spangler family director John Sherer, who commented, "In my three decades of publishing, I'm hard-pressed to think of an editor who embodies Hodding's deep grounding in values and passion for ideas more than Debbie. Her track record of acquiring and successfully publishing books that challenge America's place in the world make her the perfect person for this role."

Gershenowitz said, "The pen is mightier than the sword for our authors, just as it was for Hodding, who knew how powerful words could be in the fight against injustice in America. To add Hodding's name to my title is an honor beyond measure."

Posted on Facebook by Back Again Book Shop, Myrtle Beach, S.C.: "If you are the little boy who accidentally left your Diego blanket behind after a visit to the bookshop, I want you to know these two things. 1. That it is here waiting for you whenever you come Back Again. 2. That Caramel is keeping it safe and thoroughly enjoying how soft and snuggly it is."

"It's a browse-the-bookstore kind of day," Annie Bloom's Books, Portland, Ore., posted on Instagram. "A get-lost-in-the-stacks kind of day. A support-your-local-business kind of day. A reading kind of day. (Hint: that's every day.)"

Clown Town by Mick Herron (Soho Crime).

Today:
Fresh Air: Andrew Marantz, author of Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation (Penguin Books, $18, 9780525522287).

Tomorrow:
Today: Amy Griffin, author of The Tell: A Memoir (The Dial Press, $29, 9780593731208).

Late Show with Stephen Colbert repeat: Reid Hoffman, co-author of Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future (Authors Equity, $32, 9798893310108).

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, March 22
9:30 a.m. John T. Shaw, author of Rising Star, Setting Sun: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and the Presidential Transition that Changed America (Pegasus Books, $29.95, 9781681777320). (Re-airs Saturday at 9:30 p.m.)

Sunday, March 23
8 a.m. Yaroslav Trofimov, author of Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence (Penguin Press, $32, 9780593655184). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

10 a.m. Michael Lewis, editor of Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (Riverhead, $30, 9798217047802). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Jason Stanley, author of Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future (One Signal/Atria, $28.99, 9781668056912), at Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, Pa.

3:50 p.m. Julian Zelizer, author of In Defense of Partisanship (Columbia Global Reports, $18, 9798987053683).

5 p.m. Michael Hiltzik, author of Golden State: The Making of California (Mariner, $32.50, 9780358539346).

6 p.m. Perle Mesta, author of The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington’s Most Famous Hostess (Grand Central, $34, 9781538751244).

6:45 p.m. Tariq Ali, author of You Can't Please All: Memoirs 1980-2024 (Verso, $44.95, 9781804290903).

A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World's First National Park by Randall K. Wilson (Counterpoint) has won the $50,000 Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History, honoring "the best book of the year in the field of American history or biography" and sponsored by the New York Historical (formerly the New-York Historical Society).

Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang, chair of the New York Historical's board of trustees said that the winning title "has redefined the concept of a biography. A Place Called Yellowstone is almost a Homeric hagiography, but of a primordial super volcano whose story began 2.1 million years ago in what is now America; yet, this book tells a more encompassing history about America than most biographies about Americans. Randall's sweeping epic illustrates why Yellowstone became America's first UNESCO World Heritage Site and how its tempestuous awesomeness has come to symbolize the fiery, beating heart of our evolving nation. The New York Historical has been a steward of America's heritage for 221 years, it is incredibly fitting that we present this year's Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize in American History to Randall Wilson for A Place Called Yellowstone."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, March 25:

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben (Grand Central, $30, 9781538756355) follows a former detective facing a mystery from his past.

Lethal Prey by John Sandford (Putnam, $32, 9780593718407) is the 35th thriller with Lucas Davenport.

When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter and James Fox (Penguin Press, $32, 9780593655900) is a memoir by the former editor of Vanity Fair.

Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival by Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour (St. Martin's Press, $32, 9781250283702) is a history of the iconic music festival.

Free: My Search for Meaning by Amanda Knox (Grand Central, $30, 9781538770719) explores the aftermath of the author's imprisonment in Italy.

Summer in the City by Alex Aster (Morrow, $28, 9780063411661) is a romance about a screenwriter in New York City.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (Tor, $29.99, 9780765389091) imagines the Moon turning into cheese.

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert: A Novel by Bob the Drag Queen (Gallery Books, $27.99, 9781668061978) brings Harriet Tubman back to life to write a hip-hop album.

Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America by Elie Mystal (The New Press, $26.99, 9781620978580) explores laws that perpetuate inequality and injustice.

There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone (Crown, $30, 9780593237144) documents the growing trend of full-time workers unable to afford housing.

Nellie's Big Splash by Cori Doerrfeld (Dial, $18.99, 9780593856291) is a picture book about a baby sea turtle facing her fear of the waves.

Once for Yes by Allie Millington (Feiwel and Friends, $17.99, 9781250326980) is a middle-grade novel about a girl desperate to save the home that holds memories of her deceased sister.

Paperbacks:
Blood on Her Tongue: A Novel by Johanna van Veen (Poisoned Pen Press, $17.99, 9781728281575).

Running the Light: A Novel by Sam Tallent (Random House Trade Paperbacks, $18, 9780593978870).

Sometimes It's Heaven: Poems of Love, Loss, and Redemption by Judy Collins (Andrews McMeel, $18.99, 9781524894368).

Just Our Luck by Denise Williams (Berkley, $19, 9780593641439).

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

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
Fundamentally: A Novel by Nussaibah Younis (Tiny Reparations Books, $28, 9780593851388). "Nussaibah Younis' witty debut novel fetches a relevant focus on today's societal views of women and what they are capable of. Read it through and embrace the character arc--you won't put this book down until the very last page." --Desirae Wilkerson, Paper Boat Booksellers, Seattle, Wash.

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
Deep Cuts: A Novel by Holly Brickley (Crown, $28, 9780593799086). "This book is a love song. It's a love letter to music, to connection, to friendship and romance and collaboration and connection and talent and pain. I wish I could have written this book. I'm jealous of people who haven't read this book yet." --Jamie Thomas, Women & Children First, Chicago, Ill.

Paperback: An Indies Introduce Title
The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana (Biblioasis, $17.95, 9781771966306). "Join two teen boys in a joyride to nowhere as they light out for the territories with Chekhov's gun behind the front seat. Khurana's debut novel rumbles like a '67 Impala; readers will long for their seatbelts as it peels off toward its inevitable conclusion." --Austin Carter, Pocket Books Shop, Lancaster, Pa.

Ages 4-8
That's Not Funny, David! by David Shannon (Orchard Books, $18.99, 9781546123187). "This one's for fans of No, David! and other fun stories of kiddos pushing the limits. A hilarious book with adorable illustrations of David's many shenanigans!" --Shay Carey, Roundabout Books, Bend, Ore.

Ages 8-12
Speak Up, Santiago! by Julio Anta, illus. by Gabi Mendez (Random House Graphic, $21.99, 9780593651643). "A story about friendship and family, about doing new and hard things, and about the connection between generations, Speak Up, Santiago! is a bilingual graphic novel for everyone. It's fun, heartwarming, and perfect for both those comfortable with Spanish and those who are still learning." --Melissa Fox, Watermark Books & Café, Wichita, Kan.

Teen Readers
Hunger's Bite by Taylor Robin (Union Square & Co., $24.99, 9781454950240). "What should be another routine crossing of the Atlantic for Emery, Neeta, and the SS Lark turns deadly when new management steps in and their intentions are... less than good. Perhaps even a little demonic. An enthralling debut graphic novel." --Morgan Holub, E. Shaver, Bookseller, Savannah, Ga.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Readers of both classic mysteries and literary fiction will enjoy this intermingling of the two in Louise Hegarty's first novel, Fair Play, an utterly fresh approach to the standard whodunit that adds emotional heft to playful pastiche.

Abigail has prepared, with her usual flair, the annual New Year's Eve murder mystery-themed caper that doubles as her older brother Benjamin's birthday party. The assembled guests are mostly their close friends: ne'er-do-well Declan; charming Stephen; Cormac and his fiancée, Olivia; Benjamin's former fiancée, Margaret; and a somewhat mysterious newcomer from Benjamin's workplace, Barbara. The murder is solved in due course and merrymaking goes on well into the wee hours. But this January 1, instead of celebrating with his hungover friends in the mansion they've rented for the occasion, Benjamin is found dead.

Here, the novel splits into two parallel storylines. One of them follows Abigail as she deals with the logistics of the funeral and the shattering grief of losing her brother, adding to her isolation after having lost both their parents earlier in life. In this path, her return to her life is piecemeal and painful, and she struggles to make sense of what's happened.

In the other strand, their story is transformed in significant ways to reflect the classic conventions of the mystery genre. Suddenly the siblings are more monied, the mansion their own instead of rented, with their own set of gossipy neighbors. Many of the trappings of a good drawing-room mystery are well in place: a locked-room murder, a plausible roster of suspects with more or less apparent motives, and an acclaimed detective, Auguste Bell (who is a nod to Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes). And true to convention, he has a sidekick/foil. As he says, "And this is Sacker, of course. My sidekick--my associate--my Watson, you understand?... He'll come up with a series of ideas for which I will invariably mock him before one of his inane theories will spark something in me."

Hagerty infuses this play on the traditional narrative with other self-referential commentary and winks at genre specifics, including four pages of prescriptions and rules for mysteries taken from an array of writers throughout the years, including S.S. Van Dine, who advises, "There simply must be a corpse in a detective novel, and the deader the corpse the better."

Hagerty skillfully manipulates the genre, calling attention to the reader's expectations and subverting familiar tropes in the service of nuanced storytelling. Fair Play is a thoroughly satisfying and thought-provoking read. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.

Shelf Talker: Louise Hegarty's debut novel is a clever approach to the drawing-room mystery, satirical and thought-provoking.

What happened to March Madness? I know it's early in the NCAA college basketball playoffs for both men and women, but even a cursory glance through Shelf Awareness's archives reveals that in previous years I've had enough material to write about the spring rite from a bookseller's perspective many times in this column.

This year, March seems a bit less mad among booksellers on social media. I did see this from Downtown Books, Manteo, N.C.: "It is once again time for MARCH MADNESS! We each entered our top 4 books from the past year into the bracket--now you get to help us crown one winner! Last years was Lessons in Chemistry--which do you think will win this time around? Get ready to vote on our stories in the coming weeks!"

And the Well-Read Moose, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is featuring a "Moose Madness Battle of the Books" bracket competition," noting: "Tell us which book you think should win for each pair facing off in the comments!... May the best books win!"

I'm not sure March Madness would have even entered my thoughts this week (it's still early) if other news items hadn't jolted my mind in a sports reading direction. 

One was the recent death of legendary sportswriter John Feinstein. His impact as a writer on athletics was significant, though I confess I've only read two or three of his more than 40 books. I wasn't a huge fan, but I can acknowledge greatness in any field. 

Another of these moments occurred Monday morning. Rory McIlroy had just won a playoff at the Players Championship, one of the PGA Tour's major (if not quite officially Major) golf tournaments. In his press conference afterward, he attributed at least part of his success this winter to "the conversations I've been having with Bob Rotella." (about the 7:00 minute mark)

A longtime renowned sports psychologist and bestselling author (Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, The Golfer's Mind), Rotella has worked with many of the best athletes in the world. I first knew him, however, more than 50 years ago when we played on the same college lacrosse team. It was great to learn that Bob, now in his mid-70s, was still being namechecked by one the best golfers in the world. 

So, with these prompts, instead of thinking about March Book Madness, I found myself considering sports and reading instead.

I noticed that performance coach Jim Murphy's self-published book, Inner Excellence, will be re-released later this spring by Grand Central Publishing Group, which has also acquired his book The Best Possible Life and plans to publish an Inner Excellence workbook. 

How did that happen? Well, as the Associated Press reported, Murphy's book gained mega-attention during the National Football League playoffs in January when Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was spotted on the sidelines during the game flipping through the its pages.

"This game is 90% mental and 10% physical for me," Brown later posted on social media. "I bring it to every game and I read it between each drive. I use it to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game good or bad. People tend to create controversy when they don't know the truth."

As somebody who managed to combine playing sports with being an active reader from a young age, I appreciate the promotion of the two worlds as not being mutually exclusive. 

I also checked out a piece headlined: "I spent a week reading the books footballers read--this is what I learned." Well, I learned that, while speaking at the Sharjah Book Fair, legendary Liverpool soccer star Mohamed Salah claimed 90% of his success was due to books, "explaining how he had a psychology-themed library with books in both Arabic and English," the Athletic noted, adding that Juan Mata "is such a fan of the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami that it influenced his decision to join J-League club Vissel Kobe in 2023."

Many of the books cited in the article are, not surprisingly, self-help and motivational titles. Some are better than others, but that can be said of any reader's choices, including mine. Another consideration: "Footballers are used to taking instructions and learning--whether from coaches, physios, nutritionists, agents, and family--and books are just one more input."

The article does point out, however, that not all the books the athletes read "are nakedly educational." Fiction does appear on Premier League players' reading lists, including Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist.

"To Kill a Mockingbird may seem incongruous but, aside from its obvious artistic and literary merits, one of the key themes for Lee's characters is freedom of choice--not to go along with the prevailing sentiment, but to take control of their own path," the Athletic wrote, noting that the reading habits of these athletes "reveals a vulnerability that makes sense. It is a profession where tiny margins can cause huge waves. In their books, athletes need reassurance of their own agency."

A.J. Brown's recent reads

Since March Madness is off to a slow book start, let's end this is with A.J. Brown's recent TwiX post about his reading journey: "Reading has become fun for me and another way I challenge myself to grow on a regular basis. Here are some books that I've read last year and the beginning of this year as well.... I will be talking about whatever book that I'm reading at the moment and I will discuss it and how it impacts me and hopefully I can encourage someone to choose that book and read so that it may help someone in the future."