WH Smith has sold its 480 high street--or main street--stores to Modella Capital for £76 million (about $98.4 million) and will now focus on its travel business, particularly its 1,200 stores in airports, hospitals, railroad stations, and elsewhere in 32 countries.

The WH Smith brand is not included in the sale; the high street stores will be rebranded TG Jones, a made-up name apparently meant to be reminiscent of WH Smith. The stores will be headed by Sean Toal, who has been WH Smith's CEO of high street business. About 5,000 people are employed in the stores that are being sold. Modella Capital is an investment firm focusing on retail and consumer businesses in the U.K. and Europe; it owns several other retailers, including Hobbycraft and the Original Factory Shop.

WH Smith called its high street business "profitable and cash generative," but noted that travel is an increasingly large part of its operations, accounting for 75% of WH Smith revenue and 85% of its operating profit. International business accounts for 50% of the company's business.

In the past two years, WH Smith had stopped opening new high street stores, and closed some. In 2023, it had 550 high street stores, 70 more than now.

Carl Cowling, WH Smith Group CEO, commented: "As we continue to deliver on our strategic ambition to become the leading global travel retailer, this is a pivotal moment for WHSmith as we become a business exclusively focused on Travel...

"With the ongoing strength in our UK Travel division, and the scale of the growth opportunities in both North America and the rest of the world, we are in our strongest ever position to deliver enhanced growth as we move forward as a pure play travel retailer...

"Now is the right time for a new owner to take the High Street business forward and for the WHSmith leadership team to focus exclusively on our Travel business. I wish the High Street team every success."

Kate Medina, after a long career at Random House, is retiring at the end of June. In a memo to staff, Random House executive v-p and publisher Andy Ward recounted that Medina began her career in publishing at Doubleday, where "as an editorial assistant, she was asked to read the manuscript of Peter Benchley's debut novel, Jaws. After reading her comments, Benchley asked that Kate be his editor for all his books going forward; he would eventually follow her to Random House."

Kate Medina

In 1985, Medina joined Random House, where she eventually rose to executive v-p, associate publisher, and executive editorial director of the imprint.

Jon Meacham, who published eight books with her, said, "Kate Medina embodies editorial excellence. A great conceptual thinker and a rigorous steward of language, she also has the two most important skills required to work well with writers: a gift for psychiatry and a seemingly infinite supply of patience. Henry James might well have had Kate in mind when he wrote that we should all strive to be someone on whom nothing is lost. She's just the best."

Anna Quindlen said, "Since 1988 I have had a single book editor. All these years later, Kate speaks fluent Quindlen, which makes all the difference when she is tackling my first drafts. More important, she has always made me feel encouraged, supported, and, yes--we writers being fragile creatures--loved. When she won me at auction all those years ago, it was one of the luckiest days of my life."

Among the other authors she has edited are Azam Ahmed, Afia Atakora, Catherine Banner, Elizabeth Berg, Amy Bloom, Katherine Boo, Tom Brokaw, Michael Chabon, Emma Cline, Tressie McMillan Cottom, Jonathan Darman, John Dickerson, E.L. Doctorow, Alan Drew, David Ebershoff, Andrea Elliott, David Finkel, Fannie Flagg, Jane Fonda, Alan Furst, Carol Gilligan, John Irving, Tracy Kidder, Adrian LeBlanc, Yiyun Li, Margaret MacMillan, Catherine Venable Moore, Sandra Day O'Connor, Marisha Pessl, Nancy Reagan, Emily Ruskovich, Connie Schultz, Sally Bedell Smith, Gloria Steinem, Evan Thomas, Alice Walker, Karen Thompson Walker, Isabel Wilkerson, and Brenda Wineapple.

"Over the past decades, Kate has been an essential part of making Random House what it is today, both with her books and with the mentorship she has offered to so many of us here," Ward noted. "Kate, we consider ourselves lucky to have worked with you and learned from you, and are grateful for your dedication to Random House, as well as your many, many enduring contributions to the world of books. Thank you for everything."

Total net book sales in January in the U.S. slipped 0.7%, to $1.198 billion, compared to January 2024, representing sales of 1,297 publishers and distributed clients as reported to the Association of American Publishers.

Net revenue for trade books slipped 0.3%, to $741.5 million in January. Net sales of adult books fell 3.2%, with adult fiction down 5.7% and adult nonfiction slipping 0.3%. Net sales of children's & YA books rose 5%, with nonfiction up 21.6% and fiction up 1.7%. Net sales of religious books rose 7.1%, the 10th consecutive month of increases in this category.

In terms of format, trade hardcover revenues rose 0.1%, to $267.5 million; paperbacks dropped 4.3%, to $254.6 million; mass market dropped 16.7%, to $11.2 million; and special bindings jumped 18.8%, to $19.9 million.

Sales by category for January 2025:

Bookworm & Vine has opened in a new space at 6925 Highway 707, Unit C&D, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Owners Eli and Cortney Hornyak noted that their business, which had been called the Bookworm since 2018, has "expanded, rebranded, and relocated! We're now a book and wine shop with a bar. We offer new and used books, 12 wines by the glass, 8 beers on tap, and beer and wine to-go. Stop by and see us at our new location!"

The new business is an expansion of the bookstore they have operated for seven years, the Sun News reported, adding that it is located just five miles from the original business. Coffee will be coming soon, Eli Hornyak said. 

A romance bookstore called In Bloom Bookery opened earlier this month in Temecula, Calif., Patch.com reported.

In Bloom, located at 42031 Main St., Suite #C, carries an assortment of romance titles representing plenty of sub-genres, along with a variety of book-related merchandise. The bookstore hosts game nights every Thursday, as well as book club and writing group meetings.

The bookstore's official opening in mid-March, owner Katie Mullin told Patch, was a resounding success, with customers lining up outside and some of the store's most popular sections getting completely cleared out.

"The grand opening was incredibly emotional for me, as I wasn't expecting that huge turnout," said Mullin, who has dreamed of opening her own bookstore since working at a Borders Books & Music store years ago. "We had such a long line. I was worried about people getting dehydrated or sunburned, so we bought and passed out sunscreen and water to those waiting to come in. Customers waited and came inside and shopped the shelves."

Margaret Taylor, owner of the Book Corner in Bloomington, Ind., died March 11. She was 79. A native of the city, Taylor was the daughter of the late James and Barbara (Groves) Spannuth. She grew up with the Spannuth family business--the Book Corner--and worked the cash register as a child. 

Margaret Taylor

Thirty years ago, Taylor took over the reins full-time. Her obituary noted that "until very recently, she often worked seven days a week. Margaret delighted in her customers. She found joy in helping them find just the right book or by providing an extra personal touch. Margaret thought of her employees as friends, and even as extended family. When she took trips, Margaret would always find something to take back and share with them."
 
In a Facebook post, the Book Corner wrote that Taylor "leaves a strong legacy to Bloomington community as the owner of Book Corner, an iconic fixture on the square. The staff of Book Corner will miss her presence. She was always in her office 7 days a week working tirelessly to give this town great shopping opportunities for books, puzzles, cards, and children's toys."

A tribute posted in the Electron Pencil noted: "How odd it will be to walk into the Book Corner and find Margaret Taylor's chair empty.... We knew it was coming but that didn't make it any easier. We, who sold books and tchotchkes at the Book Corner for all these years, could spend long minutes grousing and carping, moaning and shaking our heads over the owner of the place, but we knew when this day would come we'd cry like babies.

"And we did. Margaret was as strong as an ox and stubborn as a mule. When men possess those qualities, we laud them to the skies. Women, not so much. I'm going to flip that inequity on its head: I called her 'Boss' and, when feeling chipper, 'Boss-arino.' She loved that. She was the boss. And a friend."

Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) is the Spring YA pick for Reese's Book Club, which described the book as: "When Olivia's father cuts her out of her rightful inheritance, she vows revenge. Teaming up with an eclectic band of high school friends and a former teacher, Olivia plots to infiltrate her father's lavish wedding and steal back her share of his fortune. But as unexpected obstacles arise, will Olivia and her team succeed in their daring scheme?"

Reese wrote: "This novel is your next can't-miss read: unexpected alliances, sharp wit, and incredible plot twists."

"Welcome Chloe Cannoli to the Bridgeside Family!" Bridgeside Books, Waterbury, Vt., posted on Facebook. "She came with the name Chloe from @fortheloveofdogsvt and despite my best efforts to find a literary name, Chris and I couldn't agree on one, so Chloe it is! She's a mix of something from Louisiana, maybe some mountain cur and lab? She's just 3 months old and has a lot of learning to do, especially about leaving her older brother Ralph alone. He's undecided if she's friend or foe.... She'll be making appearances at the bookstore from time to time for some socialization!"

Molly Ellis has been promoted to senior v-p, publicity of the Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, effective April 1.

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Catryn Silbersack has been promoted to publicity manager at Holt.

I See You've Called in Dead: A Novel by John Kenney (Zibby Publishing).

Rowan Blanchard (Poker Face, Snowpiercer) has joined the series regular cast of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale sequel series, The Testaments, based on the novels by Margaret Atwood, Deadline reported. She joins previously announced leads Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, and Ann Dowd.

Blanchard stars as Shunammite, "a pampered teen from a prominent Gilead family whose status affords her a certain level of respect and power amongst her peers," Deadline noted.

Like the first series, The Testaments is created by Bruce Miller, who serves as showrunner and executive producer. Also exec producing are Warren Littlefield, Steve Stark, and Mike Barker, who will direct the first three episodes. MGM Television is the studio.

The shortlist has been selected for the £20,000 (about $25,930) Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, which "recognizes exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under, celebrating the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama." The British Library will host a shortlist celebratory event on May 14 (International Dylan Thomas Day), with the winner named during a ceremony in Swansea on May 15. The shortlisted titles are:

Rapture's Road by Seán Hewitt (U.K./Ireland)
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Ireland)
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (The Netherlands)
I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson (U.K.)
Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams (U.K.)
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (Palestine)

Chair of judges Namita Gokhale said: "The range and depth of this year's vibrant longlist made for compelling reading. It was truly a challenge for the jury to hone in on the final shortlist.... The 2025 shortlist is varied and diverse: from ancient  Sicily to tremulous nightwoods, it encompasses the historical, the contemporary, and the timeless through novels, short stories and poetry, showcasing startlingly fresh writing, style and energy."

photo: Alan Johnson Photography

Dennis E. Staples is an Ojibwe author from Bemidji, Minn. He is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction and Yellow Medicine Review. He is a member of the Red Lake Nation. Passing Through a Prairie Country (Counterpoint) is a darkly humorous thriller about the ghosts that haunt the temples of excess we call casinos, and the people caught in their high-stakes, low-odds web.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

In Passing Through a Prairie Country, I want readers to ask, can ghosts hide in the smoke in a reservation casino?

On your nightstand now:

Currently piecing through Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. It's one I can only read in small doses, but I'm determined to finish one day. I mark pages with stand-out phrases and bits of ugly poetry.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling was my favorite from childhood for a few reasons. It introduced me to the fun world of anagrams. I started reading it before the first one, but stopped when our teacher told us we'd be reading that one as a class. I also was given it as a birthday gift at a time when I was more into video games, so I wasn't sure I'd be into it, but eventually the book side of me won more attention (for the rest of my teen years, at least).

Your top five authors:

Clive Barker is the author most responsible for me daring to explore horror. The summer before high school I stayed up all night reading The Thief of Always and The Hellbound Heart. I've sought anything he's written since. In the past few years, I've enjoyed and marveled at some of the short fiction selections of Thomas Ligotti. His style, while dreary, is also masterful at sticking a memorable twist. J.R.R Tolkien because the good professor invented imagination as we know it today. Louise Erdrich because her Love Medicine cycle was there for me in the later part of my academia journey. George R.R. Martin because his short fiction helped me realize how much passion and heart can be reached with few words and a few stargazing nights.

Book you've faked reading:

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Because small-town high school.

Book you're an evangelist for:

I still have my original movie tie-in copies of the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings series. The sheer amount of scholarly work Tolkien did for the world amazes me over and over. He sits at this odd zenith point of academic rigor and pure imagination.

Book you've bought for the cover:

In the mid 2010s I'd often visit the fantasy section in Barnes & Noble, usually in Fargo. One of those trips I saw The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. It must have been around the time the third in the trilogy released because they were displayed prominently on tables at the end of the row. I bought all three that day and read the first few chapters in the café.

Book you hid from your parents:

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin--but only to keep the pages from getting dog-eared. Mass market paperbacks are already just so fragile and prone to wear.

Book that changed your life:

To this day I still feel a twinge of guilt at having my sweet Catholic librarian in school order me a copy of The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker via interlibrary lending. She was never one to worry about the content of the books I ordered but she did say she poked around in the beginning and felt a bit disturbed and lost in Barker's philosophies.

Favorite line from a book:

"Pretty much nobody is getting their emotional needs met." --Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. Reading this book made me realize that I'm more an optimist than I give myself credit for.

Five books you'll never part with:

My original copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Abarat by Clive Barker. It was an epic fantasy by my favorite gay author set in Minnesota, so it felt oddly destined. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It was quite amusing to me to find out it's also one of Joe Rogan's favorites, but I picked up a copy before then. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I used to read it every spring on the first comfortable day. I always have a copy just in case I reestablish that tradition one of these years. The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Stephen Mitchell. His is by far the most accessible and poignant verse translation I've see. Iron John; A Book About Men by Robert Bly. You can open that book at random and what you will find is usually always fun to read, especially out loud to friends.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Twist and turns galore. It does not surprise me in the slightest that Sanderson has become the biggest name in fantasy these days.

Artfully merging the author's formidable storytelling gifts with research findings, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success by Susan Dominus examines the rare domestic alchemy that motivates siblings from the same household to reach great heights. An enduring fascination with the "rites and rhythms" of high-achieving families fuels Dominus's debut, offering readers an opportunity to hear directly from, among others, Ellis Marsalis Jr., father of acclaimed musicians Wynton, Branford, and Jason, and elite athlete Sarah True, sister of award-winning novelist Lauren Groff.

Dominus is a writer for the New York Times and mother to twin teenage boys. Her goal here is to introduce parenting themes gleaned from the notable families she interviewed, and to share insights on the values and habits, including "dinnertime rituals," that shaped their path. Parental inspiration matters but, as Dominus finds, siblings are often the ones who guide the direction of family achievement, as demonstrated through delightful forays into the lives of the phenomenally accomplished Brontë sisters.

Mary Murguía, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is one of several extraordinarily successful siblings. Her parents demonstrated a solid work ethic but it was the children who pushed one another to succeed, motivated by a desire to "[burnish] the Murguía name." Dominus refers to Harvard economist Raj Chetty's research on the power of a neighborhood to shape a child's future, and her interview with members of the highly accomplished Holifield family of Tallahassee, Fla., reinforces the idea that raising children in a college town offers them multiple advantages.

Embracing failure and "a culture of boldness" characterized the Groff family's approach to child-rearing. Interviews with the siblings reveal a family climate of goal-setting in which parents were always asking, "what's next?" Discussing the costs associated with ambition, the sisters admit to feelings of discontent--however much they succeed, it's still not enough.

Caregivers who set high expectations for themselves and let children see them struggle yet not give up provide a great example. "Learning to struggle is an education in and of itself," says Julia Leonard, assistant professor of psychology at Yale University. Are family expectations "a blessing and a gift or a burden that came with a steady low-grade pressure?" According to a 2014 study, if the expectations are framed in "the right way," they can improve a child's performance. Unearthing what constitutes this elusive right way is at the heart of Dominus's excellent book. --Shahina Piyarali

Shelf Talker: Susan Dominus examines factors that motivate siblings from the same family to reach great heights through interviews with, among  others, author Lauren Groff and her sister, Olympian Sarah True.