Sherwood Bookstore opened earlier this month in Sherwood, Ore., Oregon Live reported.

Located at 16771 S.W. 12th St., Suite D, the bookstore carries titles for all ages and has an ample children's area equipped with blocks and sensory toys. There are couches throughout the store, and customers can purchase beer, cider, wine, and tea.

Many of the store's nonbook offerings, including blankets, paint-by-number kits, and chocolates, are sourced from local small businesses. The store's event offerings include sensory-friendly shopping hours and $2 tea times, with an adult reading program and trivia competition coming this summer.

Owners and married couple Adam Bienvenu and Laura Mulkey welcomed customers for the first time on May 1. Bienvenu told Oregon Live that a trip to Powell's Books in Portland, which is some 45 minutes away, got him thinking about opening a bookstore in Sherwood.

Bienvenu noted that though Sherwood already had a children's book and toy store, the community did not have a place to find general-interest books for both kids and adults. Accessibility and literacy are big parts of the store's mission. Sherwood Bookstore operates a community fund that will be used to help others afford books; runs a leave-a-book, take-a-book program; and helps customers sign up for library cards.

"We know that Oregon has not fantastic literacy rates," Bienvenu said, "and I wonder if the accessibility of books is also part of that issue. It couldn't hurt to have more available."

The Underground Yarn & Book Shop will be opening soon at 223 W. Caracas Ave. in Hershey, Pa., and has launched a $15,000 Kickstarter campaign to help with renovation, coffee supplies, wool to dye, and new book inventory. According to the fundraising site, the business was founded by Kayla Mini, "an independent yarn dyer, dreamer and creative," and Eric Mizak, a bookseller and avid reader.

Owners Kayla Mini and Eric Mizak show off their new logo.

"The concept for this operation came upon our first meeting (a blind date, mind you) and together the conversation hasn't stopped," they noted. "Now we are putting all of our ideas into action! We both prioritize the importance of community that crafting and books bring to humanity. Our values lie in hospitality, connection, and learning new things from one another. Our mission is to bring fiber and books to the Hershey area."

Part of their focus will be "bringing in merchandise that is more 'off-the-beaten-path' into our store. It's underground, not mainstream. You will find our collection of new books won't be from large publishing houses. We'd prefer to work with indie publishing houses, supporting their stories with diverse voices. We also will be carrying yarn suppliers that are not found in other local yarn shops, ensuring that you get unique and exquisite options for your next cast-on!"

In an Instagram post this week, the co-owners noted: "It's the reveal of our official Underground logo! We couldn't be more in love as this design truly and artistically captures who we are; just wait until you see the color scheme! We can't wait to welcome you to The Underground. Construction is still in the works but soon painting and bookshelf building and yarn sorting will commence!"

Applications are open for the Macmillan Booksellers Professional Development Scholarship, a partnership between the Book Industry Charitable Foundation and Macmillan Publishers that provides grants of $750 to help booksellers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds attend their region's independent booksellers association fall trade show. 

The $750 scholarships, up from $500 in acknowledgement of rising costs, will cover travel, lodging, and meals for attending a regional fall trade show. Applicants must answer three short essay questions, and a panel from Macmillan and the Binc program committee will choose a winner from each region. Applications will be accepted until May 31.

"Thanks to our partners, underrepresented booksellers have access to professional development and growth within the book industry," said Pam French, Binc's executive director. "Binc is honored to work with Macmillan Publishers and the independent bookseller associations to increase access."

Eligibility details and the application can be found here.

Longtime bookseller Mary Ellen Wood will retire from Schuler Books, which operates bookstores in Grand Rapids, Okemos, Ann Arbor, & West Bloomfield, Mich., on May 16, after 33 years with the company.  

Mary Ellen Wood

Schuler Books described Wood as "an essential part of our story since 1991," when she began her career by helping to launch the bookstore's first expansion, in Okemos, Mich., as the general manager. After two decades leading and growing that location, Wood was promoted to her current position of head book buyer in 2011, and "has played a key role in curating the inventory across all of Schuler Books' locations, while always remaining engaged with her local community...

"One of Mary Ellen's most meaningful contributions during her time at Schuler Books has been her mentorship," the company continued. "She has guided and inspired countless booksellers with her keen sense for connecting readers to books that inform, inspire, and reflect their lives. Her philosophy of both buying and managing has played a significant role in our company's evolution."

Founding owners Cecile and Bill Fehsenfeld said, "When we met Mary Ellen, we knew almost immediately that she would be an excellent choice to lead our first expansion outside our hometown. Mary Ellen is a consummate bookseller, who shares our vision of what makes a great independent bookstore. Her strong leadership, care for our customers and love of books have left an impact on our Okemos store that will be felt for many years. And as head buyer, her great gift for curating an outstanding selection of titles has made a lasting impact on all four of our stores. We are thankful for her decades with us." 

With Wood's retirement, Kim Fox, a 25-year Schuler Books veteran, will become head book buyer. Schuler Books noted that Fox "brings a wealth of experience and heart to the position, and we look forward to this next chapter in our journey."

Comic book artist and writer Jack Katz, "whose 768-page magnum opus, The First Kingdom, published in installments over a dozen years starting in 1974, was widely credited with helping give birth to the long-form graphic novel," died April 24, the New York Times reported. He was 97.

Katz published The First Kingdom, "a sprawling blend of fantasy and science fiction with philosophical underpinnings," in two books every year until he reached issue #24, a number he arrived at intentionally because it was the number of books in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Times noted.

Comics pioneer Will Eisner called The First Kingdom "one of the most awesome undertakings in modern comic book history." Jerry Siegel, who created Superman with Joe Shuster, wrote that "reading The First Kingdom is like seeing captured on paper glimpses of a dream world depicted by an artist with remarkable creative vision."

Katz started his career in the industry in his teens and later worked for a variety of comics publishers, including Marvel, DC and Standard. Although he worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Stan Lee, Alex Raymond, and Hal Foster, Katz "had an artistic temperament, and he chafed at the commercial strictures of the business," the Times wrote.

In a recent appreciation in the Comics Journal, comic book writer Steven Ringgenberg observed that had it not been for his midcareer turn with The First Kingdom, it is likely that Katz "would have been regarded as just a journeyman artist, who tried--with little success--to make a living in comics."

Katz had recalled that, as a student at the School of Industrial Art (now the High School of Art and Design) in Manhattan, "he was awful at every subject but art. He got his first taste of the business as a teenager, penciling for Archie Comics and drawing the superhero Bulletman for Fawcett. He later worked on a variety of projects, including war and Western books, for Atlas Comics, which would evolve into Marvel," the Times noted.

During the mid-1950s, he quit comics to focus on painting, then returned to the field in the late 1960s, but took another break in his 40s after leaving New York for the San Francisco Bay Area. His wife, Carolyn, encouraged him to pursue what became The First Kingdom. The volumes were originally issued by the publishing arm of Berkeley's Comics & Comix, and later by Bud Plant, a founder of Comics & Comix.

Katz continued to paint and teach art. He published two books on the art of anatomy, two volumes of sketchbooks, and another graphic novel, Legacy. Katz also created "an ambitious follow-up to his masterwork: a 500-page graphic novel called Beyond the Beyond," which he financed in part through an Indiegogo campaign, the Times wrote. That work, completed in 2019, remains unpublished. 

He was realistic about the odds against replicating his earlier book's success, saying, "For heaven's sake, you know, if you climbed Mount Everest one time, it's not a snap the second."

"Aren't they the cutest? Congrats to Grace & Sam on their engagement at Volumes tonight! We LOVE LOVE!" Volumes Bookcafe, Chicago, Ill., posted on Instagram.

Posted on Instagram by Morgenstern Books, Bloomington, Ind.: "Being based in a college town, it's kind of like holiday time for us. Here's to the graduates!"

Mud to the Rescue! How Animals Use Mud to Thrive and Survive by Tanya Konerman, illustrated by Melanie Cataldo (Web of Life Children's Books).

Today:
Here & Now: Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft, authors of J vs. K (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 9780316582681).

Tomorrow:
Today: Matteo Lane, author of Your Pasta Sucks: A "Cookbook" (Chronicle, $29.95, 9781797229560).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Danny Ricker, author of Wow, You Look Terrible!: How to Parent Less and Live More (Hyperion Avenue, $26.99, 9781368110914).

Greg Silverman's Stampede Ventures "is moving ahead with its prestige adaptation" of Max Seeck's bestselling Nordic noir novel The Faithful Reader, featuring the detective Jessica Niemi, as an English-language TV series, Screen Daily reported. The project is expected to begin production in Europe later this year. Stampede Ventures initially optioned the rights in 2019 and eventually purchased the book.

Published as The Witch Hunter in U.S. and U.K., The Faithful Reader "takes place in Helsinki, Finland, and follows Niemi as she investigates a copycat killer that forces her to confront the past as she uncovers a dark ancestral secret," Deadline noted.

Chris Murray and Maria Ward (Van der Valk) will adapt the English-language book series. Silverman is producing alongside John-Paul Sarni, Seeck, and G4C's Gudrun Giddings. Amelia Mysko of Stampede will serve as co-producer

"We couldn't be more excited to have Chris and Maria adapting this phenomenal piece of IP," said Silverman. "Their mastery of the genre will enthrall audiences as we explore the gripping and suspenseful world Seeck has created."

Winners were announced last night at the British Book Awards. The overall book of the year was Patriot by the late Alexei Navalny, which also won in the non-fiction narrative category. In addition, Margaret Atwood was given the Freedom to Publish Award, and the British Book Award for Social Impact went to Kate Mosse, writer and founder of the Women's Prize for Fiction.
 
Winners in the book categories:
Fiction: James by Percival Everett
Debut Fiction: Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton
Crime & Thriller: Hunted by Abir Mukherjee
Pageturner: Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Discover: poyums by Len Pennie
Non-Fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated: What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci
Non-Fiction: Narrative Winner: Patriot by Alexei Navalny, translated by Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel
Children's Fiction: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney
Children's Non-Fiction: Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back by Isabella Tree, illustrated by Angela Harding
Children's Illustrated: Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Audiobook, Fiction (tie):
Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart, narrated by Ciaran Saward
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
Audiobook: Non-Fiction: Sociopath by Patric Gagne

Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo's The Tiny Things Are Heavier is an expansive first novel about a woman searching for home, love, and belonging. Sommy is a Nigerian immigrant to the United States, a graduate student in literature, a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend--but all of this leaves her still seeking a sense of identity.

Sommy left for graduate school in Iowa just weeks after her beloved brother Mezie's suicide attempt. She feels isolated in the cold Midwest and tormented by guilt; Mezie will not take her calls. Eventually Sommy makes a few friends, and deepens and complicates her relationship with her roommate, Bayo, a fellow native of Lagos with a boisterous personality she is slow to appreciate. Then she meets Bryan, a biracial American with a Nigerian father he never knew. She struggles at first to interpret his interest: "She can't say whether he's flirting back. If he were a real Nigerian, she would know for sure."

Their relationship proceeds slowly and then, after a rocky recovery from an early challenge, quickly. Sommy finds Bryan magnetic: handsome, wealthy, and a talented writer. In their second year together, they travel to Nigeria. It's Sommy's first time home, and the first time she's seen or spoken with her brother since his suicide attempt. It's Bryan's first time in Nigeria. They search for his father, and Sommy shows Bryan her family, her neighborhood, her home. But a series of events culminating in a shocking tragedy causes Sommy to reassess her most important relationships and to call her core values into question. She is forced to consider yet again what it would mean to find a sense of belonging and home.

Okonkwo makes a wise choice to tell this story through Sommy's compelling close third-person point of view, which portrays her as anxious and exasperated, strong-willed and intelligent, cynical and devoted. She loves her home even as she works to escape it. "If life, she thinks, its surprises, the slices of deep joy contained, its ruggedness and impliability, its contradictions, the implosion of it, the nonsense of it, were a physical place, it would be Lagos." In returning, Sommy feels "the loss of a place for which to pine. She had gone home, and home did not feel like home." Through Sommy's experiences in Nigeria and in Iowa, Okonkwo asks her readers to reflect upon class, privilege, race, gender, and their interlocking power structures, as well as the importance of place to one's sense of self. The Tiny Things Are Heavier is thought-provoking and unforgettable. --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia

Shelf Talker: In this expansive and unforgettable first novel, a young Nigerian woman seeks home and belonging in a network of troubled relationships.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. King of Envy by Ana Huang
2. Phantom by H.D. Carlton
3. Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story by Jeffrey Mason
4. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
5. Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight
6. Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube
7. Fumbling Towards Repair by Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan
8. All Too Well by Corinne Michaels
9. On Being Jewish Now by Zibby Owens
10. The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]