B&N in Lakeland, Fla.

On Wednesday, November 19, Barnes & Noble will open new stores in Lakeland, Fla., Dickson City, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Brownsville, Tex., and Burleson, Tex., and will reopen its remodeled store in Long Beach, Calif.

The 13,000-square-foot Lakeland store will reside at 3615 S. Florida Ave. in the Merchants Walk shopping center and will not include a B&N Cafe. The opening on the 19th will feature a ribbon cutting and signing with Elise Kova, author of Arcana Academy.

The Dickson City B&N measures 20,000 sq. ft., includes a B&N Cafe, and is located at 638 Commerce Blvd., in the Dickson City Crossings shopping center. Matt Birkbeck, author of The Life We Chose: William “Big Billy” D'Elia and the Last Secrets of America's Most Powerful Mafia Family, will be there Wednesday for the ribbon cutting and signing.

In Pittsburgh, a new B&N is opening at 103 Shady Ave. in the Meridian shopping center. It spans approximately 10,000 sq. ft. and will not include a B&N Cafe. Wednesday's opening will feature a visit from Marie Benedict, author of The Queens of Crime.

The new Brownsville store will occupy a 20,000-sq.-ft. space in the Sunrise Mall, at 2370 North Express Way, and will not have a B&N Cafe. Author Anamely Salgado Reyes will cut the ribbon on Wednesday before signing copies of her novel, My Mother Cursed My Name.

Located at 1107 N. Burleson Blvd. in the Gateway Station shopping center, the Burleson B&N will cover 9,000 sq. ft. and not include a B&N Cafe. The ribbon cutting will feature author Marcela Fuentes, who will sign copies of her debut novel, Malas.

The Long Beach store, meanwhile, is reopening on Wednesday after being closed for approximately six months to undergo renovations. It is located at 6326 East Pacific Coast Hwy. in the Marina Pacifica Shopping Center and first opened in November 1996. The store spans 15,000 sq. ft. and does not have a cafe. Author and illustrator Salina Yoon (Kat & Mouse: I Like Cheese!) will be on hand for the ribbon cutting and signing.

B&N has opened more than 50 stores so far this year, and plans to open a total of more than 60 new stores by the end of 2025. Fourteen are slated to open in November alone, four of them in California.

Pagination's site has become Story House Bookstore.

Just days after Pagination Bookshop, Springfield, Mo., closed following the sale of the building, the News-Leader reported the space will remain a bookstore under a new name and ownership, and will expand beyond retail. Operated by Michael Bruner, a recently retired professor of verbal art, and his sister Penny Scroggs, an interior designer and artist, the Story House Bookstore launched over the weekend, with a grand opening planned for next March. 

The building had been purchased from Pagination owner Jennifer Murvin by Arthur Marx, grandson of late Springfield artist Pinky Marx. Scroggs and Bruner "were looking for a space to host events and support the local arts community in Springfield for some time, when the Pagination building was put up for sale. The two had already salvaged a lot of Pinky Marx's art collection and needed a space to display it," the News-Leader wrote.

"Honestly, it's everything I would have hoped for the space, and it kind of feels like it was meant to be," said Murvin, adding that Bruner and Scroggs had reached out almost immediately after the building went up for sale and it felt like a "huge relief" to see their vision and passion for the space's future.

The new owners said the Story House Bookstore will expand in inventory of books, gifts, and art. "We're kind of just taking the great base that Jen had already built here, and just sort of expanding upon it," Scroggs noted. "We're increasing the inventory of books, in the kinds of books and different genres."

"We really want to see this be a public-facing organization with a lot of community engagement," Bruner added. "We want this to really become a verbal and visual arts center for the city."

The Author Shoppe, Hattiesburg, Miss., hosted a reopening celebration and ribbon-cutting last month in its new location at 709 Hardy St. The Pine Belt News reported that owners Murph and Erin Little spent three months renovating their new space. The store was previously located on Front St. 

"Our main focus is the people here," said Murph Little. "We have book signings with local authors. It's by doing our open mics. It’s doing movie and DND nights. There's a lot of ways we try to get people to meet with each other and talk with each other. That's one thing we can provide that Amazon doesn’t. We don't have a bunch of catchy graphic tees, but we try to do what we can with people."

"The move comes with a fresh start and more room for readers to explore," WDAM noted, adding that the new location offers more space and fresh features for the community to enjoy, including a sunroom, a children's area, and additional amenities designed to create a welcoming atmosphere. In addition to books the Author Shoppe will offer coffee, lattes, and beer.

Murph Little said the shop is more than just a place to buy books; it's about community: "One of the great hallmarks of community is a place to share a drink, be that a beer or a latte. And the books, which are the most important thing for us, that is another community. We wanted a place for readers to feel comfortable and find books that they know and is their comfort, but also new books that we have curated."

Bookmarx, a used and new bookstore in downtown Springfield, Mo., is launching a video rental store, Mister Googorium's Movie Emporium, next March in a space at the back of the shop where an art gallery is currently located. The News-Leader reported that the name honors Googey, the shop's "dear departed store cat... combined with a reference to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, a 2007 fantasy film." 

In recent years, co-owner Joshua Arnett has built a collection of films he has found at thrift stores and estate sales, and "this newest venture is more than just to satisfy the craving of nostalgia... it's a way to bring back the exposure to new and unique physical media not controlled by never-ending options and algorithmic suggestions," the News-Leader wrote.

"There are things that have been lost in the transition to digital," he said. "I do think there's a utility in being able to go somewhere and find something that you're looking for or something that you're not looking for, or that we can kind of have a physical copy of something if it's unavailable in other places."

The selection at Mister Googorium's Movie Emporium will focus primarily on DVDs, but also include some VHS tapes. Video players will be available to rent at the shop as well. Although his pricing model is not completely ready yet, Arnett noted that there will be a monthly rental price that will be cheaper than streaming services. In a recent Instagram video, he shared the logic he has been using while purchasing films for the Emporium.

"I want there to actually be like I have something that you can't find online, so things that are out of print or more obscure, or things that you wouldn't just find if you're on Tubi or if you're on Netflix," he added.

After announcing his plans on social media earlier this month, Arnett told the News-Leader he has had overwhelmingly positive feedback: "Now I feel like I have to do it well. Having a bookstore, what it has taught me is, if I have an idea, I can just do it."

Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kan.--celebrating its 50th year--welcomed back Ree Drummond, aka the Pioneer Woman, for The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes! (Morrow Cookbooks). More than 650 people came to the Unity Temple to hear Drummond (center) and her daughter Paige (left) in conversation, discussing what it was like to open their home--specifically their kitchen--to audiences around the world. They were joined by Drummond's husband, Ladd.

Len Vlahos

Left Field Publishing, the new house founded by industry veterans Kristen Gilligan and Len Vlahos, is holding a display contest for Vlahos's new novel, The Story of Oog: A New Thinker's Guide to the Forest, published earlier this month. The bookstore with the most creative and inventive display will win a visit from Vlahos, a former bookseller and former CEO of the American Booksellers Association, who will work in the winning store for a weekend in mid-December. (One of the pair's favorite things to do when they were at the ABA was volunteering at bookstores around the holidays. This is a nod to those days.)

Entries are due by Friday, December 5, and the winner will be announced Wednesday, December 10. Vlahos's visit will be from Friday, December 19, to Sunday, December 21.

For more information about the contest, click here. And for more information about Left Field, distributed through IPG, click here.

The American Booksellers Association, which has been celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, has collected all of its anniversary coverage in one place so readers "can look back at how far ABA and bookselling have come in the last 125 years--and how far we can go in the future."

(The ABA's exact 125th anniversary was last Saturday, November 15. Congratulations, ABA!)

The coverage includes an interview with CEO Allison Hill; interviews with a range of people involved with the ABA, including the ABA's Pete Reynolds, Belmont Books' Audrey Huang, Binc's Pamela French, and the late Dan Cullen; comments from and interviews with past ABA presidents; and more.

At Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, N.H., Elisabeth Jewell, events coordinator and a 14-year veteran of the store, is leaving. Owner Michael Herrmann praised her, noting that she "grew our events program tremendously over the course of her career, and managed gatherings both large and small with grace and good humor. She kept the calendar full, and events running smoothly, whether it was with a first-time local author or a store packed with families waiting to share some time with Tomie DePaola or Jan Brett. Our crew of regular attendees at events, those whimsical temperature readings in the romance section,  and her beloved Blind Date with a Book program will be lasting monuments to Elisabeth's ingenuity and dedication."

At the same time, marketing manager Ryan Clark has been promoted to the newly created role of manager of events and marketing. She has been with Gibson's since 2012 and, Herrmann noted, "rose through the ranks as a bookseller to become a key manager for the bookstore. She worked closely with Elisabeth on our events and brings both expertise and enthusiasm to her new position. Ryan is widely read in a variety of genres and is well known in our corner of the bookselling world. We are sure that Ryan will build on the foundation Elisabeth is leaving and that our events program will grow, as our bookstore is growing." She is also a member of the board of directors of the New England Independent Booksellers Association.

I, Medusa: A Novel by Ayana Gray (Random House).

Today:
CBS Mornings: Rachel Renée Russell, author of Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life (Aladdin, $15.99, 9781665988384).

Today: Walter Isaacson, author of The Greatest Sentence Ever Written (Simon & Schuster, $20, 9781982181314).

Fresh Air: Cynthia Erivo, author of Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much (Flatiron Books, $28.99, 9781250428325).

Jennifer Hudson Show repeat: Malala Yousafzai, author of Finding My Way: A Memoir (Atria, $30, 9781668054277). 

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Nate Berkus, author of Foundations: Timeless Design That Feels Personal (S&S/Simon Element, $45, 9781668026137).

Also on CBS Mornings: Alison Roman, author of Something from Nothing: A Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $37.99, 9781984826411).

Good Morning America: Samin Nosrat, author of Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love (Random House, $45, 9781984857781).

Today: Dick Van Dyke, author of 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life (Grand Central, $29, 9781538777909).

Kelly Clarkson Show: R.J. Halbert (Jason and Rhonda Halbert), author of Servant: The Goodpasture Chronicles, Book 2 (Novus Press Works, $24.99, 9781963366099).

Following the debut of Apple TV's series Pluribus, which features disgruntled romantasy author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) battling a post-apocalyptic happiness pandemic, Apple has released a sample chapter (on Apple Books) from her novel Bloodsong of Wycaro, "full of proud, haughty pirates corsairs and Mandovian spicefruit," Deadline reported. 

The book's description invites readers to "take sail with Lucasia, Captain of the duneship Mercator, as she traverses the amaranthine sands of Wycaro seeking a cure for the insidious illness felling her crew. As Lucasia navigates a treacherous storm, she is haunted by memories of Raban, the rogue who stole her heart before walking the plank. Seething with passions which cry for release, she soon learns the only thing worse than finding yourself alone in the dark... is discovering you're not alone."

In the pilot episode of Pluribus, Carol describes her bestselling romantasy series as "mindless crap," and "later reveals that the male romantic lead character Raban was intended to be a woman, presumably inspired by her real-life partner Helen (Miriam Shor). Meanwhile, the author wants to focus on her more serious endeavor, Bitter Chrysalis," Deadline noted.

"At the end of the day, no matter how much she may grumble, she loves her fans, but then as soon as an event like that book signing [is] over, she just wants a drink," Pluribus creator Vince Gilligan had previously told Deadline. "That's probably based on me: She just wants to be quiet for a while and then just have a Manhattan."

The longlist has been announced for the $35,000 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize, honoring "a work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue" and is sponsored by Aspen Words, a program of the Aspen Institute. Five finalists will be announced on March 11, 2026, and the winner on April 23, 2026. The longlist: 

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine (Grove Press)
King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (Mariner Books)
Culpability by Bruce Holsinger (Spiegel & Grau)
Intemperance: A Novel by Sonora Jha (HarperVia)
The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb (Marysue Rucci Books)
Ring: A Novel by Michelle Lerner (Bancroft Press)
A Family Matter by Claire Lynch (Scribner)
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron Books)
These Heathens: A Novel by Mia McKenzie (Random House)
Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Berkley)
This Here Is Love by Princess Joy L. Perry (W.W. Norton)
Endling by Maria Reva (Doubleday)
Behind the Waterline by Kionna Walker LeMalle (Blair)
So Far Gone: A Novel by Jess Walter (Harper)

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The longlist has been selected for the £4,000 (about $5,260) 2026 Wingate Literary Prize, which is awarded to "the best book, fiction or non-fiction, to convey the idea of Jewishness to the general reader." The shortlist will be announced in mid December and the winner early next year. The longlist: 

The Einstein of Sex by Daniel Brook
Chopping Onions on My Heart by Samantha Ellis
Chutzpah! A Memoir of Faith, Sexuality and Daring to Stay by Yehudis Fletcher
City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter
Berlin Atomized by Julia Kornberg
Fear No Pharaoh by Richard Kreitner
Nothing Vast by Moshe Zvi Marvit
Ripeness by Sarah Moss
Letters by Oliver Sacks, edited by Kate Edgar
Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart
Family Romance by Jean Strouse
The Gates of Gaza by Amir Tibon

Ashley Winstead's propulsive seventh novel, The Future Saints, follows the titular rock band--singer/lead guitarist Hannah, bassist Ripper, and drummer Kenny--as they navigate newfound fame and complicated relationships, including the one with their new manager, Theo. Since Ginny, the former manager and Hannah's sister, died in a drowning accident, the band has floundered. Theo, an ambitious yet thoughtful Ivy League grad with a reputation as "the Fixer," has had some success at changing struggling bands' fortunes for the better, but the Saints--especially Hannah--keep defying all his expectations. Winstead (This Book Will Bury Me) layers in the emotions of the band's journey like an achingly emotive rock song: grief, longing, anticipation, misunderstanding, and a persistent spark of hope.

When Theo meets the Saints, they've hit rock bottom: playing gigs in dive bars and constantly arguing with one another. Though Hannah tries to hide it, her drinking is getting worse, and she's clinging to what scraps of Ginny's presence she can still feel, unwilling to accept that her beloved baby sister is never coming back. But when she unleashes a new, darker sound with a song about Ginny's death, the Saints unexpectedly skyrocket to fame--though no one knows if it will bind them closer together or break them apart for good. Theo, trying to keep the Saints on an even enough keel to make their scheduled gigs and record their contracted album, finds himself more invested in their emotional well-being than he ever expected.

Winstead explores the glamour and grit of life on the road, from endless miles in tour buses to the giddy euphoria when the band and their fans share heart-stopping moments. Through Hannah's actual conversations with her therapist and her imagined ones with Ginny, Winstead also plumbs the complexities of grief, especially Hannah's reluctance to let go and move on. The other band members are mostly foils for Hannah, yet Winstead gives them each a moment to shine: handsome, restless Ripper, still aching to prove himself to his high-achieving family, and peacemaker Kenny, who wants everyone to get along but also has his own dreams. As Theo wrestles with growing feelings for Hannah, his hopes for the band, and his burgeoning sense that his bosses at the label are playing a dangerous game, he must decide whether and how he's willing to help the Saints stay on top of the charts--even if it means betraying the fragile trust they've built.

With compelling characters and surprising emotional depth, The Future Saints pays tribute to the glitz and guts required for a life dedicated to music. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Ashley Winstead's gritty, glamorous seventh novel follows the changing fortunes of a rock band struggling to stay together after their manager's death.