Jeff Resnik is now partner and co-owner at {pages} a bookstore in Manhattan Beach, Calif., joining co-founders and owners Linda McLoughlin Figel and Patty Gibson. Resnik has been general manager of the bookstore since 2022.

Jeff Resnick

"We are thrilled to formalize this relationship, making official what we have felt for quite some time," said Figel. "Jeff has been a true partner in every sense--bringing energy, leadership, heart, and vision to {pages}. He is deeply loved by our staff, our customers, and our broader bookselling community, and we are incredibly excited to welcome him as a co-owner of this business we cherish."

"I'm thrilled to call Jeff partner," Gibson added.

Since joining {pages} Resnik has served multiple terms on the Golden Poppy Awards committee for the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, participated in the American Booksellers Association's Booksellers School, and advocated for independent bookstores in Washington, D.C.

"{pages} has become incredibly meaningful to me--not simply as a business, but as a true community," said Resnik. "Independent bookstores occupy a special place in the neighborhoods they service, and I feel deeply honored by Lind and Patty's trust and partnership. I'm excited to help lead the next chapter of {pages} and continue building a place where readers feel welcomed, inspired, and connected."

Figel, Gibson, and Margot Farris co-founded {pages} in 2010. Farris retired from the bookstore in 2019.

The Greater Killeen, Tex., Chamber of Commerce hosted a double ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 18 for two businesses owned by Brianna Bergeron at 116 E Avenue D: the Scarlet Page, "a romance-focused bookstore designed to create a welcoming environment for readers," and the Little Cloud Playhouse, which "provides a safe indoor play space for infants and toddlers," the Killeen Daily Herald reported. 

"I'm a romance author myself, and we don't have just a romance-based place here in Killeen," Bergeron said. "I always wanted to open up something to bring the community together, so why not a bookstore?"

The Scarlet Page bookstore opened earlier this year and features multiple romance genres. "We provide Black Love, which is a mix of African American romance and urban romance," Bergeron said. "Fantasy romance is huge right now with the fae, the vampires, the dragons." The store also carries titles that may appeal to the LGBTQ community.

The Little Cloud Playhouse, run by her sister, Kaija Bergeron, opened alongside the bookstore and caters to toddlers and infants, the Daily Herald noted. "We wanted more playmates and to bring something that Killeen didn't already have. Most times they're either at the park or at home, and this is another place they can come," Brianna Bergeron said.

Bergeron noted that opening businesses downtown allowed her to connect with the community in a new way: "You find out more about the city when you open a business here than I ever knew. I'm so glad that more and more businesses are coming down here and people are realizing Killeen is a lot more beautiful than it used to be."

From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, Pa., will close permanently in the months ahead, NorthCentralPA.com reported.

In a Facebook post, owners Kevin and Kasey Coolidge said they've decided to close the new and used bookstore and have launched a major liquidation sale. Everything in store will be 60% off for store members, while nonmembers will receive 30% off. The store will continue to accept special orders for the time being. 

"It's hard to believe the final pages are turning," the owners wrote. "We've loved being your local bookstore, your quiet escape, and the only place in town where you could get a literary recommendation from a feline."

They encouraged customers to continue to support independent, bricks-and-mortar bookstores and not switch to online retailers. And though they did not give an official closing date, they expect to be operating the bookstore until at least mid-July.

The Association of American Publishers has entered a partnership with the technology company Vermillio to document and facilitate the removal of infringing copies of literary works from online sites. As part of its services, Vermillio will deploy its TraceID technology "to address infringing copies accurately and swiftly, with the goal of reducing the scale, duration, and cost of the damage suffered by publishers and authors in as close to real time as possible," AAP noted. "This includes copyright abuses on both generative AI platforms and distribution platforms, such as YouTube. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for infringers to upload infringing files to popular hosting sites immediately after a lawful publication hits the market, if not contemporaneously, and for these sites to benefit directly or indirectly from the traffic."

"As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation, we are proud to note that the American publishing industry has been there every step of the way," said Maria A. Pallante, AAP President and CEO. "But today we have a system of infringement on the internet that is shocking and getting worse, calling for fresh thinking, sophisticated tools, and strong alliances. We are pleased to work with Vermillio in the effort to forge next-generation solutions for publishers, authors, and platforms." 

"As part of their comprehensive playbook, publishers are moving strategically from defense to offense in the AI era," said Dan Neely, co-founder & CEO of Vermillio. "We need independent solutions, not ones owned by the very platforms seeking to monetize work that isn't theirs. The publishing industry's adoption of TraceID sends a clear signal that consent, control, and compensation must be foundational to the future of AI." 

In its most recent consumer survey series update, BookNet Canada examined book prices, including how much Canadian book buyers are willing to pay, how they are spending their money, and the value they attribute to books.

Most customers paid full price in 2025, with 51% (down from 53% in 2024) of those who bought new titles spending between C$1 (about US$0.70) and C$49 (about US$35.50) on books in a given month. While 91% of Canadian consumers looked for sales, promotions, and coupons when they shop for books, most of them paid full price for the books they purchased in 2025 (60%, same as in 2024).

Since 2020, the average price paid by these Canadian book buyers increased 11% for hardcovers, 11% for paperbacks, 3% for e-books, and decreased 5% for audiobooks, BookNet noted, adding that year-over-year survey results from 2024 to 2025 showed that average prices paid jumped 13% for hardcovers, 5% for paperbacks, and 2% for audiobooks, and decreased 13% for audiobooks year over year.

The majority of Canadians who bought new books compared book prices before making a purchase at least sometimes in 2025 (83%), with 19% comparing the price in multiple places, a percentage that is the same as in 2023 and 2024. BookNet noted that overall, 68% of Canadians who bought a new book participated in book-related rewards or loyalty programs last year.

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Legendary Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company has partnered with publisher Faber on a new podcast, Editions: A Shakespeare and Company x Faber Production, the Bookseller reported. Each episode will celebrate and discuss a title on the Faber Editions list, which is "dedicated to rediscovering radical literary voices."

The podcast will feature a conversation between Shakespeare and Company's literary director Adam Biles; Ella Griffiths, Faber's head of classics and heritage; and a guest speaker. The first episode is scheduled to be released May 28 to mark the 20th title on the Faber Editions list: Henry Van Dyke's Ladies of the Rachmaninoff Eyes (1965), and will feature Taíno Mendez as guest. The second episode focuses on Ruth Rehmann's Illusions (1959), with Megan Nolan.

"For booksellers, Faber Editions is a dream--subversive, overlooked voices, unearthed and beautifully republished," said Biles. "I'm so excited to get the chance to discuss these books with Ella and our guests, and to invite listeners into this radical little reading group."

Griffiths added: "Faber and Shakespeare and Company--one of the world's most beloved bookshops--have always shared a vibrant spirit of independence and experimental creativity: so this chance to resurrect lost gems from history together on our new podcast is a true pleasure."

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Kirsty Bradbury has been named the new children's managing director at Simon & Schuster UK, effective later this year, the Bookseller reported. Currently publishing strategy director at HarperCollins, Bradbury will assume her new position this fall, reporting to Simon & Schuster UK and International CEO Perminder Mann. 

Bradbury has 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining HarperCollins in 2019, she worked at publishing companies Carlton, Parragon and Penguin Random House, as well as at kids' entertainment brand Nickelodeon.

Books-A-Million hosted author Matt Dinniman at the Perelman Theater in Philadelphia, Pa., for A Parade of Horribles (Penguin), the eighth installment in his Dungeon Crawler Carl series; he was in conversation with Maude Garrett.

Coco Zephir is a bookseller at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Mass., where she works on the events and marketing teams. She loves romance titles and here offers a roundup of some of the books coming out this month that she's most excited about:

Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi (Pamela Dorman Books)

Timing is not on Simran's side. A family wedding calls her home for the first time in years just as she begins dating her longtime crush, Leo. When Leo crashes the wedding celebrations, chaos ensues, and a ruse is born--one that will either have Leo welcomed into the family with open arms or on the next flight back to Toronto.

An endearing, laugh-out-loud family portrait that examines grief and cross-generational relationships. Sometimes to fall in love you just have to come back home.

Games: A Love Story by Anna Maria Volkova (Morrow)

Prepare to be wrecked in this New York City summer of love and reckoning age-gap romance from debut author Anna Maria Volkova.

For Lili, an economist working on her master's thesis, a one-night stand with older Aleksandr quiets a nerve that's been ringing since her parents' deaths years prior. The quiet is intoxicating for Lili, but as she keeps coming back to Aleksandr and something grows between them, she becomes more afraid that she'll finally need someone other than herself, which she isn't ready to face.

A high-heat romance where power and intellect are the currency. 

The Open Era by Edward Schmit (Berkley)

A new adult tennis romance perfect for readers looking for a little steam, mental health representation, and a friends-to-lovers story filled with a quiet connection in the city that never sleeps. 

Austin Hardy, the first openly gay male tennis player to compete in the U.S. Open, has a crush. It's inconvenient. After Austin has an anxiety-induced fall, Diego, his competition and crush, comes to his rescue and the two begin a friendship. The connection blooms into more and comes to a head when the two return to the court to face off. Will their relationship withstand the pressure of professional tennis? You'll have to read to find out!

"BREAK UP WITH AI!!" Third Place Books, which operates three stores in the Seattle, Wash., area, recommended in an Instagram Reel, noting: "Looking for book recommendations to jump start your summer reading? Talk to a human bookseller or librarian!"

"Books. Come on in and dilly-dally." That was the chalkboard message in front of Wicked Good Books in Salem, Mass., which noted: "Bookseller Adrian's latest chalk art signage. They captured our vibe perfectly!!"

Today:
Here & Now: Scott Simon, author of Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known (W.W. Norton, $24.99, 9781324117186).

Fresh Air: Ben Rhodes, author of All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches (Random House, $35, 9780593595121).

Tomorrow:
Today: David Sedaris, author of The Land and Its People: Essays (Little, Brown, $30, 9780316264839).

Tamron Hall: Sam Yo, author of The Monk's Mindset: Finding Stillness in a World That Won't Stop Moving (Blackstone, $29.99, 9798212435994).

Filmmaker Thea Sharrock (Me Before You) will direct Lionsgate's film adaptation of The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Todd Lieberman (The Housemaid, War Machine) is producing for his company Hidden Pictures. Arash Amel (A Private War, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) adapted the novel for the project.

Yarros is exec producing through her company Full Measures Productions. Also exec producing are Amel, through the Amel Company, along with Alex Young and Carly Kleinbart Elter of Hidden Pictures.

"Thea has an incredible gift for emotional storytelling and is the perfect filmmaker to bring Rebecca Yarros's sweeping, romantic, and heartbreaking story to the screen," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Erin Westerman.

Perpetual, the trustee of the A$60,000 (about US$43,000) Miles Franklin Literary Award, has released this year's longlist celebrating "novels of the highest literary merit that tell stories about Australian life." This year’s shortlist will be released in June, with the winner named in August. The longlisted titles are:

Discipline by Randa Abdel-Fattah 
I Want Everything by Dominic Amerena 
Salt Upon the Water by Lyn Dickens 
Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan  
First Name, Second Name by Steve Minon 
My Heart at Evening by Konrad Muller 
Fierceland by Omar Musa 
Little World by Josephine Rowe
Elegy, Southwest by Madeleine Watts 
You Must Remember This by Sean Wilson 

photo: Nina Michiko Tam

Vaishnavi Patel is the author of the novels Kaikeyi, Goddess of the River, and Ten Incarnations of Rebellion. Her new fantasy novel, We Dance upon Demons (Saga Press, May 12, 2026), follows a burned-out abortion clinic worker fighting to save her community from powerful threats both supernatural and mundane. Patel is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law and civil rights, including issues of gender and racial justice. She has lived in five states in the last five years, but Chicago is home.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

A reproductive rights worker starts seeing literal demons outside her abortion clinic. But the real evil might just be humanity.

On your nightstand now:

Reading before bed is too exciting; it would keep me up! I'm currently reading Empire of AI by Karen Hao and Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I have always loved reading, so I had many favorite books. A foundational story for me is The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko. It's a picture book about a young princess who outsmarts a dragon to rescue a prince--when the prince proves ungrateful, she leaves him in the dust. I loved the story so much, I forced my younger sister to put it on as a play for my parents. I played the paper bag princess, of course, and she played the dragon!

Your top five authors:

This is such a hard question! I read a mix of fiction and nonfiction, and I love most genres, so I have favorites in every category. I would say Patrick Radden Keefe for investigative nonfiction, Mary Beard for historical and feminist nonfiction, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni for genre-spanning South Asian fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro for literary fiction, and Terry Pratchett for fantasy.

Book you've faked reading:

As an adult, I'm a proud and open DNF-er. However, in high school I wanted my English teachers to like me, so I absolutely faked reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Sorry, Mrs. Foster.

Book you're an evangelist for:

The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee. I was hooked from the first chapters of Jade City and every book got better and better. There's incredible action, exquisite character development, and smart political world-building. I sobbed at the ending of Jade Legacy. I've made all my friends read it.

Book you've bought for the cover:

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon was a cover buy for me because of the striking color contrast. It ended up being one of my favorite historical novels of all time!

Book you hid from your parents:

I never hid my reading from my parents! They let me check out whatever I wanted from the library, and trusted that if I encountered new or mature content, I would ask questions (which I did). I was, and am, very fortunate for my family.

Book that changed your life:

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. I read this book in college as a history nerd, thinking I was already going to know most of what it said. I was so wrong. It changed the way I look at history and the world around me, and made me forever skeptical of any historical narrative that hinged on great man theory. Oddly, perhaps, the book made me more patriotic--as a civil rights lawyer, I stand on the shoulders of so many people, seemingly ordinary but absolutely extraordinary, who have fought for justice. That idea inspires me every day.

Favorite line from a book:

"Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo." If I cannot move heaven, I will raise hell. It's a line from Virgil's Aeneid that I first encountered in Latin class. I remember gasping when I translated it. The line has stayed with me as I've become a civil rights lawyer. It's hard to persevere in the face of repeated losses, but we can remember that millions have struggled before us and take heart. It's also an attitude that every main character I write embodies in one way or the other. 

Five books you'll never part with:

Of course I have to start with my childhood copy of The Paper Bag Princess. I can't wait to read it to my daughter one day. I have a first U.S. printing of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo that was gifted to me by a beloved high school teacher. It is one of my most prized possessions. I also cherish my tattered copy of Eragon by Christopher Paolini, which is the first book I ever bought in a bookstore and was my airplane read for years. A friend gave me a gorgeous hardback edition of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal (my favorite Discworld novel) that always has a place of pride on my shelves. And finally, I've worked to find copies of the Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command) by Timothy Zahn, some of the first Star Wars novels and my gateway into adult SFF.

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

Either Liz Moore's Long Bright River or John Boyne's The Heart's Invisible Furies. They are very different books, but both had reveals that reframed the whole story and I would love to experience the feeling of it all clicking for the first time again.

If the Moon, written by Matthew Burgess (author of the Caldecott Medal-winning Fireworks, illustrated by Cátia Chen) and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe (Mina; Pokko and the Drum), is a quiet, thoughtful meditation on nighttime worry and imagination.

The book, which invites readers to reconsider the phrase "if" as an opening toward possibility, is structured almost entirely through questions. A young child lies awake under a quilted blanket, eyes wide in the dark. Burgess begins, "If can be a dark room where worries swell and rise...." In just a handful of words, paired with a single image, the emotional stakes are clear: this is a child held in the grip of fearful thoughts. A page turn offers a pivot: "Or." The child dives into a quilt panel as if it's water. The text's tone begins to loosen as the waves of color ripple out from the point of exuberant impact.

From there, "if" becomes a launching point rather than a trap. Burgess writes, "if can be a raft./ You climb aboard/ and drift" and the child floats into imaginative terrain. The questions that follow extend the invitation: "If you were a fish,/ would you peer through the silvery mirror of the sea?" If you were a hummingbird, an owl, a bat, a snowflake, stars in a galaxy, even a dinosaur--what would you notice? Where would you go? If you were a "bear snuggling in a winter lair, which memories would warm your fur?" Each scenario builds on the last, gently expanding the child's mental landscape away from worry and toward curiosity. Forsythe's illustrations reinforce this shift with formatting and a soft, cohesive palette. Night skies glow with moonlight, a dinosaur cuddles with a plush bear, planets wear friendly expressions, and snowy scenes feel calm rather than cold. As the child's curiosity deepens, the illustrations expand as well; they move from contained panels to full pages and then to sweeping double-page spreads with fewer visual boundaries. The effect suggests that imagination is not an escape from the child's world but an ever-widening extension of it.

Burgess avoids overt instruction. There is no direct statement about managing anxiety. Instead, the book trusts readers to recognize the transformation: "If" moves from unease to a prompt for creative thinking. By the final pages, the child returns (by rocket!) to bed, with the earlier tension eased. Spare in text yet expansive in implication, If the Moon offers a gentle reframing of a familiar childhood experience and positions imagination as a steady, accessible counterbalance to worry. --Julie Danielson

Shelf Talker: If the Moon is a gentle picture book that turns late-night worries into moments of wonder.  

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

1. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
2. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
3. Can't Break Me by Kevin Kayr Robinson
4. The Deal by Elle Kennedy
5. The Mistake by Elle Kennedy
6. The Score by Elle Kennedy
7. Evan: A Short Story by Maya Alden
8. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
9. Love Song by Elle Kennedy
10. The Goal by Elle Kennedy

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]