Around Indie Bookstores

Southern Living Profiles Jake Reiss and The Alabama Booksmith

Jake Reiss and his Alabama Booksmith are the subjects of a feature in the October issue of Southern Living magazine. In the two-page article "Readers, Writers, and Reiss," writer Nancy Forman-Hickson lauds Reiss' ability to lure some of the biggest names in literature to Birmingham, Alabama. Among the authors quoted in the piece are Rick Bragg ("Jake draws the kind of writers he does because his enthusiasm is genuine and infectious") and Sena Jeter Naslund ("Jake makes a personal connection with writers, and he spares no effort in promoting their books").

Southern Living also notes that Reiss and his staff excel at the things that matter most to a book's publicist: providing a writer with creature comforts, drawing media attention, and, of course, book sales. And, because of their attention to these details, the article notes, The Alabama Booksmith is able to compete with discount stores and chains.

Westwinds Owner Pens Column on Banned Books Week

Christopher Haraden, co-owner with his wife, Marilyn, of Westwinds Bookshop in Duxbury, Massachusetts, recently authored a column on Banned Books Week, which was featured on Wicked Local Carver, a website featuring news from the Carver Reporter and Patriot Ledger.

"Believe it or not, there are still book burnings in America," wrote Haraden. "In 2005 in Colorado, a parents' group asked the school district to allow members to burn books successfully removed from the classroom instead of having the janitor discard them. Books in the Harry Potter series have been burned by religious groups -- as have various versions of the Holy Bible -- and in the past, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five was burned, as was Upton Sinclair's The Jungle." Read Haraden's entire column at www.wickedlocal.com..

Red Fox Books Owner Off to NEIBA on Rusty Drugan Scholarship

Susan Fox, co-owner of Red Fox Books in Glens Falls, New York, will be attending this weekend's New England Independent Booksellers' Association's trade show as the recipient of the regional's Rusty Drugan Scholarship for Emerging Leaders. The scholarship, named in memory of Wayne "Rusty" Drugan, executive director of NEIBA from 1992 to 2006, provides three nights lodging and meals at the show in Boston.

Fox opened Red Fox Books with her husband, Naftali Rottenstreich, in October 2006. And, Fox said, the bookstore, which carries 10,000 titles in all categories, has been growing steadily since BTW reported, in November 2006, on its opening.