Around Indie Bookstores

Former Cody's Manager Founds New Author Events Series

On Sunday, October 12, the Mercury News reported on the efforts of former Cody's manager Melissa Mytinger to bring author events and signings to Berkeley via a new series, Berkeley Arts & Letters, launching this week at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley. Mytinger is teaming up for the venture with Praveen Madan, co-owner of San Francisco's The Booksmith.

According to the Mercury News, the series is being structured along the lines of the large-scale events Cody's held at the church in the past. "Books will be available for sale and for author signings at the readings, and a $10 suggested donation will be taken at the door to offset the church's costs, with no one turned away for lack of funds." The series was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, October 15, with an "Art of the Memoir" program. Three other author events are planned for October. Mytinger told the newspaper that she expects the program's full launch to come in January, "with between six and 10 events a month, both at [the church] and at the Berkeley City Club."

Kepler's Membership Drive Opens With Paperback Dreams Screening

Clark Kepler is speaking about the importance of shopping local during the Kepler's KQED screening of Paperpack Dreams, a documentary by filmmaker Alex Beckstead that documents the history of Kepler's and Cody's Books and their importance as community centers.

Kepler's kicked off its Literary Circle membership drive on Sunday, October 12, with a wine reception and screening of Paperback Dreams, noted a report in The Almanac. The Literary Circle program was launched in 2005, following Kepler's brief closing and an outpouring of support from the Menlo Park, California, community. Paperback Dreams, a documentary film by Alex Beckstead, chronicles Kepler's struggle for survival, along with that of the now-closed Cody's Books.

"They (Literary Circle members) were vital to our re-opening three years ago and continue to enable us to renovate the store and sustain our many and varied programs for adults and children," owner Clark Kepler told the paper. The program encompasses about 1,500 members, ranging from students at the $20 level to Platinum Circle members at $2,500, and family memberships at $100. Each membership level offers varying benefits to participants and must be renewed yearly.

The evening, sponsored by Kepler's, KQED, and Hometown Peninsula, a local independent business alliance, also featured Clark Kepler, filmmaker Beckstead, and a member of Hometown Peninsula. "Paperback Dreams" will air in mid-November on KQED as part of the "Truly CA" series, and nationwide throughout the Public Broadcasting System.

The BookMark Celebrates a New Look

The BookMark in Atlantic Beach, Florida, which completed significant remodeling in August, celebrated its new look, as well as its 18th anniversary, with an all-day party on Saturday, October 11. The event featured Florida authors, prizes, giveaways, a sidewalk sale, and refreshments.

Renovations included tearing down interior walls to replace a series of separate rooms with an open space, which, owners Rona and Buford Brinlee said, has customers asking whether the store "got bigger." The newly configured space will allow the bookstore to host larger authors events and provides greater visibility for inventory.

The October 11 party included book signings with Frances and Hugh Keiser (Pelican Pete series, Sagaponack Books); Mark Lane (Sandspurs: Notes From a Coastal Columnist, University Press of Florida); and Ad Hudler (Man of the House, Ballantine Books).

Mysterious Galaxy Tallies the Presidential Vote

Adding to last week's BTW story about what bookstores are doing to promote the upcoming presidential election is San Diego's Mysterious Galaxy Books. On Wednesday, October 8, the bookstore held a mock election based on the sales of IDW's graphic novels Presidential Material: Barack Obama and Presidential Material: John McCain.

Mysterious Galaxy's Patrick Heffernan reported that "the results were tallied and Sen. Barack Obama won in an apparent landslide (though a few folks may have voted twice)." Also possibly influencing "the election" was the fact that the Obama graphic novel was written by none other than Jeff Mariotte, the store's co-owner, with drawings by Tom Morgan. The McCain book is written by Andy Helfer and drawn by Stephen Thompson.