Madison Books, the new bookstore in the Madison Park neighborhood in Seattle owned by Phinney Books’ Tom Nissley and managed by James Crossley, is open for two weeks of holiday pop-up shopping before renovations are finished. Here’s the update on the Phinney Books website: Yes, as you may have read in our newsletter or other places, …
Charlie, aka the Grenadine Kid, is the son of an American diplomat in France in 1961. By chance–or is it?– he witnesses a pick pocket, Amir, similar in age to himself being accosted by police, Charlie comes to his aid and by doing so strikes up a friendship. Charlie really has no friends and is …
‘Tis the season for sending out abundant and sincere gratitude to everybody who’s making an effort to shop local during the holidays. December is hugely important for the bottom line in the retail world, a fact that’s well known by owners and employees of independent bookstores. But there’s a Catch-22 (a great gift book for …
It’s getting down to the wire, folks! Here are some gift guides from local bookstores to give you ideas for those last-minute gifts. (*Please note– Not everything listed is still available on the shelves at all stores. If you’re really pressed for time, you might want to call ahead to your local shop and ask …
Last year, Sherman Alexie came up with the idea for writers to support their local indie by volunteering to work at the store on Small Business Saturday 2013. Alexie called the appeal “Indies First,” and entreated authors to link to an indie to sell their books online. The day was a huge hit. Thousands of authors volunteered as …
Join the Seattle7Writers Saturday November 22 for a literary kick-off to the holidays like no other: the fifth annual Seattle7Writers Holiday BookFest! The line-up features 28 fantastic authors from the Pacific Northwest, including current NYT Bestseller Daniel James Brown, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan, 2014 Washington State Book Award Winners Suzanne Selfors, David Laskin, and …
The Holidays can make the strangest of bedfellows, no? And here I don’t mean that awkward combination of cousins in Grandma’s guest room, but rather gifts, givers, and books. One of the deep mysteries of working the retail Season, as it were, has always been the unlikely and unpredictable popularity of this or that title …
Holidays are a mixed bag for me. On the negative side, the hours are long, my feet are sore, and I wake up most nights worried about stupid stuff. On the bright side, I like to watch people shop. It’s fascinating, really. Everyone approaches it so differently. It can be so revealing of one’s inner psyche. …
I don’t know a single person in retail who likes Christmas carols. Booksellers are no exception. Having Bing Crosby piped into their ears year after year tends to to turn them a little grinchy, I suppose. And that’s not all they have to deal with. Take the longest, most exhausting shopping day you can imagine—hours …
The title that served as artistic inspiration for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association 2013 Holiday Catalog, What the Heart Knows by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenksi, just had a big week. It hit the Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List and was named to the Shelf Awareness Best Books of 2013 list! It’s easy to …
