Roberta Dyer, an owner of Broadway Books in Portland, is retiring from the partnership. Kim Bissell, who has been working at the store since early September, will be Sally McPherson’s new business partner at the store. The following is excerpted from Roberta’s email to customers. My friends, as I prepare to hang up my …
“David Rakoff, a gay, Jewish, Canadian-American actor and essayist who was a regular contributor to Public Radio’s This American Life, wrote humorous pieces that garnered him much acclaim and many awards. Many of his essays were autobiographical, and most of them were so funny they left the reader gasping for air. Before he succumbed in …
We have to pass on this essay from Brian Doyle commemorating Broadway Books’ 20th anniversary. It was made into a broadside by Letterary Press, and it’s pretty wonderful, a tribute to all indie bookstores, really. Broadway Books’ co-owner Sally McPherson tells us the store’s celebration Sunday was fabulous—that they were “mobbed all day long—sort of …
Broadway Books is having a party this Sunday, May 6 to celebrate its 20th birthday. Co-owners Sally McPherson and Roberta Dyer have a lively celebration planned, for the day and for the next year, to thank their customers for “helping us to ride the waves that have carried us up and down over the years.” …
Three years ago during the holidays, Broadway Books in Portland, like many bookstores, was having a dismal season. The store's co-owner, Roberta Dyer, was wondering if they were going to make it. Hearing this news, Dyer's son, Aaron Durand, tweeted from his home in San Francisco: “If you're in Portland do me a favor??? Buy …
All the bad news for bookselling recently has led some journalists to seek out success stories in indie bookselling (like this one about Elliott Bay Book Company and this one about new models for bookselling, which includes a nod to Village Books). Following that trend, The Oregonian columnist Steve Duin has written a well-deserved toast to …
