Wonderland Books will open in October at 7920 Norfolk Ave. in Bethesda, Md. Co-owners Amy Joyce and Gayle Weiswasser noted that the new bookstore "will be a destination for its readers to meet, explore, discuss and discover books and build community with authors and other book lovers."

Occupying more than 2,000 square feet of space, Wonderland Books will carry a wide range of books across genres, as well as a curated selection of cards and gifts. The store will host author readings and other events that bring readers together. 

Amy Joyce and Gayle Weiswasser

Joyce and Weiswasser are longtime area friends and book lovers who are realizing their dream of opening an independent bookstore. Joyce is a journalist, editor and writer who spent 28 years at the Washington Post, most recently as editor of On Parenting. Weiswasser is a former lawyer and corporate communications executive, who has published a book review blog since 2006 and co-hosted a podcast about books and reading for eight years.

"Every community needs a bookstore--an inspiring space for readers, writers and thinkers, especially now. I am overjoyed to be able to create this here," said Joyce, who has spent much of her life getting purposefully lost in bookstores. "I especially can't wait to welcome children and teens who so desperately need a place to find books that will speak to them, expand their worlds and spur their imaginations. We promise to be this haven for them, like bookstores always were for me."

Weiswasser noted: "Having free access to a range of viewpoints and voices has never been more important than it is right now. Opening a bookstore is one of the best ways to ensure that we continue to live in a society that safeguards free expression and the thoughtful exchange of ideas. We are very excited to bring Wonderland Books to this dynamic, enthusiastic community of readers."

Wonderland Books has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help support the opening of the store, which requires a renovation of the existing space.

Bestselling author Gayle Forman (If I Stay) has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her friend Kathleen Caldwell, owner of A Great Good Place for Books in Oakland, Calif., who is battling health issues and "a downturn in business in a post-pandemic economic landscape," KTVU reported. Thus far, the campaign has raised more than $27,000 toward its goal of $35,000. 

Kathleen Caldwell

"Two years ago, Kathleen fell ill with a serious case of sepsis, and while being treated, doctors discovered she had cancer. She had four surgeries in one year, followed by a year of treatment and recovery," Forman shared on GoFundMe, noting that her friend "has been cancer-free for one year and is slowly regaining her strength. The bad news is: the treatment, coming on the heels of the pandemic, and a very slow spring, has left Kathleen depleted and the store on shaky ground."

Forman added that Caldwell has now turned to her friends and community for help, though reluctantly for fear of being a burden: "But if you are anything like me, you are happy to champion her right back again and make sure her wonderful little store continues to be a beacon for readers and writers."

In a GoFundMe update on Monday, Forman wrote: "Okay, friends of Kathleen: Your generosity is blowing me (and Kathleen) away. Five days into this fundraiser and we are more than halfway there. And without putting anything on social media (or not much of anything). Please continue to reach out to people who may know Kathleen. Sometimes a second nudge is needed. It turns out, she has a lot of fans out there. Not surprising."

Caldwell added: "Please thank everyone for amazing support and generosity. Love you!"

Brian Grogan, v-p of mass market sales at Sourcebooks, has retired, effective May 31. He joined Sourcebooks in 2021 after a long career in book publishing that began in 1992 as a bookseller at Books-A-Million. He went on to work as a national account manager for the Hearst Book Group and joined HarperCollins in 2001, where he spent nearly 20 years as senior v-p of sales before retiring, the first time, in 2020.

Brian Grogan

Grogan's role will be filled by promotions from within Sourcebooks. Raquel Latko has been promoted to associate director of sales, mass merch adult; Jess Elliot to associate director of sales, mass merch kids; and Christina Noriega to director of special markets and gift sales.

Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks, said, "I will be ever grateful for Brian's commitment to Sourcebooks. In just a few years, he has left an indelible imprint on our company. His leadership and sales strategies have been instrumental in the growth we've experienced in recent years. He's been an incredible colleague, and a steadfast champion for our books and authors."
 
Paula Amendolara, senior v-p of sales, commented: "Brian came to Sourcebooks with the goal of increasing our presence and market share in the key mass retailers. Through his strong relationships with customers, strategic planning, and best-in-class salesmanship, he met and exceeded those goals in record time! I am extremely grateful for Brian's dedication to Sourcebooks and I wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement."

Kristin Bartelme, senior v-p of marketing at Readerlink Distribution Services, added: "Brian's contribution to the industry has been immeasurable, and I am so thankful for his years of partnership and advocacy on behalf of Readerlink and our collective customers."

Tomorrow, Friday, June 7, 1-1:45 p.m. Eastern, ReadingGroupGuides.com will host its 13th annual Book Group Speed Dating Event--virtually. Representatives from six publishers will share selections from their publishing houses via video to give booksellers, librarians, and book group leaders an inside look at new and upcoming titles that book groups will want to know about--and discuss.

E-galleys will be available upon request for selected titles from Edelweiss and/or NetGalley, as well as print galleys from some of the publishers, which include Harlequin Trade Publishing, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Marysue Rucci Books, Random House Publishing Group, Sourcebooks, and W.W. Norton. Leave-behinds will be made available in PowerPoint and Excel formats. Advance signup is required and can be done here.

John Burnside (photo: Helmut Fricke)

Scottish author John Burnside, whose career spanned more than 35 years and who was one of only four people to have won both of the U.K.'s most prestigious poetry prizes for the same book, died May 29, the Guardian reported. He was 69. Even though he was primarily known as a poet, Burnside wrote in many forms, including fiction and memoir. 

In 2011, he won the Forward Prize and in 2012 the T.S. Eliot Prize for his poetry collection Black Cat Bone, an accomplishment achieved by only Ted Hughes, Sean O'Brien, and Jason Allen-Paisant. Last year, Burnside won the David Cohen Prize, which is given in recognition of an author's entire body of work.

Hannah Westland, publishing director of Jonathan Cape, said (via the Bookseller): "John Burnside had a particularly miraculous ability to perceive and articulate both the wonders of the natural world and the everyday miracles that make up our lives. His work was mysterious but never mystifying, quite the opposite--he made sense of strangeness and to read him was to feel a lighting-up of the darkness. We cherished and will go on cherishing him and his work."

Anna Webber, his literary agent, added: "This is an immense loss. John Burnside had a unique voice that brought pleasure and solace to many readers across the globe. His work was characterised by deep empathy and understanding. He was finely attuned to the natural world, but also to people. These traits, so clearly visible in his writing, also marked out the man himself. John was kind and gentle and generous, and I will miss him terribly."

Burnside published his first poetry collection, The Hoop, in 1988, beginning a working relationship with editor Robin Robertson, with whom he continued to work up to the publication of the most recent collection, Ruin, Blossom (2024). Robertson, poetry publisher of Penguin Random House imprint Jonathan Cape, called it "one of the privileges of [his] life" to work with Burnside: "Flawed but fearless, fabulously gifted, he was a truly great writer."

Burnside's works also include the poetry collections The Myth of the Twin (1994), Swimming in the Flood (1995), The Good Neighbour (2005), Selected Poems (2006), All One Breath (2014), Still Life with Feeding Snake (2017), and Learning to Sleep (2021); the memoirs A Lie About My Father (2006), Waking Up in Toytown (2010), and I Put a Spell on You (2014); as well as eight novels, including The Dumb House (1997) and Living Nowhere (2003).

Noting that he "had a gift for naming those things that exist beyond plain sight, and for roaming through 'empires of light against the coming dark,' " author Andrew O'Hagan observed in the Guardian that Burnside "made a lifetime's work out of being an unpredictable and beautiful writer.... He was among the best writers of his generation, fully voiced and perfectly pitched. He always left his readers in an unforgettable place, leading us with kindness through a world of glints and echoes."

From Burnside's poem "Afterlife":

this bungled joy, this inarticulate
conviction that the future cannot come

without the grace
of setting things aside,

of giving up
the phantom of a soul

that only seemed to be
while it was passing.

Owner Melissa DeMotte (l.) and marketing assistant Anna Rose Carleton

The Well~Read Moose Bookstore in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, turned 10 on May 31st, and celebrated all weekend long with special events, a prize wheel, store discounts, sticker and cookie giveaways, and a book drawing for a signed Steven Rinella cookbook. On Saturday the store hosted local wildlife photographer Tim Christie, who led a tour at the Cougar Bay Nature Preserve, showing tips and tricks for capturing nature's beauty. 

The Unwedding by Ally Condie (Grand Central) is the June pick of Reese's Book Club, which described the novel this way: "Ellery Wainwright and her husband were supposed to spend their twentieth anniversary together at a luxurious resort. But now she's traveling solo. To add insult to injury, there's a wedding during her stay. But when Ellery discovers the body of the groom floating in the pool, she realizes that she is not the only one whose future is no longer guaranteed."

Reese Witherspoon called The Unwedding "the perfect summer listen!!!" and noted that it "opens with a wedding at a gorgeous resort in Big Sur... but everything begins to fall apart when the main character Ellery discovers a dead body the morning of the ceremony."

Following a reorganization of the sales team at Hachette Book Group, John Leary, executive director of field sales, is leaving the company after 23 years of service, effective tomorrow, June 7. He may be reached via e-mail.

Rediscovering Turtle Island: A First Peoples' Account of the Sacred Geography of America by Taylor Keen (Bear & Co.).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Charles Lachman, author of Codename Nemo: The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and the Elusive Enigma Machine (Diversion Books, $28.99, 9781635768718).

Tamron Hall: Elvira K. Gonzalez, author of Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph (Roaring Brook, $21.99, 9781250847850).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Sunday, June 9
8 a.m. Bakari Sellers, author of The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn't and How We All Can Move Forward Now (Amistad, $29.99, 9780063085022). (Re-airs Sunday 8 p.m.)

10 a.m. Shefali Luthra, author of Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America (Doubleday, $29, 9780385550086). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 to 5 p.m. Coverage of the 2024 Gaithersburg Book Festival in Gaithersburg, Md. Highlights include:

• 2 p.m. Aquilino Gonell, author of American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy (Counterpoint, $28, 9781640096288).
• 2:36 p.m. A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning (Crown, $30, ‎9780593136744).
• 3:27 p.m. Susan Page, author of The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters (Simon & Schuster, $30.99, 9781982197926).
• 4:17 p.m. Nicholas D. Kristof, author of Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life (‎Knopf, $32, 9780593536568).

5:35 p.m. Kathleen DuVal, author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America (Random House, $38, 9780525511038), at Bookmarks Bookstore in Winston-Salem, N.C.

6:25 p.m. Paul Hendrickson, author of Fighting the Night: Iwo Jima, World War II, and a Flyer's Life (Knopf, $32, 9780593321133).

7:30 p.m. Independent Book Publishers Association CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbe discusses independent book publishing.

Tananarive Due won the 2024 Chautauqua Prize, which "celebrates a book of fiction or literary/narrative nonfiction that provides a richly rewarding reading experience and honors the author for a significant contribution to the literary arts," for her novel The Reformatory (S&S/Saga Press). The winner receives $7,500 and will be presented with the award during a celebratory event and public reading on August 19. 

"The Reformatory is a novel that deserves to be celebrated by enthusiasts of literary, historical, cultural, and mainstream circles alike," said Chautauqua Institution president Michael E. Hill. "With eloquence, poignancy, and great care, Tananarive Due has crafted a book that thrills, enchants and haunts you. What is truly remarkable about the work is how it expands the horror novel's audience, welcoming new readers to the genre with her accessible--even addicting--prose. This means as many people as possible can engage in the act of collective remembering, ensuring that stories such as these will not be forgotten."

Kwame Alexander, the Michael I. Rudell artistic director of literary arts and inaugural writer-in-residence at Chautauqua, praised The Reformatory as "a touching, heartbreaking, and tragically powerful story about a horrific episode in American history. Truly magical, this novel will bring about the kinds of honest conversation that will haunt and heal readers at Chautauqua and beyond." 

Guest judge Victoria Christopher Murray called the novel "engrossing and heart-stopping, a work that refuses to be stupefied by the cruelty it addresses in both history and justice. The Reformatory is masterful storytelling, Tananarive Due at her best"; while Phil Klay said Due "evokes not simply historical horror but also the subtle ways in which humans acclimate to horror, become complicit, or begin to struggle against it. And because of that, because the characters are so rich, so finely drawn, there's an incredible power the novel gathers as it moves forward. I could not put the book down." 

---

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday) has won the $50,000 Gotham Book Prize, awarded to the author of "the best book set in or about New York City" and founded in 2020 by Bradley Tusk, founder P&T Knitwear bookstore in Manhattan, and Howard Wolfson, who heads the education program for Bloomberg Philanthropies and runs former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Super PAC. The award was presented last night at the Queens Public Library's annual gala.

Tusk and Wolfson commented: "New Yorkers are lucky that a writer as talented as Colson Whitehead has turned his sights again to New York City. Crook Manifesto's New York of the 1970s is the tale of one city dying and a new one being born from its ashes. We started the Gotham Book Prize precisely to recognize works like this that capture the city in all of its energetic complexity."

Whitehead said, "Crook Manifesto is a portrait of a man, but also his city. Capturing the dynamism of my hometown and its crazy citizens is at the heart of the project, so I can't express how lovely it is for the book to be recognized by the Gotham Book Prize."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, June 11:

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown, $30, 9780316258876) is the author's 27th and final Nantucket novel.

Clete: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke (Atlantic Monthly Press, $28, 9780802163073) is the 24th mystery with Detective Dave Robicheaux.

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood (Berkley, $30, 9780593641040) is a romance about a scientist and a businessman.

Just Add Water: My Swimming Life by Katie Ledecky (Simon & Schuster, $28.99, 9781668060209) is the memoir of a swimmer with seven Olympic gold medals.

Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove (AUWA, $30, 9780374614072) explores the first half-century of hip-hop.

How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain by Peter S. Goodman (Mariner, $30, 9780063257924) explores the global supply chain and its failures during the pandemic.

Horror Movie: A Novel by Paul Tremblay (Morrow, $30, 9780063070011) is a horror story about a cursed film.

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press, $32.99, 9781464223815) is book three in the Housemaid psychological thriller series.

Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu (Roaring Brook, $20.99, 9781250852915) is the sequel to 2023's bestselling Stars and Smoke.

The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin (Zando, $19.99, 9781638931003) features a teen who comes across a pack of feral girls in the woods and tries to reintroduce them to the world.

The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne (Penguin Press, $30, 9780593652824) is the memoir of the actor and his family.

Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully by Julie McFadden (TarcherPerigee, $28, 9780593713242) is by a hospice nurse popular on TikTok.

Paperbacks:
What Does Israel Fear From Palestine? by Raja Shehadeh (Other Press, $15.99, 9781635425352).

The Way of Virtue: Qigong Meditations to Cultivate Perfect Peace in an Imperfect World by Robert Peng and Rafael Nasser (Sounds True, $21.99, 9781649631510).

Any Person Is the Only Self: Essays by Elisa Gabbert (FSG Originals, $18, 9780374605896).

Jackpot Summer by Elyssa Friedland (Berkley, $19, 9780593638545).

A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson (Berkley, $19, 9780593640494).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies: A Novel by Catherine Mack (Minotaur, $28, 9781250325853). "A mystery writer, a con man, and an ex-boyfriend walk into the Colosseum... in the perfect book to sit by the pool and read as you sip an aperol spritz. Mack's perfect vacation read is packed with murder, mayhem, and the funniest footnotes." --Katie Fransen, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, Mo.

Loneliness & Company by Charlee Dyroff (Bloomsbury, $28.99, 9781639732081). "Lee is an overachiever, but when she's hired to teach an AI program the meaning of loneliness, her life skills are challenged. Dyroff draws an artful and memorable portrait of a woman trying to find answers in a world consumed by technology." --Manda Riggs, Elm Street Books, New Canaan, Conn.

Paperback
Reading the Room: A Bookseller's Tale by Paul Yamazaki (Ode Books, $13.95, 9781958846698). "Reading the Room is a precious artifact, a rare transmission from a truly great mind. If you're a bookseller, pull up a chair and learn from a master; if you're a reader, you'll walk away with an entirely new appreciation for your local indie." --Vanessa Martini, Green Apple Books & Music, San Francisco, Calif.

Ages 4 to 8
Dalmartian: A Mars Rover's Story by Lucy Ruth Cummins (Atheneum, $18.99, 9781665911955). "Picture books about space or dogs are pretty much instant winners, and this has BOTH! Ultra-clever with some fun twists to discover, along with the heart of the depth of a person-pet relationship." --Carrie Koepke, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, Mo.

Ages 8 to 12
Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan (Allida, $19.99, 9780063351868). "The heavy changes that come when the German Army invades Paris incite Safiyyah's curiosity. An inspiring story based on the heroic actions of members of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Children of war have their own form of bravery." --Kathleen Johnson, Roundabout Books, Bend, Ore.

Teen Readers
The Worst Ronin by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illus. by Faith Schaffer (HarperAlley, $18.99, 9780358464938). "Energetic from the start with messy, but lovable, characters. This whole story is full of so much humor, paired with some very tender moments and lots of REVENGE. Couldn't have asked for a better fast-paced graphic novel." --Kaitlyn Mahoney, Under the Umbrella Bookstore, Salt Lake City, Utah

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

The challenges of motherhood in an advanced technological age is the intriguing premise behind Hum by Helen Phillips (The Need). Set in an unnamed, colorless city in the near future, Phillips's ingenious sixth novel accelerates many of our present-day concerns about artificial intelligence. Hum contrasts technology's nonbiological competence with a mother's human fallibility, and provokes readers to ponder the limits and distortions of each.

May and her husband, Jem, are a financially strapped couple with two children, Lu and Sy. Bad air quality, a lack of greenery under a birdless, climate-ravaged sky, and 24-hour surveillance form the ominous backdrop of their city life, the air "abuzz with data." Robots called "hums" are ubiquitous, performing tasks as varied as doctor assistants and government workers. Taking online shopping to its logical conclusion, in Phillips's imaginary city all purchases are delivered to one's door with dizzying speed while hums relentlessly advertise new products to buy.

Against this futuristic scenery, Phillips's protagonist is a timeless portrayal of maternal love and angst, doing her best to juggle family responsibilities and maintain her sanity. May recently lost her job refining AI capabilities because the system she was working on soon "exceeded human training." Desperate to make ends meet, she participates in an experimental trial in exchange for a large lump-sum payment. Jem is a ratings-obsessed gig worker. May resents her and Jem's dependence on their phones, and how Lu and Sy's attention is dominated by their electronic screen "bunnies." She yearns for the fresh pine scent of her childhood home in a forest long ago destroyed by fire, but there is one place where she can show her children the beauty of nature.

Flush with cash that is quickly disappearing into back rent and groceries, May splurges on a family vacation to the Botanical Garden, the catalyst for a series of calamitous events that will call into question everything she holds dear in her life. No matter what role parents play in their children's upbringing, May will conclude in response to a vicious attack on her character, it is mothers who are "more likely to get blamed for things."

The true wonder of Hum lies in its chilling reflection of our present times. However, Phillips cuts through the bleakness of the fictitious world she has created by transporting readers deep inside May's psyche, the tumultuous beating heart of the novel, to witness the tender humanity no amount of technological advancement can destroy. --Shahina Piyarali

Shelf Talker: A much-anticipated family vacation takes a dark, calamitous turn in this intriguing novel about motherhood set in a technologically advanced future.