East Bay Booksellers, Oakland, Calif., which was destroyed by a fire in July, will reopen by November 30 in a temporary space at 6022 College Ave., a few blocks north of its previous location in the Rockridge neighborhood, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Owner Brad Johnson said the bookstore will be there for a minimum of six months while he continues to search for a larger location in the area: "A very high priority is to stay in Rockridge just given our presence there for so long as a bookstore."

This week Johnson was still in the process of ordering fixtures, books, shelves, computers and other equipment for the new space, which he said is about half the size of the previous location.

The July 30 fire "ravaged the bookstore and prompted a handful of evacuations nearby," the Chronicle noted. The second floor above the store, which housed offices, collapsed--preventing fire officials from determining a cause. The fire resulted in a total loss.

Fans of the bookstore and fellow booksellers across the U.S. galvanized support to help Johnson raise $232,238 in a GoFundMe campaign to pay for inventory, employee salaries, and a future temporary location for East Bay Booksellers.

Following the fire, Johnson continued to sell books online and host author events at other sites, but he and his team are excited to be able to interact with customers face-to-face again. "While we've been very grateful for all of the orders and how we've been able to fulfill orders online, what we do best is not online commerce," Johnson said. "It really is the immediacy of a brick and mortar bookstore... dealing with people face to face--that's where we thrive, and it's really where the love of what we do happens."

John Blomgren and Garrett Jones have purchased Imprint Bookstore in Port Townsend, Wash., from previous owners Samantha Ladwig and Thom Nienow, the Leader reported.

Blomgren and Jones will officially take over tomorrow, November 1. Though the couple only moved to Port Townsend last year, they were already familiar with the area and the bookstore. They got to know the bookstore as customers, and quickly connected with Ladwig and Nienow.

Prior to buying the store, Jones and Blomgren owned and operated a cafe and bakery in Portland, Ore., called Back to Eden Bakery. It ran from 2007 until its closure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We want to provide that positive, memorable experience for people, and to be part of the local business community, in a different way than we were as part of the food and beverage industry," Blomgren told the Leader. "When you can put a good book into someone’s hands, it can leave a lasting impact on them."

Blomgren noted that he's been learning from other independent booksellers, and he feels optimistic about both the book industry and retail in downtown Port Townsend.

Ladwig and Nienow announced that the bookstore was for sale earlier this year. They purchased it in 2019 from longtime owners Anna and Peter Quinn.

After five years, Ladwig recalled, they felt that the bookstore was "in a good place for us to pass it on." They received more than 100 inquiries about buying the bookstore, with Blomgren and Jones feeling like a perfect fit.

"I think the bookstore will thrive with these two, and I'm sure they'll make great connections within the community," Ladwig said.

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation has announced the members of the four-person selection panel that will choose the second cohort of BincTank entrepreneurs, a business incubator designed to increase equity in bookstore ownership. Applications will be accepted through Sunday, November 10, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, a one-week extension to the original application deadline.

"By extending the deadline to apply by one week we hope to see even more entrepreneurs complete the application process," said Ken White, BincTank program manager.

The selection panel members are: Kimberly Brock, adult book buyer for Joseph-Beth Booksellers who was a master bookseller there for eight years; Rockelle Henderson, owner of Rock Inked, Inc., a marketing agency focused on developing strategic plans that maximize a book's reach to its target audience; Kalani Kapahua, who works as an inside sales representative with HarperCollins and was previously the store manager of Third Place Books Ravenna in Seattle, Wash.; and Hannah Oliver Depp, co-owner of Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Md.

Bookmobiles, pop-up stores, and bricks-and-mortar storefronts are eligible. Stores that qualify are either not yet open or opened on or after July 1, 2024. Businesses interested in moving from one model to another, like a pop-up moving to a bricks-and-mortar location, are also eligible. The entrepreneurs and proposed businesses must be in the U.S. or a U.S. territory.

"We are grateful to the reviewers for their time and expertise, and for sharing in our belief that every community deserves their bookstore," said Pam French, Binc's executive director.

Penguin Random House has launched the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, which builds on its evangelical Christian publishing program and is comprised of the Waterbrook, Multnomah, Image, and Forum imprints. With a renewed focus on market growth and a commitment to dedicating additional resources, the company said, "this initiative aims to significantly expand readership, strengthen connections with audiences, and deepen its range of books and content offerings for the Christian readership."

Campbell Wharton

Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group will be led by Campbell Wharton, who has been named senior v-p, publisher. Wharton has led publications in many categories, including celebrity, music, pop culture, social justice, politics, business, religion, and current affairs, and worked with such authors as Tim Tebow, Daymond John, Michael Todd, Austin Channing Brown, Jennie Allen, John Mark Comer, Leanne Morgan, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Richard Rohr, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

Wharton commented: "As a new standalone division, we are going to be able to invest more deeply in our imprints, expand our content offerings, and ultimately be a place that services a wide range of Christian readers in innovative ways. Building on the incredible roster of authors already home to us, our growth strategy will underscore our commitment to readers and broadening our footprint in the evangelical publishing space."

Manuel Sansigre, CFO of PRH, to whom Wharton will report, said, "This sector holds immense potential, and as we develop innovative strategies for this dynamic and growing marketplace, we are thrilled by the opportunities our renewed commitment to Christian publishing brings. This focus not only enhances our position at Penguin Random House but also empowers authors and enriches the reading experience for countless readers."

Reporting to Wharton will be Laura Barker v-p, publisher, who will continue to lead the WaterBrook & Multnomah editorial team of this new group. Ginia Croker, v-p, director of marketing, and Beverly Rykerd, v-p, director of publicity, and their respective teams will report to Wharton, too.

Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., Waterbrook & Multnomah publishes books that inspire readers to find rich, spiritual purpose in their daily lives, with practical guidance for applying Christian principles to the complexities of life today.

Image, a leading imprint of Catholic content, and Forum, an imprint of conservative thought leaders, will now be a part of the newly formed Christian Publishing Group. Those editorial teams will report to Barker. The Convergent publishing program, with a mission to publish books that draw on deep experience both in mainstream and Christian publishing with a focus on nourishing readers' inner lives in the categories of spirituality, personal growth, self-help, relationships, social commentary, memoir, and lifestyle, will remain with the Random House Publishing Group. The imprint will join the Harmony and Rodale Books team with Derek Reed, editorial director of Convergent, reporting to Theresa Zoro, president of Harmony and Rodale Books and now Convergent, effective immediately.

Among related changes, Cindy Murray is named v-p, senior director of publicity for Harmony, Rodale Books, and Convergent, and Jessalyn Foggy is promoted to senior director of marketing for Harmony, Rodale Books, and Convergent.

Tina Constable has been named executive v-p, business development, Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, also reporting to Sansigre. In this new position, Constable will draw upon her more than three decades in publishing to collaborate with Sansigre and Wharton on acquisitions, exploration of new consumer channels, and partnership opportunities including streaming curriculum and direct-to-church initiatives.

Lori Addicott, v-p, director of Christian market sales, will also serve as v-p, director of sales, PRH Christian Publishing Group. She and her team will continue to serve as sales representatives for all Penguin Random House Publishing titles in the Christian market and will be an integral part of the company's growth strategy.

Paul Bailey, the twice Booker Prize-shortlisted author who was best known for his novels, including At the Jerusalem and Gabriel's Lament, died October 27, the Guardian reported. He was 87. 

In addition to his fiction, Bailey published poetry and nonfiction, including his 1990 memoir An Immaculate Mistake, about growing up gay in a family who believed he was "not natural"; and Three Queer Lives (2001), a biography of three gay entertainers from the 20th century. 

Bailey's work "often considers what it means to be an outsider: on the fringes of society or shunned by family," the Guardian noted, adding that he is sometimes seen as part of the "Catholic novel" tradition, after converting as an adult.

Matthew Marland, his literary agent at RCW, described him as "one of RCW's longest-standing and most beloved authors. We shall all miss him greatly."

When he was 30, while working as a shop assistant at Harrods, Bailey wrote his first novel, At the Jerusalem (1967), which won both the Somerset Maugham Award and the Arts Council Writers' Award. Two novels followed, Trespasses and A Distant Likeness, before the publication of Peter Smart's Confessions (1977), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Bailey made the Booker shortlist again in 1986 for Gabriel's Lament. His most recently published work was a second poetry collection, Joie de vivre (2022). 

"I write because I have to and want to. It's as simple, or as complicated, as that," he said in his author statement for the British Council. "I share Isaac Babel's lifelong ambition to write with simplicity, brevity and precision. It was he who said 'No steel can pierce the human heart so chillingly as a period at the right moment.' I hope one or two of my full stops have done, and will do, just that."

From our office in Seattle, Shelf staffers dressed for the holiday: (from left) Jess Mayfield (as George Harrison), Kristianne Huntsberger (Captain Ahab), and Madison Gaines (Miss Piggy). Kristianne would like to note that Ahab's leg was ivory, and her harpoon is fully functional (though they did let her on the bus with it).

"Please... Please.... Please... Go Vote." That was the very pertinent recommendation on the marquee outside BookPeople, Austin, Tex., which noted: "VotePeople.... ⁠Vote like your community depends on it... because it does! See @vote411 at the link in our bio to see what's on your ballot, check your voter registration, find your polling place, and more! Early voting ends in Texas this Friday. Make sure you have a plan to get your ballot in by Election Day on November 5th."

Congratulations to Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, N.H., which the New Hampshire Retail Association has named the New Hampshire Retailer of the Year, "recognizing its outstanding contribution to the retail industry." The association continued: "Established in 1898, Gibson's holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating retailer in the Concord area, showcasing its enduring legacy and commitment to the community. Under the ownership of Michael Herrmann, who acquired the bookstore in 1994, Gibson's underwent a significant transformation, culminating in its relocation to its current address on South Main Street in 2013. This move has positioned Gibson's as a cornerstone of the local retail landscape, offering the community a rich history and a modern shopping experience."

See the association's video here, in which Michael Herrmann discusses the store and its history, its staff, its wide range of offerings, its programs, all part of a mission "to connect writers with readers."

Bryn Manion has been promoted to director, sales analysis & sales operations, at Simon & Schuster.

Homebody: 12 DIY Posters to Decorate Your Happy Place by Amanda Jane Jones (Workman Publishing).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Raakhee Mirchandani, author of Kamala Raised Her Hand (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 9780316587730).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Eva Longoria, author of My Mexican Kitchen: 100 Recipes Rich with Tradition, Flavor, and Spice (Clarkson Potter, $35, 9780593796429).

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.

Saturday, November 2
9:20 a.m. Kenneth Whyte, author of Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times (Vintage, $24, 9780307743879), and George Nash, editor of The Crusade Years, 1933–1955: Herbert Hoover's Lost Memoir of the New Deal Era and Its Aftermath (Hoover Institution Press, $39.95, 9780817916749). (Re-airs Saturday at 9:20 p.m.)

2 p.m. Frances M. Clarke and Rebecca Jo Plant, authors of Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era (Oxford University Press, $36.99, 9780197601044).

4:06 p.m. Gary Ecelbarger, author of George Washington's Momentous Year: Twelve Months That Transformed the Revolution, Vol. I: The Philadelphia Campaign, July to December 1777 (Westholme Publishing, $34.95, 9781594164224).

5:05 p.m. Donald Stoker, author of Purpose and Power: US Grand Strategy from the Revolutionary Era to the Present (Cambridge University Press, $44.99, 9781009257275).

Sunday, November 3
8 a.m. John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, authors of Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions (Doubleday, $30, 9780385550444). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

10 a.m. Lina Zeldovich, author of The Living Medicine: How a Lifesaving Cure Was Nearly Lost--and Why It Will Rescue Us When Antibiotics Fail (St. Martin's Press, $30, 9781250283382). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Daniel Schulman, author of The Money Kings: The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America (Knopf, $35, 9780451493545), at the 2024 Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago.

2:52 p.m. Arionne Nettles, author of We Are the Culture: Black Chicago's Influence on Everything (Lawrence Hill Books, $28.99, 9781641608305), and Elizabeth Todd-Breland, author of A Political Education: Black Politics and Education Reform in Chicago since the 1960s (The University of North Carolina Press, $32.50, 9781469646572), at the 2024 Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago.

4:40 p.m. John Sullivan, author of Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia's War Against the West (Little, Brown, $32.50, 9780316571098).

5:30 p.m. Benjamin Nathans, author of To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement (‎Princeton University Press, $39.95, 9780691117034), at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.

6:35 p.m. Evan Friss, author of The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore (‎Viking, $30, 9780593299920), at New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville, Va.

Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal (Random House) has won the $75,000 Cundill History Prize, administered by McGill University.

Organizers observed: "The culmination of a 25-year project, DuVal shows how long before colonization, Indigenous peoples adapted to climate change and instability with innovation, forming smaller communities and egalitarian government structures with complex economies which spread across North America. Challenging dominant narratives, DuVal refutes that the arrival of Europeans led to the end of Indigenous civilizations in North America, instead she vividly reveals the interactions and complex relationships that developed between nations."

Jury chair Rana Mitter said: "One of the most wonderful things about Native Nations by Kathleen DuVal is that it brings unexpected and, to many readers, unknown aspects of that story, to prominence. She does this by bringing in historians and analysts of the Indigenous American experience from within their own scholarship, bringing the story to the forefront of our wider understanding in this huge sweeping history that starts more than 1,000 years ago and brings us up to the present day."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, November 5:

Bel Canto Annotated Edition: A Novel by Ann Patchett (Harper, $40, 9780063419360) revisits Patchett's bestselling 2001 novel.

The Author's Guide to Murder: A Novel by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White (Morrow, $30, 9780063259867) is a murder mystery in which three writers are the suspects.

Letters by Oliver Sacks, edited by Kate Edgar (Knopf, $40, 9780451492913) collects letters from the late neurologist and acclaimed essayist.

Carson the Magnificent by Bill Zehme (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781451645279) is a biography of Johnny Carson 20 years in the making.

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents by Nigel Hamilton (Little, Brown, $38, 9780316564632) is a dual biography of leaders during the American Civil War.

Before We Forget Kindness: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Hanover Square Press, $21.99, 9781335915283) is book five in the Japanese magical realism Before the Coffee Gets Cold series.

Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy by S.T. Bende, illus. by Iris Compiet (Insight Editions, $40, 9798886630985) chronicles species of the Star Wars universe.

The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin by Brian Baumgartner and Ben Silverman, illus. by Maël Gourmelen (Mariner, $19.99, 9780063372726) is an illustrated retelling of The Night Before Christmas using characters from The Office.

Turkuaz Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Dough Recipes for Sweet and Savory Bakes by Betül Tunç (Ten Speed Press, $35, 9781984862228) includes 85 recipes inspired by Turkish baking.

What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird by Sy Montgomery (Atria, $22.99, 9781668047361) chronicles remarkable traits of the author's chicken flock.

Stranger Skies by Lacelle Pascale (McElderry, $21.99, 9781665939300) is the sequel to Curious Tides and features protagonists trying to find each other across worlds and realms.

Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale by Chris Grabenstein (Random House, $17.99, 9780593707944) is the final book in the beloved eight-title middle-grade series.

Paperbacks:
The Book Against Death by Elias Canetti, trans. by Peter Filkins (New Directions, $16.95, 9780811237994).

Lost and Lassoed: A Rebel Blue Ranch Novel by Lyla Sage (Dial Press, $17.99, 9780593732458).

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong (Ace, $19, 9780593815915).

Second Chance Season: Lake in the Clouds Book 3 by Emily March (Forever, $17.99, 9781538707432).

The Memory Dress by Jade Beer (Berkley, $19, 9780593436837).

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

Hardcover
Swordcrossed by Freya Marske (Bramble, $28.99, 9781250341624). "In this vibrant story, a struggling heir hires a charming con artist to be his swordsman at his upcoming wedding. Through sword-fighting practice and an unexpected mystery, white-hot desire sparks and they risk losing everything they hold dear." --Joshua Lambie, Underground Books, Carrollton, Ga.

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang (Abrams Press, $30, 9781419773822). "Following eight trans and nonbinary teenagers, American Teenager shows us that there is no one way to be trans--or a teen. At their heart, these trans teens dream of what's after high school, gossip, dread tests and class assignments, and try to figure out life." --Kristin Saner, Fables Books, Goshen, Ind.

Paperback
Chenneville: A Novel of Murder, Loss, and Vengeance by Paulette Jiles (Morrow Paperbacks, $18.99, 9780063252691). "Paulette Jiles has done it again. John Chenneville's travails through the post-Civil War U.S. are written in a way that is thoughtful, profound, and fluid like poetry. Even if you're not familiar with Jiles, once you read it, you'll want more." --Vicki Honeyman, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Ages 4-8
In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón, illus. by Peter Sís (Norton Young Readers, $18.99, 9781324054009). "Beautiful illustrations accompany this quiet poem written about our awe of the universe. The poem is engraved on NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, which [launched this month to] journey to Jupiter's second moon." --Aerie Brown, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex.

Ages 6-11
Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp (Annick Press, $19.99, 9781773218922). "I LOVE THIS GRAPHIC NOVEL! Fantastic illustrations perfectly depict the story's changing moods. Problems are solved righteously with humor. And I love that spiders are depicted as the intelligent, valuable creatures they are." --Kay Wosewick, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, Wis.

Teen Readers
The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew (Joy Revolution, $19.99, 9780593710357). "Jill Tew's debut is everything readers have been waiting for. I was completely sucked in! With its swoony romance, twisty plot, and all the thrills, it's sure to make its way into the canon of YA dystopia." --Vania Stoyanova, Brave + Kind Bookshop, Decatur, Ga.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Kate Fagan offers readers a story within a story within a story in The Three Lives of Cate Kay, which takes the form of a fictional memoir by a wildly successful author who does not exist--in this world or in the one Fagan has imagined. Kay is nothing more than a pen name, the third persona adopted by the girl once known as Anne Callahan from Bolton Landing, N.Y. ("a saga, actually--my name. I've had too many," she writes in the prologue to her memoir, which precedes the saga of her names). "Annie Callahan, aka Cass Ford, aka Cate Kay"--one person, one life, lived in three stories, with three names, "carved from a mass of bad decisions and selfishness and, it pains me to admit, cruelty."

Kay prefaces her memoir with a plea to be loved despite her shortcomings, but as her story unfolds, it becomes clear that she is her own harshest critic, holding herself to an impossible standard of excellence that ultimately keeps her separate from her true self. She even discredits her own ability to tell her life story, having "lived inside it for far too long," Kay argues with her editor, insisting on inviting those in her orbit (her childhood best friend, her first girlfriend, her first true love, to name but a few) to contribute full chapters. With footnotes from Kay throughout these insertions, along with excerpts from Kay's fictional bestselling trilogy, The Very Last, the final product reads less like a memoir and more like an annotated history of a person, pieced together through bits and bobs and asides as readers are invited to know Kay just as she comes to know herself.

To call The Three Lives of Cate Kay epic in scope feels like an understatement. In her debut novel, Fagan succeeds in crafting a beautiful story of one woman's life across three parts, and also fully realizes a moving post-apocalyptic trilogy that reveals as much about Kay--and what it means to be human--as Kay's own experiences. Kaleidoscoping in and out on scenes from multiple perspectives, timelines, and points of view, Fagan deftly explores themes of friendship, romance, intimacy, coming of age, coming out, ambition, and narrative form in a captivating, heartfelt novel bursting at the seams with love in all its incredible, messy forms. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Shelf Talker: This ambitious debut explores themes of friendship, romance, intimacy, coming of age, coming out, and narrative form in a captivating, heartfelt novel bursting at the seams with love in all its incredible, messy forms.