The California Independent Booksellers Alliance Fall Fest came to a close Thursday afternoon in South San Francisco, Calif., following two days of education sessions, author panels, and bookseller connections. More than 200 booksellers attended this year's show, representing 86 bookstores from across the state. Among them were 14 new stores and 70 first-time attendees. Next year's show will be held in San Diego, Calif.

At the Golden Poppy Kickoff Breakfast Panel Wednesday morning (l.-r.) authors Kelly Yang (The Take; Berkley), Claire Oshetsky (Evil Genius, Ecco), Rex Ogle (When We Ride, Norton Young Readers), and Carolina Ixta (Few Blue Skies, Quill Tree Books)--all Golden Poppy winners or finalists--discussed their upcoming novels, moderated by Jhoanna Belfer, owner of Bel Canto Books in Long Beach, Calif.

Mary Williams, general manager of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, Calif., moderated a panel Wednesday morning with nonfiction authors Shannon Michelle (Step into Your Miracle: Transforming Trauma into Triumph, Liberte Press) and Nikki Nash (Collateral Stardust: Chasing Warren Beatty and Other Foolish Things, Sibylline Press).

The horror and thriller author panel featured Catriona Ward (Nowhere Burning, Tor Nightfire), Allison Mick (Humboldt Cut, Erewhon Books), Mary Kubica (It's Not Her, Park Row Books), and Brian Asman (Man, F*ck This House, Blackstone). Zack Dubuc, operations and logistics manager at Book Passage in Corte Madera and San Francisco, moderated the discussion.

Camden Avery, co-owner and manager of the Booksmith in San Francisco, and Eileen McCormick, manager of Green Apple Books on Clement in San Francisco, led a session Thursday morning on management practices for cultural leadership and institutional longevity.

Michelle Pierce, owner of Lido Village Books in Newport Beach and Malibu Village Books in Malibu; Justin Carder, founder of Bathers Library in Oakland; and Shea Robinson, author and manager of A Seat at the Table Books in Elk Grove, convened Thursday morning to discuss their approaches for working with independent and self-published authors.

Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, mother-and-son team and authors of the cookbook Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen (Collective Book Studio), at CALIBA's closing reception Thursday.

In the first quarter ended August 31, revenues fell 5%, to $225.6 million, and the operating loss grew 4%, to $92.2 million. Excluding one-time charges, the operating loss improved by 4%, to $81.9 million.

The company emphasized that it "typically generates an operating loss in the first quarter, when schools are not in session." Peter Warwick, president and CEO, said, "Scholastic made steady progress in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, advancing strategic initiatives across all segments. The seasonally quiet summer period resulted in an operating loss consistent with expectations."

In the quarter, the children's book publishing and distribution segment's revenues increased 4%, to $109.4 million. Warwick stated that "the newly integrated Children's Book Group strengthens our ability to connect publishing, marketing, merchandising and distribution. Fall book fair bookings are encouraging and exceed prior year bookings, with signs of strong engagement with our book fair hosts. In Trade, standout franchises such as Wings of Fire and Hunger Games continued to perform strongly, with November's Dog Man: Big Jim Believes poised to drive demand across channels and geographies."

Consolidated Trade revenues were $73.5 million, nearly flat to the prior year period, "with continued success in the Hunger Games and Harry Potter franchises."

Excluding favorable foreign currency exchange of $200,000, international revenues increased 4%, to $59.4 million, "primarily reflecting higher revenues in Australia, the U.K., and Asia."

Karen Lotz is joining W.W. Norton as director, children's books and strategic development, a newly created position. She will develop and oversee a children's book initiative that spans Norton's current program for young readers and the company's distribution business. The goals of this initiative include expanding and broadening the offering of children's books created in-house as well as widening market opportunities for Norton's client publishers. (Norton distribution clients with significant children's and YA offerings include Thames & Hudson, Tilbury House, The Experiment, Abbeville Press, Fantagraphics Books, and Akashic Books.)

Lotz also will develop her own list of children's titles and will acquire select adult titles for Norton Trade. In 2018, Norton founded Norton Young Readers, which, headed by Simon Boughton, publishes 25 titles a year, including illustrated books for young children and titles for middle-grade readers and teens.

From 1999 to 2023, Lotz was president and founding U.S. publisher of Candlewick Press, which started primarily as a distribution arm and then became a full publisher. During her tenure, Candlewick published many award-winning books, added the imprints MIT Kids and MITeen with MIT University Press, launched bilingual publishing, and introduced British children's imprints into the U.S., including Templar Press, Big Picture Press, and Nosy Crow. From 2010 to 2023, she was group managing director at Walker Books, Candlewick's parent company. Before joining Walker, Lotz was president and publisher at Dutton Children's Books.

She was also a founding board member of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards, including as chair of the David M. Rubenstein Prize committee. Her own children's books were published by Penguin and, since stepping down from Candlewick, she has been working on a cultural biography of President Jimmy Carter under a master's program in creative writing at Northeastern University London.

Norton chair and president Julia Reidhead said, "Karen Lotz has distinguished herself throughout her career as one of those rare individuals who brings both outstanding strategic leadership and tremendous creative talent to her work. As publishers who strive to build readers for life, from the earliest years through high school, college, and on into adulthood, we at W.W. Norton are thrilled to have her join and strengthen our efforts."

Norton Trade Group director Brendan Curry said, "Anyone who follows children's publishing knows that Karen Lotz has achieved remarkable success--most notably in bringing new, varied, and excellent reading opportunities to young people embarking on the adventure of books. Karen's creator-centric approach and strategic acumen match Norton's publishing philosophy exactly, and we are delighted to welcome her to the Norton family."

Lotz commented, "W.W. Norton exemplifies the very best of what defines independent publishing, demonstrating excellence, thoughtfulness, creativity, and humanity in all that they do--I could not be more excited to join this incredible company. The chance to contribute to the amazing management team's legacy-building, inclusive vision of what publishing for young people can and should be is a dream come true."

Lost & Bound Books, which just opened its bricks-and-mortar bookstore and soda bar in April at 1805 S. Morgan Rd. in Oklahoma City, Okla., is expanding into the space next door at 1803 S. Morgan Rd. The bookseller originally launched as a pop-up bookshop in 2024 inside an antiques booth in Tazewell, Tenn., before moving to Oklahoma.

In an Instagram post, owner Lex Boxey noted: "We have exciting news! Our neighbor, @_mvmntlab, is moving (only 1 door down the girl squad is here to stay!!!) and expanding, so we will be taking over their current space and expanding the store!! This is early, but it's now or never, and we're super excited about it! We will have more space for community events, and of course more books! We wouldn't be able to do any of this without your support, it means the world to me, Grant, Noodle, and Bean. This endeavor has been incredibly expensive, so we are going to be hosting a sidewalk sale this weekend 9/20-9/21!"

Barnes & Noble will open a new bookstore in South Hill Mall at 3500 South Meridian St., Puyallup, Wash., on September 24. During the 19,000-square-foot store's official launch, bestselling author J.A. Jance will cut the ribbon and sign copies of her books.

"It has been over a decade since the Borders Bookstore closed just across the road from where we are to open this beautiful new Barnes & Noble," B&N noted. "Our booksellers are delighted to bring back a bookstore of such scale to Puyallup."

Noting that as the fall season begins, "bookshops across the country might be starting to rejig their displays in an effort to make room for publishers' switch of focus to hardbacks," the Bookseller reported nearly 14.5 million paperbacks were sold in the U.K. during the 13 weeks up to August 30, a decline of 4.9% compared to the same period in 2024 (15.2 million), according to data from NielsenIQ BookData's Total Consumer Market.

The number is slightly worse than the full TCM, which saw a volume decline of 4.5% over the same period. In value figures, however, £110.9 million (about $151.8 million) worth of paperbacks were sold this summer, an increase of 1.8%, or £1.9 million (about $2.6 million), while the overall TCM fell 1.7%.

When these numbers are compared with the children's book market, which saw volume and value drops of 1.3% and 0.5% respectively in the same weeks, "it is clear that the adult fiction market has proven to be a little more of a mixed (travel) bag," the Bookseller wrote. 

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The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has opened a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea, designboom reported, noting that "residents and visitors in the Korean city will find the new space in the Dosan Park area of Gangnam, the fast-growing and now-iconic neighborhood south of the Han River."

MoMA opened the bookshop with Hyundai Card, the credit card company under Seoul's Hyundai Motor Group that has partnered with the museum for nearly 20 years. "Inside, the layout unfolds as a series of distinct zones," designboom wrote. "The main book hall is finished in pale grey with polished concrete floors and floating metal shelves. This way, the colorful covers of MoMA publications become the focal point. The design store in the next room brings a bold shift in atmosphere, where walls and floors rendered in glossy yellow and orange create an immersive glow around the curated objects and apparel."

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BookNet Canada's 5 Questions series interviewed Gladys Vallee-Agricole, owner of Terrier Books in Sooke, B.C. Among the highlights of the q&a:

What is the most pressing issue facing bookselling today?
"Unfortunately, especially in North America, the book industry is still a bit behind compared to other industries regarding sustainability. It's a big focus of Terrier Books, as it is what I call an eco-conscious bookstore. Meaning that we think about the environmental impact of almost everything that we do, as well as the type of books we carry. 

"For example, we sell used, new, and remaindered books (this being a direct product of our overproduction problem). For new books specifically, we try to only carry books printed in North America to limit the carbon footprint of the book. Unfortunately, getting printing information on books before ordering can be quite tricky so sometimes we make mistakes and have new books printed overseas. Also, all of our non-book products are made eco-consciously in Canada. These are just a few example of the things we do in the bookstore as part of our environmental values." --Robert Gray

NAACP Image Award nominee Khadijah VanBrakle (center) celebrated the launch of her YA novel My Perfect Family (Holiday House) at her local indie, Page 1 Books in Albuquerque, N.Mex. The packed audience included fellow local authors Laurel Goodluck, Daniela Ramirez, Marti Johns, Susan Metallo, Zacha Marwan, and Kit Rosewater.

Congratulations to the Bookshelf, Madeira, Ohio, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary all day tomorrow, Saturday, September 20. Former store partners and several authors will help celebrate. Between 1 and 3 p.m., Lynn Hugo will sign copies of her books, including Mothers of Fate and The Language of Kin, and between 7 and 9 p.m., Alissa Sammarco will have the launch party for her new book of poetry, Italian Dinner Music.

As noted in Cincinnati magazine, "The quaint shop was founded by three women--Blair Garvey, Anne Harrison, and Gen Rosenkrantz--who, with help from their families, stocked and built the store's bookshelves by hand. The Bookshelf remains in its original Camargo Station location but has since expanded to more than double its size, now totaling 1,400 square feet...

"Today, the store is run by partners Chris Weber, Darlene Ertel, and Bethany Streitmatter. The partners carefully curate a selection of old and new titles to fill their shelves, but according to Weber--a partner for more than 27 years--The Bookshelf has come to represent more than just a retail space. 'I think for us, it's a wonderful little place where we can come away from our outside lives--it's home,' she says."

The Bookshelf has always been owned by women, more than a dozen altogether. "For Weber, marking the 50th anniversary is as much about looking back as looking forward," Cincinnati wrote. " 'We would not be here today if it wasn't for all of the women that went before us,' she says. 'It's a long tribute to everybody that was here before us. It was their vision, and we embraced it and moved it along.' "

"Fall into a new book." That was the anticipatory sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Sandmeyer's Bookstore, Chicago, Ill., which noted: "Fall is almost upon us! Get ready with a new book!"

"Hi from the bookshop! Open all weekend, make an excuse to stop by!" Shared Stories Books, Caldwell, Idaho, posted on Instagram.

Convergence by Jonathan Dixon and Gregg Owen (26th Street Books).

Universal's film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel Reminders of Him will move its release date from the pre-Valentine's Day slot on February 6 to March 13, 2026. Deadline reported that the change "will create some distance from Warner Bros' Emerald Fennell's steamy take of Wuthering Heights with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi on February 13."

Directed by Vanessa Caswill and adapted by the author and Lauren Levine, Reminders of Him tells the story of Kenna (Maika Monroe), who "after being released from prison, attempts to reconnect with her young daughter but faces resistance from everyone except a bar owner (Tyriq Withers) with ties to the child. As they grow closer, Kenna must confront her past mistakes to build a hopeful future," Deadline noted. 

The movie is produced by Hoover and Levine for their company Heartbones Entertainment, with Gina Matthews producing through her Little Engine Productions. Robin Fisichella is exec producing.

The 14-title longlist has been released for the C$100,000 (about US$72,775) Giller Prize, which honors "the best Canadian novel, graphic novel or short story collection published in English." The finalists, who will be unveiled October 6, receive C$10,000 (about US$7,275) each. The winner will be named November 17. This year's longlisted titles are:

Other Worlds by André Alexis 
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad 
An Astonishment of Stars by Kirti Bhadresa 
The Tiger and the Cosmonaut by Eddy Boudel Tan 
Sugaring Off by Fanny Britt, translated by Susan Ouriou
Still by Joanna Cockerline 
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue 
The Sideways Life of Denny Voss by Holly Kennedy 
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight 
Wild Life by Amanda Leduc 
We, the Kindling by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek 
The Road Between Us by Bindu Suresh 
Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa 
You've Changed by Ian Williams 

photo: Anju Manandhar

Cadwell Turnbull is the author of The Lesson and the Convergence Saga. His short fiction has appeared in the Verge, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Asimov's Science Fiction and several anthologies. His novel The Lesson was the winner of the 2020 Neukom Institute Literary Award. No Gods, No Monsters was the winner of a Lambda, a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Manly Wade Wellman Award, and longlisted for the PEN Open Award. We Are the Crisis was a finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award and an Ignyte Award. Turnbull grew up on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. His latest novel, A Ruin, Great and Free (Blackstone Publishing, September 16, 2025), is the third and final book in the Convergence Saga, set in a world where creatures from myth and legend have come out from the shadows.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

My books are interpersonal drama meets sociopolitical exploration meets cosmic weirdness. My fantasy trilogy is a love child of Buffy and The Wire.

On your nightstand now:

I'm keeping my nightstand clear these days. But I have been rereading Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Just started Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. And just finished Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Favorite book was 1984 by George Orwell. I know. Not really optimistic reading. But I'd still put that book pretty high on my list. It was a huge influence on me as a writer.

Your top five authors:

Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Emily St. John Mandel, and Ted Chiang. Ray Nayler has become a new favorite and isn't on this list only because of who is already there.

Book you've faked reading:

Oh boy. I've been "slowly reading" Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace for years. More not reading at this point if I'm being honest. And I've been 200 pages from the ending of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami for several years now. Still convinced I will someday finish it.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Right now? It has to be Children of God. Utterly brilliant and deeply challenging book. Challenging in a good way. I've never seen faith (and fate) tackled in such a nuanced, unflinching, spiritually agnostic way before. A beautiful sequel to Russell's The Sparrow, just as worthy of everyone's time.

Book you've bought for the cover:

I had to run to the shelf: Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez. It is even more spectacular than the cover suggests.

Book you hid from your parents:

I didn't really have to hide. But I did "borrow" a copy of The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah from my big sister when she wasn't looking. Eye-opening to say the least. And taught me that fiction could contain a range of experiences. Urban fiction was the first time I read about people that I recognized--not exactly my life experience, but close enough that I could see myself in the characters. Yes, the book is spicy, but that also taught me something. Fiction can be raw, unflinching; it doesn't have to look away.

Book that changed your life:

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. If 1984 was my first awakening, this was my second. Still my favorite book.

Favorite line from a book:

"He was like the knife that wounds, and like the wound." --from "Paradises Lost" (in The Found and the Lost) by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Five books you'll never part with:

Well, more Le Guin, obviously: The Found and the Lost and The Dispossessed. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, for mostly sentimental reasons at this point. Another literary awakening. I have to cheat and add 1Q84. I can't get rid of it until I finish it, at least.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

There are far too many. I won't repeat any that I've already listed. My answer: Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Just so I can experience the magic trick of that novel's ending with fresh eyes.

A short story worth reading immediately:

"Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. A brilliant refashioning of non-fictional techniques towards fictional ends. And a gut-punch of a story. Once you're done, I recommend watching the adaptation, Arrival. They're doing two very different things, but both are excellent.

The Dinner Party, Viola van de Sandt's propulsive debut, is structured around one fraught dinner party and the far-reaching ramifications it has on Franca's life after a somewhat unwilling stint as its hostess. Franca's account of the doomed evening begins as a collection of facts in an unsent letter she is writing to a long-lost friend at the behest of her therapist. Her report of the meal is carefully organized, starting with prep and mise en place and continuing through each course, right up to the sickly sweet spill of chocolate frosting at dessert. But amid that careful organization is lurking "that business with the knife," the alluded-to denouement of the evening that launches Franca out of the prim and proper life she's constructed and into something for which she has no menu, no plan, no recipe--something that, if she can only get there, might feel begin to feel like freedom.

Van de Sandt moves expertly through time in The Dinner Party, weaving together past and present to great effect. The intimate dinner party, thrown at the insistence of Franca's partner, is meant to celebrate a successful investment in his portfolio--and represent to his colleagues the role Franca plays as a supportive, dutiful housewife-to-be. With her therapist's urging and support, Franca--and the reader along with her--fills in some of the blanks of her memory around the event and the ways those lost memories and forgotten traumas hide within a person: her father's early death and her mother's year-long silence afterward. Franca buries these hurts so deep that even she believes she's unaffected by them, but when her only friend at university leaves the city, a sense of abandonment begins to spill over into every aspect of her being: what she studies and where, whom she loves and when, even how she prepares a dinner--and for whom: "The past is what it is, and the important thing is what we make of it. How we allow it to influence everything that comes after."

Within the frame of one alcohol-soaked evening, The Dinner Party expands to encompass the "everything after" of Franca's life as she begins to understand not only how her childhood traumas brought her to that evening, but where she might go next. "I didn't know," she writes plainly. "I didn't know anything about myself, who I was, what I wanted. I knew nothing about life." With sharp prose and emotional clarity, The Dinner Party is the tale of one woman coming to know about herself and about life, a breathtaking, fast-paced tale of a woman's hurt and rage and anger and despair and becoming. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Shelf Talker: This debut novel spans the length of one doomed dinner party and the far-reaching implications it has on its unwilling hostess, in a propulsive tale of female rage and becoming.