PW notes Blue Willow Bookshop’s Harvey benefit for Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25
Booksellers across state and nation tout “Indies First"
FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, 11.20.17 — Independent booksellers around the country are prepping for what is likely to be one of the most important shopping days of the year: November 25, otherwise known as Small Business Saturday. Last year, 112 million people made purchases from small businesses on Small Business Saturday, according to American Express, which backs the promotion.
Independent booksellers have also been calling the day Indies First since 2013, when author Sherman Alexie enlisted more 1,000 writers to handsell books at their local independent bookstores on Small Business Saturday. Five years later, the emphasis is as much on community marketing and special promotions as on authors handselling books. >>READ THE FULL STORY ON PW’S SITE
For Texas bookstores holding special events on Nov. 25, see our GO page
7th Annual Laredo Book Festival set for Dec. 9
The 7th Annual Laredo Book Festival will feature Matt de la Peña, a New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal–winning author of six young adult novels (Mexican WhiteBoy, The Living and The Hunted) and two picture books (A Nation’s Hope and Last Stop on Market Street).
Sponsored by the Laredo Public Library and the Friends of the Laredo Public Library, the event will take place at the Joe A. Guerra/Laredo Public Library at 1120 E. Calton Road on Saturday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Other featured authors include Patty York Raymond, Christina Sendejo, and Mario E. Martinez. In addition, all local authors and illustrators are invited to participate as well. There will also be food trucks and vendors.
For more information, visit www.laredolibrary.org/BookFestival/about.html
(Compiled from Laredo Public Library and book festival social media)
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Friends of the Amarillo Public Library put the “fun” in fund-raising with 7th annual Books to Broadway evening
AMARILLO — Kids’ Lit on Broadway was the theme of a bookish evening of entertainment Nov. 2 benefiting the Amarillo Public Library. In addition to a silent auction featuring ingeniously paired books and gifts, and free desserts, audiences were treated to a revue of musical selections performed by WTAMU singers Candace Carpenter, Peyton Kane, and Jayson Sanderson (ensemble member Christopher Meerdink had to bow out due to illness) and accompanist Jan Waller under the direction of Robert Hanson, director of music at West Texas A&M University.
The delightful program included songs from from children’s books that became Broadway musicals such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Secret Garden, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, The Lion King, Seussical: The Musical, Finding Neverland, and Oliver. The audience was invited t sing along during perennial favorite "Tomorrow" from Annie, the musical inspired by the Little Orphan Annie comics. Library director Stacy Yates emceed the event.
According to Yates, the event is as much about friend-raising as fund-raising, a way to say thank you to the library’s patrons and friends and to encourage reading.
Above, from top: numerous volunteers helped make Books to Broadway a success; library director Stacy Yates exhibits a cabinet tailored with recycled book spines, one of many innovative works of art on offer during the silent auction; an ensemble of WTAMU performers entertained the audience sat the Amarillo Civic Center; coffee tables, lamps, chairs, and art works were paired with books for the silent auction; Lone Star Literary Life publisher Kay Ellington talks books with Julia Koumalats, publicist for WTAMU writer in residence Jodi Thomas.
(Photos by Barbara Brannon)
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