Tuesday, February 26, 2008

A sad day for bookstores: Dutton's closing

A cover story in the Los Angeles Times: "For Dutton's books, it's the end."

I love this bookstore. My friend and author Diane Leslie has been a part of it for years. I had a book release party there (and at Book Soup, South Coast Plaza, now closed, too) when Pen on Fire came out.

Is NY and the Bay Area the only places where indy bookstores stay alive? Sheesh.

Here's the story. (You can read the Times story, but you have to register first.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thankfully, no. Here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, we have several fine indies that seem to be doing well: Micawber's, Birchbark Books (owned by novelist Louise Erdrich), Red Balloon Books, and several others. Actually it was a Border's that has decided to go out of business recently!

Amy Timberlake said...

We've got some great ones in Chicago! One that is a wine bar and bookstore, which frankly is a GREAT combination. But they do close. For instance, where I live a big B&N is the bookstore in the area and there are no independents. There USED to be an independent, but the chains... And when there are tons of stores in the area that sell vases, and small decorative items that are basically nice, but NOT necessary for life, I wonder why our area won't support ONE independent bookstore . . . I am a strong believer that we who love independents need to get out there and shop independents even if their prices are more expensive. They are important for our neighborhoods!

Anonymous said...

Good stuff never really dies. Today is the birthday of John Steinbeck. Let's all celebrate it by reading the first and last paragraphs of the first chapter of Cannery Row. And then, let's sit down and write something. C'mon now - let's not say, "Who cares!"

"Eclectic Reader" said...

Oh, no! Dutton's always welcomed me to read my latest book. Given the total lack of marketing for most authors, the independents have been our only hope for publicity beyond our home towns. Fortunately for me, Northern Bay area counties have kept their independents. But even Berkeley has not been able to retain all of them, and now Cody's is moving to a smaller venue. When traveling, I always buy books along the way at every independent I find.