Small Press Authors Tour; Indie Bookstores Close and Open

Elwin Cotman’s punk/folklore/fantasy story collection, The Jack Daniels Sessions EP (Six Gallery Press, 2010) has just been re-released in a newly updated second edition. The author is currently booking a reading tour for late spring, (only a year after his tour with Dan McCloskey) starting on May 28th at SubRosa in Santa Cruz. He plans to tour the West Coast, Southwest, and key spots in the Midwest. Find details and updates on the book’s Facebook page.

GoMetric’s Mike Faloon has a run of Southern California readings starting this Monday, February 14: On the Mommy Can I Go Out and Read Tonight? Tour, Mike will be reading with Todd Taylor (aka the Studds Terkel of punk rock) and Matt Hart (the Sideshow Bob of punk rock). Mike has been billed as the Bob Newhart of punk rock. Mike’s latest book is The Hanging Gardens of Split Rock, from Gorsky Press.

Jamaica Plain, a hip enclave of Boston, will soon welcome a new bookstore (a revamp of Rhythm & Muse book and music store) called Tres Gatos that will also sell vinyl records and Spanish-tapas eats. This business model reminds me of 3138 Dobson St. in Pittsburgh, a newly- renovated building that boasts a hip café on the first floor, vinyl-only music store on the second floor, and a powerhouse comics store/bookstore on the third floor. The Pittsburgh complex has been doing well for all three businesses, and we wish the new Boston venture the same success.

When Buffalo Street Books closes, it will leave vibrant college town Ithaca, New York (and its county) with no more independently-owned retail bookstores. “The positives and negatives of owning and operating an independent bricks-and-mortar bookstore are many with the perks far, far outweighing the bumps but for personal reasons and a rapidly diminishing bottom line, I finally have no choice,” says owner Gary Weissbrot on the store’s website.

In the What Goes Around Comes Around category: Shelf Awareness reports two indie bookstores soon to open in former Waldenbooks spaces in New England malls. Rivendell Books will open a second store in Montpelier, Vermont, and Wakefield Books opens tomorrow in Wakefield, Rhode Island. The Wakefield bookstore will even employ some of the former Waldenbooks workers.

Finally, Moby Lives writes on Powell's layoffs as well as Powell's 24-hour reading of Moby Dick.