Dear Booksellers and SinC Members, In this issue of We Love Bookstores News, SJ Rozan describes her favorite bookstore so compellingly, it makes me want to travel to New York City to visit her choice—Three Lives & Company in Manhattan. I am pleased to announce the We Love Bookstores winner for this month is the oldest bookstore in the city of Calgary, Owl’s Nest Books! Please see details about Owl’s Nest Books below, along with the link to submit an application to enter your bookstore for the WLB award. A new winner will be selected in May. |
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My Favorite Bookstore by SJ Rozen |
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Three Lives & Company 238 West 10th St. New York, NY 10014 212-741-2069 Let me start by saying: I love bookstores. I'm drawn into them like a twig into a whirlpool wherever I am, and this includes places where I don't speak the language. The number of times I've looked around in an odd mixture of excitement and despair at shelves full of books in Italian, Japanese, French, or Mongolian… Luckily, here in New York City, though we do have foreign-language bookstores, we're also blessed with many whose books are in my native English. And I love them all. But most, I love Three Lives & Company Three Lives is my local; it's a five minute walk from my apartment. The store was founded in 1978 by three women, thus Three Lives, and is now owned by Toby Cox, who bought it in 2001. It's that dream New York bookstore, of which there were once hundreds and now there are, at a stretch, maybe two dozen. It's full of books you either forgot were coming out, forgot to buy when they first came out, or never heard of but the moment you walk in they're calling your name. It's where you go to buy a pizza cookbook for your nephew and end up with a book on the history of fabric for his tailor girlfriend. |
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The staff knows their stock and their customers. They greet you by name, one of them has always read whatever book you're interested in and will tell you whether or not they liked it, they'll order whatever you need (or explain why they can't) and they'll call you when it comes in. Three Lives is in a temporary location, while the building the shop started in and will return to gets a needed renovation, but the temporary location is just as appealing as the original. Books in the windows, books on shelves, books on tables, other book lovers prowling around—what's not to love? And in a cherry-on-top bit of wonderfulness, the entire staff is the best gift wrappers in the world. Long live Three Lives. |
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SJ Rozan is the author of eighteen novels and over seventy short stories, and editor of three anthologies. She has won multiple awards, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, Macavity; Japanese Maltese Falcon; and the Private Eye Writers of America Life Achievement Award. SJ lectures and teaches widely, including such positions as Workshop Leader at Art Workshop International in Assisi, Italy; Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida; and Writer-in-Residence at Singapore Management University. Her latest book is FAMILY BUSINESS. (Photo credit: Charles Kreloff) |
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Would you like to write an entry for We Love Bookstores News about your favorite shop or something else? Did you put together or see an amazing display? Submit your ideas to Susan Hammerman, Library Liaison at librarian@sistersincrime.org |
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The We Love Bookstores January 2022 Winner: Owl's Nest Books Calgary |
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PHOTO: Owner Stacey Kondla poses with books by Sisters in Crime member authors, Murder in Bel-Air by Cara Black, A Better Man by Louise Penny, Haunting the Haunted by E.C. Bell, and When the Flood Falls, by J. E. Barnard. Located in Alberta, Canada, Owl’s Nest Books is a 47-year-old landmark. Their store mission is to be “the city’s most informed bookstore. That’s because all of us at the store grew up with books, and our lives are better because of it. We take seriously our responsibility to pass on that love of books to a whole new generation of readers.” The store hosts three book clubs and offers discounts on book club selections, as well as hosting book launches, readings, signings, and open mic nights. Finally: “Great books make for a healthy community. And having a good bookstore around makes that happen.” |
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Apply for the We Love Bookstores Award |
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To find out more about all SinC offers, including live webinars, please visit our website. Thank you for all you do for your community. Sisters in Crime loves bookstores. Happy reading! Susan Hammerman Library Liaison Susan Hammerman, a former rare book librarian, is the Library and Bookstore Liaison and coordinator of the We Love Libraries program. Susan writes crime and neo-noir short stories. Her stories have been published by Mystery Magazine, Dark City Mystery Magazine, Blood and Bourbon, Mondays are Murder, and Retreats From Oblivion. We Love Bookstores Coordinator Robin Agnew owned the Raven Award-winning bookstore Aunt Agatha’s Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for 26 years with her husband Jamie. Robin writes a review blog at auntagathas.com and the cozy column for Mystery Scene Magazine. WLL and WLB News Editor Gail Lukasik’s latest book, White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing, was named one of the most inspiring stories of the year by The Washington Post. She is also the author of the Leigh Girard Mystery series and the stand-alone mystery, The Lost Artist. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, such as The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and The Georgia Review. Gail appeared in the documentary, History of Memory, which is available on Amazon Prime. Website: www.gaillukasik.com Sisters in Crime is the premier crime writing association focused on equity and inclusion in our community and in publishing. Our 4,500+ members enjoy access to tools to help them learn, grow, improve, thrive, and reinvent if necessary. They also gain a community of supportive fellow writers and readers, both peers to share the peaks and valleys of writing, and mentors to model the way forward. |
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We've put our member books in a spreadsheet that we'll update every month, and send as part of this newsletter. This month's releases are on a separate worksheet. Feel free to sort by author name, book title, or author location. |
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The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. |
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Sisters in Crime will award researchers grants of $500 for the purchase of books to support research projects that contribute to our understanding of the role of women or underrepresented groups in the crime fiction genre. Applications open through March 31. |
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Sisters in Crime hosts LIVE webinars each month. Webinars last 60-90 minutes depending on the topic and the audience questions! These webinars are open to all. |
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