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Thursday, January 9, 2014

Barnes and Noble closes flagship store

I can't resist sharing the cover of this summer's Authors Guild Bulletin, particularly in view of the rather dire B&N news.

 
 
Barnes & Noble has closed its flagship store on 5th Ave in New York City. Signs in the window of the store directed shoppers to its larger Union Square location, which is located around the corner from the 5th Ave. location.
 
I feel a pang.  That store made a great display of Hen Frigates and She Captains when they came out.  The young manager (or maybe sub-manager) who stacked them for me to sign was very complimentary about Hen Frigates, saying it had been one of the most interesting books of the year. (The New York Public Libary gave it a Best Book Award, which helped.)  Then he gave me a bunch of "signed by the author" stickers, saying very kindly, "These are for your grandchildren."
 
I didn't have grandchildren at the time.
 
Seriously, it is always sad when a bricks-and-mortar closes its doors. That big boy Amazon in the top lefthand corner of the cartoon is getting more and more of the arena to itself.
 
The cartoonist, Elwood H. Smith, is an award-winning illustrator whose work appears regularly in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.


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