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Richard Howorth, owner of Square Books.
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Jeremiah Chamberlin sat with Richard Howorth upstairs, at a small table in an out-of-the-way corner. "I chose the spot because it seemed secluded—though, coincidentally, we were between the Faulkner and Southern Literature sections," Chamberlin writes. "Howorth commandeered the espresso machine and made us cappuccinos before we settled in to chat, fixing us our drinks himself."
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Most of the photos are black-and-white publicity shots, the kind publishers send with press kits, but there are also large-format, professional ones—of Larry Brown, Barry Hannah, Richard Ford, and others. Collectively, they comprise an archaeological record of this place’s luminous history—all the authors have passed through these doors—as well as a document of the important role that this particular institution has had in promoting writers and writing.
Amazon Motion Fails, Record Expected at Poe Auction, and More
The manuscript of A Christmas Carol is at the Morgan in NYC, and online for the first time via the NYT; hard times continue for independent booksellers; the 2010 Canada Reads list has been unveiled; publishing exec Philip Turner is launching a new imprint; Hachette has restructured its Headline brand; and other news.
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The names of sections, grouped by topic, are painted on the stairs leading to the second floor of the stoor.
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The first thing customers notice when they enter Square Books is the signed author photographs. There are hundreds of them, occupying nearly every vertical surface not already taken up by bookcases. They cover the walls and trail up the narrow staircase to the second floor, framing windows and reaching all the way to the fourteen-foot-high tongue-and-groove ceiling.
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Richard Howorth and his wife, Lisa, opened the first store in 1979. Seven years later they moved into their current location, formerly the Blaylock Drug Store, after buying the building.
Writer's Digest Extends Story Contest Deadline
Writer's Digest has announced that it will now accept entries for its Short Short Story Contest until December 10. The competition is accepting fiction entries of no more than fifteen hundred words, which can be submitted online or via postal mail. The winner will receive three thousand dollars, and the second-place finalist fifteen hundred dollars, and both of their winning stories will be published in the 10th Annual Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition Collection.
Last year's winner was Lee Hubbard for his story "We Sat in the Darkness," and Richard Cass received the second-place nod for "A Fisherman's Wife." J. A. Konrath, Debby Mayne, and Gina Ochsner were the judges.
The 2009 honorees will be announced in the May/June 2010 issue of Writer's Digest after winners are notified in February.
Nook Injunction Denied, DailyLit Goes Free, and More
Google is allowing newspapers and other media sites to limit free access; culture ministers in the EU want a coordinated alternative to private-sector digitization schemes; the rise in e-reader sales is expected to spur a piracy boom; one of Britain’s classic red phone boxes has been reborn as a lending library; and other news.
Nathan Englander to Select a Short for Symphony Space Prize
The Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City has launched its annual Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize for a 750-word piece, this year on the theme of "Apartments and Neighbors." Nathan Englander will choose the winning story, which will be read in the Selected Shorts series at Symphony Space, a program featuring stage and screen actors performing literary fiction. The winner will also receive one thousand dollars and tickets to the staged reading of his or her story on April 7, 2010.
All stories must be titled, and a twenty-five dollar entry fee should accompany each submission. The deadline is January 29, 2010 (the organization emphasizes that this is not a postmark deadline, but that entries must be received by this date). The contest is also open to online entries. Additional submission information is available on the Selected Shorts Web site.
The winner of the 2009 contest is Daniela Maristany for "Swimmers." Her winning story, read by actress Mary Stuart Masterson, aired in November on New York City's public radio station, WNYC—as well as a number of other National Public Radio stations across the country—as part of the station's partnership with Symphony Space, appearing alongside pieces by Amy Hempel and Edna O'Brien.
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