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25 Year Press Release

Whispers from the Cotton Root Tree is one of the first two titles from Invisible Cities Press of Montpelier, Vermont. It is an anthology of Caribbean Fabulist Fiction edited by Nalo Hopkinson (Midnight Robber, Brown Girl in the Ring). Available as both a hardcover and a trade paperback, it is a beautifully designed book with a whole range of authors ranging from the expected to the surprising, Jamaica Kincaid to Ian McDonald, Opal Palmer Adisa to Lillian Allen. It is not only Caribbean authors who are represented, there are diasporic elements from the authors -- like Hopkinson herself -- connected to the area but who no longer live there. The second title is Ghost Writings, an original collection of ghost stories featuring Jennifer Rachel Baumer and others.

Golden Gryphon Press has a couple of good new short story collections out, Beluthahatchie from Andy Duncan and High Cotton from Joe Lansdale. (Lansdale also has a really strong mystery out now, The Bottoms). Duncan is a Southern writer whose strong stories have made this a hot title all over the country. There are a couple of killer stories and not one that feels like filler. Lansdale, one of the most prolific authors out there writes in mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, screenplays and more. Like James Patrick Kelly's Think Like A Dinosaur, an earlier Golden Gryphon title, these are both well designed, lovely books. Duncan's book has a wrap around cover that all has to be seen to be believed!

Recently came across a copy of The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley in the Common Reader/Akadine Press edition. It's another lovely book -- and Parnassus on Wheels is available too. If you're unfamiliar with A Common Reader I recommend it. It is a monthly catalog of good books, not necessarily the newest or the brashest and also includes listings for the Common Reader editions, reprints of books such as these. It is niche presses such as these that are the joy of readers. Another small press just launched, Stealth Press with a mission to keep good books in print in hardcover. Their first titles include authors such as Peter Straub and Peter Atkins (and authors whose first name is not Peter).

Neil M. Gunn's Whisky and Scotland (Souvenir Press, $14.95 but our price $12, 20% off all new titles, remember?) with drawings by Fred van Deelan is a sharp and funny look at the 'water of life' and those who make it. First published in 1935 it is well worth a look.

Last month we put more Playboy and Sports Illustrated magazines online. (Search). You can go to the Search page, put Playboy or Sports Illustrated in the Title field and a date if you know what you're looking for and Voila! There you go! No pictures yet, but it will tell you something about each issue. The range is from the late 1950s - near the present time. So if it's an anniversary date, a famous face or just a whim send us an email and we'll see if we can find it.

On the 15th of this month the National Book Awardees will be announced. At the end of October in Corpus Christi, TX, the World Fantasy Awards winners were announced. Here are the results.

Interesting news on the used books front, a certain large behemoth is now advertising for and selling used books on every page of their site. For 99 cents and 15% of the selling price anyone can list and sell titles on their site. A turn around and a not unexpected foray into an area where there is definite turn-over, it has infuriated publishers as they see sales disappearing from buyers buying used rather than new. Whether the descriptions live up to the standards set by book shops and dealers such as ourselves, The Argosy Bookshop, Second Story Books et al, will be something to discover.

AVENUE VICTOR HUGO BOOKSHOP CELEBRATES TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ON NEWBURY STREET

Still Here, Still Independent, Still Thriving

October 2000 (Boston, MA) ­ This month Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop is celebrating 25 years on one of the busiest and most expensive retail streets in the world. When Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop first opened its doors in 1975, Newbury Street was lined with many small locally owned businesses. Since then, however, many of the other local shops have disappeared while national and international chains establish a growing foothold on this increasingly busy street. In the last two years, seven bookshops have closed in the area: Waterstones, Rizzoli, Doubleday, Lauriat's, Buck-a-Book and the Globe Corner Travel Bookstore. Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop has no intention of going anywhere: owner Vincent McCaffrey recently signed a new five year lease with the shop's long term landlords. That, and last year's redesign of the bookshop website, show Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop is here to stay.

Vincent McCaffrey, who has owned and operated Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop since the beginning, got his start in the book business selling books around Boston from a handcart, still fondly remembered for its not-at-all subtle yellow paint work. Over the last 25 years Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop has become a destination for booklovers and a landmark for locals.

However, one of the most popular items in the shop isn't a book: it's the shop cat, Blue Bart (commonly known as Blue). Blue is about seven years old and was adopted from a local shelter four years ago. He just gets more handsome and friendly every year. "Every bookshop needs a cat," said one recent customer. Frequently found curled up in the window front, Blue can also be seen on the bookshop website and on www.storepets.com

Fact Sheet on Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop

339 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 266-7746
books@avenuevictorhugobooks.com
www.avenuevictorhugobooks.com

Opening Date: October 1975

Store Owner: Vincent McCaffrey

Store Cat: Blue Bart, generally known as Blue

Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop is an independent, full-service general used and new bookshop. It has a number of attractive physical features, from its handy location on busy Newbury Street near the Hynes Convention Center stop on the Green Line, to the beautiful original brick floor dating from when the building was a stable for the houses on Commonwealth Avenue.

Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop has over 150,000 books in many categories and around 250,000 magazines in the basement. Specialties include fiction, biography, history, science fiction and mystery. It has long been a favorite of Boston residents and visitors. If Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop doesn't have a book in stock, we will gladly order or search for it without a service charge.

Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop has been online since 1995. About 10% of the store's inventory is now online, as well as an email and web newsletter.