Greetings and salutations from Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester, the little bookstore that’s bigger on the inside! We’ve been plugging along through some of the hottest weather of the summer, with signs of autumn approaching. There’s been an uptick in customer traffic looking to finish their school summer reading, and an equal amount of people grabbing beach reads for their last vacation days. In addition, our office desk has been covered with catalogues for Fall 2021 releases, and there are some truly exciting titles on the horizon for September through December.
Many thanks to everyone who came out and shopped with us for the Tax Free Weekend! We saw lots of new faces and many old friends. We will be drawing the winners of our raffle for a $50.00 gift certificate later today.
Speaking of students and educators returning to the classroom, a few notes:
- Our educator’s discount is an additional 10% off all used books, new books, and book titles for special orders. [We can’t offer the additional discount on non-book product, sorry!] Please show your MTA card, your university employee ID, or a recent paystub to receive the discount at the register. If you are a state-certified day care owner or homeschooler, please show appropriate credentials.
- We are happy to do bulk ordering for classroom use for paperbacks and hardcovers, either new or used when available from our publisher and wholesaler colleagues. Unfortunately, that does not include textbooks. We can on occasion order single copies of textbooks on a case-to-case basis; please contact us for details.
- We offer a student discount of an additional 10% on new books and used books in-store to those currently enrolled in college or university for undergraduate and graduate studies; please show us an active student ID.
Next Monday, August 23rd, we will have a vendor table set up at Worcester Polytechnic Institute from 5pm to 8pm on the Quadrangle during their “Welcome To Worcester Block Party” event for the incoming Class of 2025. If you’re a student, professor, or parent, come by and say hello! We’ll have handouts and informational material to share.
As a matter of discussion regarding safety and capacity, we expect to slowly bring back some of our regular in-store events like Spinning Yarns and the Rainbow Readers book discussion group. Group meetings, craft sessions, and in-person author signings had been suspended since March of 2020. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page and our website for updates concerning events.
We can, however, offer you a teaser regarding some of the special events under discussion – we are hoping to host a Spooky Storytime close to Halloween, to offer our annual DOCTOR WHO all-day celebration just before Thanksgiving, and to plan a cluster of events for Small Business Saturday just after Thanksgiving, all of which will have virtual components as well as in-store participation. Again, stayed tuned!
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Shirley Jackson Awards, given out for the best in the genres of psychological suspense, horror, and dark fantasy, which were announced at this past weekend’s virtual Readercon.
NOVEL
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Saga Press, Gallery Books)
NOVELLA
Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones (Tordotcom Publishing)
NOVELETTE
The Attic Tragedy by J. Ashley-Smith (Meerkat Press)
SHORT FICTION
“Not the Man I Married” by R. A. Busby (Black Petals Issue #93 Autumn, 2020)
SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION
Velocities: Stories by Kathe Koja (Meerkat Press)
EDITED ANTHOLOGY
Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, edited by Lee Murray & Geneve Flynn (Omnium Gatherum)
Have you checked out our YouTube channel? Are you a subscriber? You won’t want to miss our fresh content!
Did you know we have dedicated playlists of our author interviews, readings, and Q & A sessions, organized by genre? Take a stroll and give a listen to our many special guests!
We are so grateful to the Worcester community as a whole for continuing to support us here at ABSW, and we are striving to continue to be Worcester’s full-service independent bookstore. Thank you, as always, for making our shelves your destination.
—-Patty and the staff of Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester
Annie's Book Stop of Worcester 