Wow…this story sure has legs!

Thanks to Carl and romanlily for pointing out that All Things Considered did a 4 minute piece on Wordsmiths fund-raising effort yesterday. Zach Steele was interviewed by phone.

Over on the store’s blog, Zach says they’re closing in on the halfway mark in terms of donations….

Wordsmiths has lots going on this weekend in celebration of its first anniversary.

For all the details go straight to the horse’s mouth: Wordsmiths’ “official” First Anniversary press release

With all that’s going on I might recommend just camping out on the Square for the weekend, but I suspect bonfires and sleeping under the Civil War monument are illegal.

The AJC reports on our recent news about Wordsmiths and Little Shop of Stories moving to Decatur Square.

The article sheds light onto our question about Little Shop of Stories’ moving date: April 2008.  It also mentions that the new space is more than twice the size as the old at 3,300 square feet.

In regards to Wordsmiths, the article says that the shop will grow about 200 square feet with its move to the old Suntrust Building and answers a question that my wife had about use of the bank vault.

It will house the young adult section.

Zach over at Wordsmiths’ blog gives his 2008 State of the Business a couple weeks early, ruminating over the the book store’s past year of start-up and looks to the future, promising on-site coffee and a used book section in the coming year. Both get a big thumbs up from me. [h/t: InDecatur]

But even local-loving Decaturites shouldn’t become complacent about supporting our independent book stores. They need our business. Outside (and probably inside) our little independent shop haven, writers, publishers and sellers all worry about the future of the medium.

A recent overview of the book industry in the L.A. Times (“A Dismal Year for Books“) summed up worries for the future of independent book shops nationwide and the solvency of the industry as media and publishing evolve into the digital space.

The article ultimately concludes with the uneasy feeling that many a book-lover with his/her wallet on the line must be dealing with these days.

Overall, as the publishing world looks back on 2007, it’s hard to reconcile the unease people feel about the business with the excitement they feel about the books themselves. When he goes to publishing dinners, bookseller Doug Dutton said, the conversation swings between lamenting the state of the business and exclaiming joy over a new novel or history.

“It’s about as murky a picture as I’ve seen,” said Dutton. Then he amended that slightly: “Sort of like last year and the year before.”

Buy local.

Ani DiFranco Reading From Her Book of Poetry “Verses” at Wordsmiths

Russ over at Wordsmiths Books writes a great recap of his madcap Tuesday playing host to singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco.

I should have skipped work too…

Wordsmiths seems to be doing a great job bringing a diverse array of writers to Decatur.

Cable and Tweed announces that Ani DiFranco will be at Wordsmiths on Tuesday, November 13th at1p. She will be reading from and discussing her new book of poetry, Verses, but not performing any music.

If you’re interested in hearing her perform, make sure to get tickets for her Variety Playhouse concert that evening.

Photo courtesy of MyFoxAtlanta

I’m a little behind the 8-ball on this one, but fellow bloggers over at Decatur CD point out that they’ve been rated as the top music store in Atlanta by voters on the MyFoxAtlanta Hotlist.

A few other Decatur establishments also took the top spots in their respective catagories…

Best Beer Selection: Brick Store Pub

Best Sandwich: 5th Earl Market (Creative Loafing review)

Best Live Music: Eddie’s Attic

Best Bookstore: Wordsmith’s

Best Coffee Shop: Choco-Latte

Let me know if I missed any…the list page is kinda overwhelming.

Many other Decatur standards ranked in the top 5. See the complete list for details!