This will be my fifth or sixth time doing NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, (do I count the years I didn't actually finish? Your guess is as good as mine) and here's the mentality I've always had going into it:
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With Halloween just around the corner, you may be searching for other ways to celebrate the change of the seasons with your family. Please enjoy our list of recommendations for several age groups below. We hope these books help get you in the spooky spirit, celebrate thankfulness, or even give you some fun at-home costume ideas.
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Happy National Coming Out Day from Team OTB! We are so happy to call you a part of our amazing community of booklovers, wherever you may find yourself on your journey. We believe that love is love, that trans lives are valid and matter, and that every person is deserving of kindness, empathy, joy, and so much more.
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This Monday, October 12, is Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Rather than feeding into the false narrative of Columbus Day, we're celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day to honor the past, present, and futures of Native peoples in the United States. Pick up one of our Indigenous Lit staff picks and read along with us!
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The leaves have started turning. There’s a chill in the air (sometimes). You can’t turn a corner at the grocery store without encountering another pumpkin-infused abomination. You know what that means… Spooky Season is officially upon us!
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Assigned Old Town Books blog’s first community recommendation, I wanted to find someone deeply enmeshed in the goings-on of the city. Who better to ask than Alexandria’s own mayor, Justin Wilson? Even before his tenure as mayor, he was heavily involved with the city council, and as mayor, he works tirelessly (he sent me his post at 2 AM) to stay atop of all the issues that affect our community.
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Today concludes 2020’s Banned Books Week, an annual event coordinated by the American Library Association (ALA) to celebrate works that have historically been censored in school and public library environments.
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Latinx Heritage Month is an annual celebration from September 15-October 15 recognizing the positive influence and contributions that Latin Americans and Latin American culture have had in the United States!
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Get a sneak peak at September’s With Love selection and a glimpse into why our Program & Partnerships Coordinator Amanda loves it so!
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This week was major for book award news. Read on to hear Floor Manager Abby’s thoughts and predictions for the 2020 Booker Prize and National Book Award winners.
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We want to take this opportunity to introduce our new faces and share some comfort picks from our whole staff. We asked our team to share the following:
Your top book(s) from quarantine (March - August/Sept)
A "comfort item" that’s…
Like all great works of literature, Twilight snuck up on me. When I purchased my first copy (the same I own to this day, tattered and worn and annotated as it is), I cannot recall how old I actually was.
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Thank you all for your support of our Emerging Writers Festival. After careful consideration and extensive exploration into a variety of setups to make the festival viable for August 2020, we have decided that the best course of action for our store and our community is to not hold the Emerging Writers Festival this year.
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Last week, three of Old Town Books’ booksellers were able to attend the 8th annual Children’s Institute Conference, held by the American Bookseller’s Association. All three of us, Abby Bennsky, Jen Cheng, and Hilary Barrineau, had different and yet unified experience.
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This month, our Book Love program is honored to be supporting the Alexandria Tutoring Consortum (ATC) Book Drive, spearheaded by Life Scout Will Rutherford. His goal is to collect at least 300 books for children who do not have access to them, and donation will help kids reading below grade level through the summer and beyond.
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All about Book Love, our program to give back to the local community.
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Online story times, a Scout coloring sheet, a reading challenge, and more!
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A new series where you can hear from our bookselling team.
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One week in, here’s how things are going at your neighborhood bookshop.
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Old Town Books has been open for just over a year. As instructive as that experience has been, we still have a lot to learn about being community organizers and running a healthy small business.
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