Phoenix News

  • Curious George was a huge hit at Phoenix Books Rutland!  Here are a few photos from the event, which was part of our Grand Opening Week.


    Attendees lined up down the sidewalk to see Curious George.

     


    A young book lover meets Curious George.

     


    Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat with Phoenix booksellers.

     

    Posted 10/06/2015
  • Thank you so much to everyone who helped us celebrate the Grand Opening of Phoenix Books Rutland on Monday, September 28th.  One hundred and fifty were in attendance to hear Mayor Chris Louras, Steve Costello (Vice President - Generation and Energy Innovation for Green Mountain Power), Mary Powell (President & CEO, Green Mountain Power) and Mike Coppinger (Executive Director, Downtown Rutland Partnership) speak, as well as Phoenix Books Rutland's co-owner/manager, Tricia Huebner and Phoenix Books co-owner Mike DeSanto!

     


    At the ribbon cutting.  Thank you our neighbors at Same Sun of Vermont for sharing this photo!

     

     


    Phoenix Books owner Mike DeSanto and book buyer Beth Wagner toast to the opening of Phoenix Books Rutland at the September 27th reception for pre-buyers and other key supporters.

     


    Mike DeSanto and Phoenix Books Rutland co-owner and manager Tricia Huebner.

     


    Phoenix Books co-owner Renee Reiner.

     


    At the reception following our ribbon cutting.

     


    At the reception following our ribbon cutting.


     

    Posted 09/30/2015
  • Phoenix Books Rutland's opening was front page news today!  Check out the September 18th issue of the Rutland Herald for the full story.

    Posted 09/18/2015
  • Phoenix Books has been a hub of authorly activity lately!  In addition to our events, we've had three wonderful authors visit us and sign books:  Vermont authors Tamara Ellis Smith (Another Kind of Hurricane), Jonathan Mingle (Fire & Ice) and Linda Urban (Milo Speck) stopped by, as well as Canadian author John Farrow (The Storm Murders).  Autographed books make great gifts - for others or for yourself!  Milo Speck and Another Kind of Hurricane are wonderful choices for the middle readers in your life.  Fans of Bill McKibben will love Fire & Ice, while those who enjoy Hercule Poirot mysteries will be thrilled to discover The Storm Murders.

    Would you like a signed copy?  If ordering online, please indicate in the "comments" field that you'd like an autographed copy.  Quantities are limited, and vary by store.

      

            

    Jonathan Mingle's writing on the environment, climate and development has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, The Boston Globe, and other publications. He is a former Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism, a recipient of the American Alpine Club's Zach Martin Breaking Barriers Award, and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group. He lives in Vermont.

    John Farrow is the pen name of Trevor Ferguson, who has written eleven novels and four plays, all to extraordinary acclaim. His Émile Cinq-Mars crime series has been published around the world and cited by Booklist as "one of the best series in crime fiction", while Die Zeit in Germany suggested that it might be the best series ever.

    Tamara Ellis Smith earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Richmond, Vermont, with her family. Another Kind of Hurricane is her first novel.

    Linda Urban's debut novel, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, was selected for many best books lists and was nominated for twenty state awards. She is also the author of Hound Dog True, a Kirkus Best Book of 2011, the acclaimed The Center of Everything, and the fantasy-adventure Milo Speck, Accidental Agent. A former bookseller, she lives in Vermont.

    Posted 09/16/2015
  • If you missed the September 8th book launch for The Hummingbird, by Stephen Kiernan, watch it here!

    Stephen P. Kiernan is a journalist with an M.A. from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and an M.F.A. in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His debut novel, The Curiosity, was published in 2013 and he is the author of two works of nonfiction, Last Rights and Authentic Patriotism, and has been awarded the Brechner Center's Freedom of Information Award, the Scripps Howard Award for Distinguished Service to the First Amendment, and the George Polk Award. He lives in Vermont with his two sons.

    Posted 09/16/2015
  • We're thrilled and honored that Phoenix Books been awarded the BPRNE 2015 Independent Spirit Award!  Thank you so much to Debra Woodward, and to the BPRNE board.  This letter went out in the NEIBA News this week:

    The Independent Spirit Award is given annually at the NEIBA fall trade show to recognize excellence in a bookstore member of the New England Independent Booksellers Association. Our rep members nominate bookstores for this award, and then vote on the store they most believe stands for all that is great in New England bookselling.

    It seems the competition gets fiercer year after year, as we have a wealth of excellent bookstores to choose from. This year we have selected Phoenix Books in Essex, Burlington and soon-to-be Rutland, VT!

    Phoenix Books receives two nights lodging for the NEIBA tradeshow and a free ticket to all NEIBA meals for an exceptional bookseller of their choosing who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend the show.

    Here are a few words from Debra Woodward of Red Wheel/Weiser, the BPRNE member who nominated Phoenix,

    "The booksellers at Phoenix Books really believe in community and making good books more widely available to the public. They also believe in Independent Bookselling. They worked hard to make their store a destination out in Essex, and then when Burlington had a need for a full-service bookstore they jumped in. They also believe in employing as many booksellers as they can and paying them fairly. I want to give a special shout-out to Beth Wagner who started as a bookseller and moved on to gift buyer, then children's book buyer. She is now the buyer for all books and takes her book buying quite seriously and uses Edelweiss wisely."

    Congratulations to Mike, Renee and the entire staff at Phoenix Books for their excellence in New England bookselling!

    Best,
    BPRNE board
    Maureen Karb, President
    Karen Gudmundson, Vice President
    Stephen Williamson, Treasurer
    Megan Sullivan, Secretary

    Posted 09/02/2015
  • Phoenix Books Rutland, borne through a community-supported pre-buy program and local investment, will celebrate its grand opening Sept. 28, followed two days later by an event with arguably Vermont’s most successful author, Chris Bohjalian.

    “We’ve been blessed with incredible community support, so we wanted to do something big to mark the opening,” co-owner Michael DeSanto said.  “Few Vermont authors are more successful than Chris. His appearance is kind of a ‘thank you’ to the community for the amazing reception we’ve received.”

    Rutland resident Tricia Huebner, who will manage the store, and with her husband, Tom, is a co-owner, said her excitement has been building for weeks as space was renovated and inventory began to arrive.

    “We’ve created a spectacular space that will be welcoming and warm, and will fill a need not just for books, but for discussion and debate and connecting with one another,” Huebner said.  “This is a dream fulfilled for me personally, and for a lot of people in Rutland County.”

    Phoenix Books plans a reception for pre-buyers and other key supporters on Sept. 27, with the official grand opening set for 10 a.m. Sept. 28 - though the owners hinted that the store might open a little sooner.  “We are considering a soft opening, like restaurants often hold, to whet the appetite,” DeSanto said.

    Because Bohjalian is expected to draw a big crowd, the reading and signing event will be held at the Green Mountain Power Energy Innovation Center – where the idea of Phoenix Books Rutland began last November.  GMP, with support from the Downtown Rutland Partnership, Mayor Chris Louras, and a variety of local residents, organizations and businesses, recruited DeSanto to Rutland.  GMP Vice President Steve Costello enlisted more than 50 people and businesses to pre-buy $1,000 worth of books each last fall to support the store. 

    “I thought he was kidding when we met for the first time and he said he already had $30,000 committed,” DeSanto said.   “I’ve never seen a community rally like Rutland has rallied around us.  It is humbling.”

    Mayor Chris Louras said the Phoenix opening was symbolic of larger efforts to revitalize downtown, and address broader issues in the region.  “Every success we have had has come through collaboration,” Louras said. “Collaboration is bringing Phoenix to life, rejuvenating the downtown, and improving quality of life in Rutland.”

    The Sept. 30 Bohjalian event will begin at 7 p.m. at the EIC, at 68-70 Merchants Row.  Bohjalian will read from and answer questions about his new book, “Close your Eyes, Hold Hands,” a New York Times Best Seller.   “‘Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands,’ Chris Bohjalian's terrific new novel, could serve as a master class on how to write the thinking reader’s bestseller,” according to a Washington Post review.

    Posted 08/31/2015
  • Things are moving along nicely at Phoenix Books Rutland.  Our book fixtures have arrived in the store, and we're working on finding just the right places for them. The Rutland community continues to welcome us with enthusiasm.  Phoenix Books Rutland will truly be a community bookstore.


    Our point of sale counter, with lots of bookshelves in the background.

     


    There are two gorgeous brick walls, plus a brick column, that were discovered, cleaned, and sealed during the renovation of the space.

     


    Left: Tricia, Phoenix Books Rutland's manager, and her daughter at a Rutland sidewalk sale.
    Right: Emily holding Bella.  Bella has been an invaluable asset to the opening of the Rutland store. 

    Posted 08/11/2015
  • Max Gladstone (Last First Snow), Brian Staveley (Providence of Fire), Elizabeth Bear (Karen Memory), and James Cambias (Corsair) duel it out at Phoenix Books Burlington!  These four Tor authors competed against one another by trying to out-dramatically read from their works and others, along with a bit of audience participation. This event was presented in partnership with Geek Mountain State.

    Posted 08/10/2015
  • The Daysies have been announced, and we couldn't be more honored to be named Best Bookstore in Chittenden County for the third year in a row. Thank you to those who voted for thinking the "best" of Phoenix Books.  We intend to get even better!

    Posted 08/10/2015

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