The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) has reported a theft at the offices of antiquarian bookseller L.W. Currey, Inc. in Elizabethtown NY. The theft was the third targeting L.W. Currey, including one in February 2026. New York State Police are investigating the case.

145 books were reported as stolen, including at least ten books by Isaac Asimov; at least 15 books by H.G. Wells; at least five each by Ray Bradbury and William Hope Hodgson; a $25,000 first edition, first printing of Dune by Frank Herbert; a $15,000 first edition, first issue, first binding of A Voyage of Arcturus by Lindsay David; $25,000 and $15,000 first edition copies of The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Shunned House by H.P. Lovecraft; and a $17,500 first edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Currey said,

Break-in was last night bypassing security last night — total thefts over a quarter of a million. Most books are identifiable and some are unique.

Thief or thieves are knowledgable and target specific authors and genres. This is under active investigation and lists have been sent to stolen book database. I would like to publicize this for warning others.

ILAB has requested that its offices, those of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), or the booksellers John W. Knott, Jr. or L.W. Currey be contacted if the items reappear in the trade.

For more information, see the ILAB website.

[via File770.com]

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Dark Carnival, the second oldest science fiction bookstore in the US, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on Saturday, August 1, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at its longtime location on Claremont Avenue in Berkeley, CA.

The sprawling establishment, which specializes in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery books—as well as comics through its next-door sister store, Escapist Comics—first opened its doors in 1976, resiliently weathering challenges including the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, COVID-19 lockdowns, and numerous periods of economic “malaise and recession” over the decades.

Dark Carnival’s events and book signings have previously attracted esteemed authors such as Ray Bradbury, Anne Rice, Douglas Adams, and Clive Barker, and the store continues to benefit from the support of a devoted community of patrons, fans, and local writers including Michael Chabon, Charlie Jane Anders, and Maggie Tokuda-Hall.

Owner Jack Rems, who has sat behind the desk at Dark Carnival “since dinosaurs and old Cadillacs roamed the earth,” prides himself on the store’s discerningly curated “recommended reads” shelf and expanded online booklists: “I like to feel I’m leading readers to something better than they would end up with if I wasn’t here to offer them guidance,” he said.

For more information on Dark Carnival and its upcoming anniversary celebration, visit its website.

Matt Haig announced on Instagram plans to open a “bookshop and coffee place” called Golden, to be located in Brighton UK in the Seven Dials neighborhood, which according to Haig does not currently have a bookshop. The shop aims to open “by Christmas.”

Haig said,

My belief, as someone who grew up in a town without a bookshop, is that all communities should have a bookshop because bookshops save civilisation and make life interesting. This bookshop will be about freedom. We won’t be pushing things we don’t

want to push. Just good books. Curated by me and people I trust. Mind-bending books. Tearful books. Banned books. Fun books. Graphic novels. Kids books. Grownup books. Really cool music and art books. Books with words. Books that have no words but are really gorgeous to flick through. Books that are actually vinyl records. The best dead and living writers. It will also have some comfy places to sit and drink some really good coffee. The occasional evening event. No stuffy vibes. No genre snobbery. No high/low book classism. You are welcome here. And so is your dog.

Since the announcement, Haig reported receiving over 200 applications and work enquiries, and has created an email to handle work enquiries: hello@thegoldenbookshop.com, though he says that “we are still in the early phases and won’t be able to respond to everyone and at this point don’t know yet everything we need.”

For more, see the Instagram account of Matt Haig or Golden.