Scribble Press Coming to the Upper West Side!

It’s official! In November, we’re opening our third Scribble Press at 84^th St. and Broadway. Zabars, H&H, The Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Center….We can’t wait to be part of the neighborhood.

So why the Upper West Side? We already have a studio in Manhattan – First Avenue and 84^th Street. A few reasons: First, the thought of going to a totally different city for our third store seemed really challenging, and there are so many great locations in New York City and Los Angeles that would welcome another Scribble Press. We wanted to stick with a market we already knew and loved.

The Upper West Side is such a busy, vibrant community filled with families that it seemed like the natural next place for us. Also, we can travel from one store to the other by just hopping on the 86^th Street Crosstown bus – kind of like I used to do when I was a seventh grader on my way to Brearley.

We found a terrific space at 84^th and Broadway. It’s catty corner from Five Napkin Burger (YUM) and right across from a Loews Multiplex Cinema and a Victoria’s Secret. (Although, I am not sure what our connection there might be – moms can buy thong underwear while their kids write a first novel?)

We’re going to a be busy for about eight weeks building marker caddies and painting the bathroom pink. Not to mention, setting up all the magical bookbinding equipment, creating an amazing party space and decorating a cool lounge area. This UWS location is going to be a fantastic destination for fun and creativity. Stay tuned for news on our November opening!

Do you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see at the new store? What things do you like about the Upper East Side location that you want us to carry over to the Upper West Side studio? What would you suggest we change or add? We’d love to hear from you!

Britney’s birthday book

Last week we were asked to make a book for Britney Spears containing the birthday wishes from her fans that were tweeted to her. The book turned out beautifully, and of course who wouldn’t want a book full of people saying nice things about you?

What’s really interesting about this, however, is that it’s a traditional book made with content from social media. We’ve all heard the moaning about how new technologies such as the Kindle and Google Books signal the death of the good old cloth-bound version. No one is going to want to spend money on an actual book when they can download it, right?

That may be true for your average trashy novel or how-to guide, but for the books that have emotional resonance nothing will ever be quite as good as words printed on paper. On my bookshelf I’ve got the story of my life in books – my original copy of Macbeth with my chicken scratch 9th grade notes in the margin, my Constitutional Law textbook from my first year in law school, and hundreds of novels and classics that have meant something to me over the years. None of these books could ever be replaced by an electronic version, and I’ll cart them with me from house to house wherever our family may move.

Tweets from your fans are nice, but putting them into a book gives them a power and permanence that a web page can’t provide. Most of us aren’t lucky enough to be able to fill an entire book with birthday wishes from people we don’t know; if you happen to be one of the few who is, then put those great words in a book and keep it on your coffee table.

You can see more of Britney’s book on her website:

Scribble Press now selling books by kid authors

We have a small but growing collection of wonderful books by kid authors created right here at Scribble Press. You can visit the store to flip through these books and buy your own copy, or you can order a copy from our website.

From “Jack the Dino” by 5-year-old CJ, to “Sophie Goes to London”, a beautifully illustrated travel tale, we have some great offerings and can’t wait to see the books your kids can create.

Thanks to all the grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, friends, teachers and fans who have already ordered these great books!