A local independent book store is featured extensively in today’s Shelf Awareness.

On March 26, husband-and-wife writing duo Jon and Pamela Voelkel will participate in Nightbird’s monthly book club for middle grade students. In addition, store owner Lisa Sharp has arranged for them to speak at three local schools. Parents and teachers have been purchasing copies of Middleworld, the first volume of a trilogy, since flyers touting the events were sent out.

Nightbird Books has been open about two years now, and Sharp says she’s planning to continue. The bookstore is part of Book Sense, a sort of family of and “joint marketing campaign” for independent bookstores.

This part sounds exciting:

Later this month, Sharp is launching a discussion group for Fayetteville retailers and others interested in supporting independent businesses. The first selection is Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, and after reading the book the goal is for participants to come up with strategies “that can be implemented in our own community,” Sharp said, “and eventually have it turn into a shop local program.”

She said the store’s bestseller list is highly influenced by its events.

Ooh, Nightbird is also holding a contest this month inspired by Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. “Entrants are creating their own six-word autobiographies, and the winner will receive a $30 Nightbird Books gift card. The contest has landed the book (which Sharp noted is currently backordered) in the No. 2 position in its second week on the list.” Middleworld is No. 1. Not Quite What I Was Planning is also apparently being used in high school classrooms.

I’ve heard about people doing this before now — writing their own six-word autobiographies — but I haven’t tried my hand at it yet. What would yours say?