Karibu Books is Closing

The bookstore chain with at least five locations in the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area is closing all their doors by February 10th.

Simba Sana, the founder and chief executive officer, attributed the closure to internal management problems for the financial plight of the book chain. He said the company owed vendors thousands of dollars and planned to file for bankruptcy.

The stores were popular stops on book tours by African-American authors, and sales remained strong.

This is unfortunate, to say the least. Karibu Books held an important place in the black literary world and seemed to be thriving while other bookstores closed due to lack of business. I've never been to any of their locations - it doesn't jibe geographically with Florida or Illinois, where I've been based in recent years - but I already feel a void.

I wish the managers and owners the best.