Bookselling This Week: BTW Home Page

March 19, 2010

ABA Announces BEA "Day of Education" Lineup
March 18, 2010 - ABA today unveils the programming for its eighth annual Day of Education, to be held on Tuesday, May 25, at BookExpo America. Fifteen education sessions, roundtable discussions, and workshops will cover an array of topics, including the results of a brand-new survey of book-buying behavior, the latest on e-books, and a fresh look at alternative business models. The program also features two sessions for children's booksellers developed by the Association of Booksellers for Children.

A Capital Showing: Booksellers Go to Hartford in Support of E-Fairness
March 18, 2010 - On Monday, March 15, a group of Connecticut booksellers testified at a state Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee hearing in Hartford, Connecticut, in support of e-fairness legislation. If passed, the legislation, Raised Bill 5481, would clarify sales tax laws to require non-Connecticut merchants to collect sales tax on purchases shipped to Connecticut if they have online affiliates in the state acting as sales agents on their behalf. A committee vote on 5481 is expected at the end of March or in early April.

Board Ballots to Arrive Via E-Mail on March 22
March 18, 2010 - All ABA Regular Bookstore members should be on the lookout for an electronic ballot for the 2010 election of ABA officers and directors to arrive via an e-mail from the American Booksellers Association on Monday, March 22. All voting is being conducted electronically, as authorized by a 2009 amendment to the ABA Bylaws.

Spring Booksellers Forums Underway
March 18, 2010 - ABA kicked off its 2010 Spring Forum Tour last weekend in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance and the National Association of College Stores' Campus Market Expo in Orlando, Florida. The next ABA Booksellers Forum program will be held this weekend in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by stops in Atlanta, Georgia; Portland, Maine; and Oberlin, Ohio, in the next few weeks. In addition, ABA announced details for mid-April forums scheduled for Lake Forest Park, Washington, and Long Beach, California.

Six Bookstores Off to a Good Start
March 18, 2010 - In 2009, 40 ABA member stores opened across the U.S. Bookselling This Week recently checked in with six of those new stores for a report on their first year. From Waterbury, Vermont, to Portland, Oregon, booksellers had upbeat news, including plans for expansion at Bridgeside Books in Vermont, a massive grand opening turnout at Flyleaf Books in North Carolina, and repeatedly hearing thanks from customers at Greenlight Bookstore in New York.

City Lights Named PW's Bookseller of the Year
March 18, 2010 - San Francisco's City Lights Bookstore, founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, has been chosen as Publishers Weekly's Bookseller of the Year for 2010. "To be recognized by your colleagues and peers in an industry of such smart, thoughtful people really is an honor," said store manager Andy Bellows.

Bookstores Give High Marks to Community Coupons
March 18, 2010 - Common Good Books and Green Apple Books have tried online group coupon services in recent weeks, and both consider the experiments a success.

Vote Now for Your Favorite Handsells
March 18, 2010 - The owners and staff at all ABA member stores still have time to cast their ballots online to choose the winners of the 2010 Indies Choice Book Awards.

Permanent Press Sees Green in Doris Buffett Biography
March 18, 2010 - Permanent Press has high hopes for its upcoming release of Giving It All Away: The Doris Buffett Story. As a sign of its confidence -- and as part of a "green marketing plan" -- the publisher is selling the book on a nonreturnable basis.

Around Indies
March 18, 2010 - Books Inc. to Open New Airport Store; Clinton Book Shop Connects With Customers; Boulder Bookstore's Consignment Program Draws Attention; Politics & Prose Recognized by ACLU; WORD Celebrates Third Anniversary

BTW News Briefs
March 18, 2010 - Follett Announces Online Textbook Rental Program for Independent Bookstores; New England Independent Booksellers Association Picks New Logo; powerHouse Signs With Random House; NRF Names New President and CEO; PEN American Center Re-Elects Appiah

Spring Book Awards Season Revs Up
March 17, 2010 - Here's a look at some of the book awards winners and finalists announced in the past week.

ABFFE Encourages Booksellers to Oppose Alaska Censorship Bill
March 17, 2010 - The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is working with Alaska booksellers and other free speech organizations to oppose House Bill 298, which bans the sale of sexual material to minors, because two provisions of the bill remain unconstitutional.

Will Britain's Bookstores Survive?
March 17, 2010 - On World Book Day, the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the U.K. and Ireland, Scotland's The Big Issue asked if browsing in a book shop is an endangered pastime. Like their U.S. counterparts, booksellers on the other side of the Altantic are facing fierce competition from Internet transactions and deep-discounting supermarkets, but they're fighting back by focusing on what makes them unique.

Bookstore Sales Up in January
March 17, 2010 - January retail sales at bookstores were up by 2.0 percent, compared to January 2009, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

Canadian Booksellers Lobby Against Amazon Warehouse
March 17, 2010 - Canadian booksellers are not sitting still as they await the government's decision on Amazon's application to open a warehouse in Canada.

BEA Launches New York Book Week
March 17, 2010 - This week, BookExpo America announced the official debut of New York Book Week, a celebration of literature and author events, from Sunday, May 23, through Saturday, May 29. The program expands on the presence of BEA in New York City this year by making authors available to the community.

The Latest Indie Bestseller Lists
March 17, 2010 - Bestsellers in hardcover, paperback, and children's categories based on sales from independent bookstores across America.

Free Classifieds Available to ABA Bookstore Members
March 16, 2010 - All ABA Bookstore Members in good standing are entitled to four free two-week Classified Ad insertions in Bookselling This Week each year. BTW Classifieds are the perfect place for booksellers to place help-wanted ads, advertise fixtures or stores for sale, and more.