BookstoreWeek

You know, with record-setting bank failures claiming most of their attention, I don't think our friends at McGraw-Hill will be too upset that I borrowed one of their titles for this week's post. (Based on what I've seen and read about the regional trade shows so far, my version's going to have more positive news. What are the chances that has something to do with the dearth of booksellers making $19 million in three weeks?)

GalleyCat points to a City Room post about Branding New York: How a City in Crisis Was Sold to the World, Miriam Greenberg's book about how some smart marketing got the city through an earlier economic and social slump.

Stephen King added a completely unnecessary new word to my vocabulary this week (courtesy of his son Joe Hill): manfiction.

Literary Kicks looks at the publishing equivalent of junk bonds, and wonders where the publishing bailout will come from.

Is the exchange rate stopping you from planning a trip to London this fall? Save money by planning a tour of completely fictional pubs.

Joe Wikert focuses mainly on bookstore chains in his six-part look at how stores can compete with online venues, but as Chad Post points out, there's no reason indies can't take on some of those ideas.(Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal tries to convince us that Wal-Mart hasn't actually had a measurable impact on independent businesses. Happily, there are a lot of skeptics, who will probably appreciate this recent study.)

Other people have ideas for fixing indies too: Bob Miller echoed his recommendation at NEIBA that indies play up their e-book offerings, and novelist Jane Finnis sees a solid future in in-store POD.

I haven't seen anyone but Haven Kimmel connect independent bookstores and "varmint guns" - if I've missed something, please let me know. (Kimmel's not the only one to check in with Square Books this week - it just happens to share its location with the first presidential debate still scheduled for tonight.)

Any other reports from Brisingr weekend? Alison Morris has the scoop on the Wellesley Booksmith's event, although she points out that the store might have encouraged more kids to take fencing lessons than to buy the book.

A few notes on publisher blogs: Congratulations to Beacon Broadside, celebrating its first blogoversary. Props also to Abbeville Press for giving the cover of their Courbet the exposure it deserves. (Yeah, bad pun. Deal with it.) And New York Review Books helped fill my daily laughter quota by directing me to this publishing glossary.

If you didn't get enough Brian Selznick at BEA this year, make sure to read his conversation with Paul O. Zelinsky (courtesy of Fuse #8).

Finally, there's $300 up for grabs if you convince a colleague to write his or her first Next List nomination.

Posted at 03:21PM Sep 26, 2008 by Sarah Rettger in General  |  Comments[2]