Industry News

As the popularity of Book Sense gift cards continues to grow, ABA, taking a cue from New York State's lottery slogan, "You have to be in it, to win it," would like to remind booksellers that they have to be in the Book Sense Gift Card Program to win sales with it.

Author Susan Isaacs has chosen The Sleeping Father by Matthew Sharpe (Soft Skull Press) as the next title to be read by the Today Book Club. The announcement was made on NBC's Today Show on Wednesday, February 25.

Though the Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA) is just over four months old, the seed for its creation was planted, rather aptly, during Independence Day week 2002. That's when the owners of Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida, decided to put all of the month's Book Sense 76 titles on sale during the week of July 4 to celebrate the Independence Day holiday and to bring attention to their store as an independent business.

The American Booksellers Association and Publishers Weekly are teaming up to provide better information to their constituencies. This new relationship will allow greater access for ABA members to the crucial industry information that Publishers Weekly delivers through its weekly magazine and Web site. It will also enable ABA to increase communications with publishers and further its message that independent bookstores are indeed a significant sales channel.

Well-attended ABA/NCIBA Booksellers Forum.

On Wednesday, February 18, approximately 45 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum, hel

Maria's Bookshop, owned by husband and wife Peter Schertz and Andrea Avantaggio, was recently named the Best Small Business of the Year by the Durango, Colorado, Chamber of Commerce. In announcing the award, the Chamber of Commerce cited Maria's dedication to the community and great customer service.

MPBA to Honor Regional Book Award Winners

The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association will present its Regional Book Awards at a banquet at the Marriott Denver Tech Center in Denver, Colorado, on March 20.

The 2004 MPBA Regional Book Award winners are:

Hardcover History, the partnership of Book Sense and The History Channel promoting programming and reading combinations, returns in March with a new look, a new book, and a bookseller display contest with a great prize.

Marking the 10th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List, Newmarket Press is publishing a collection of photographs entitled Schindler's List: Images of the Steven Spielberg Film. The book features the work of photographer David James, includes a foreword by Spielberg, and is being published in conjunction with Universal Studios Home Video's release of th

ABA recently extended an invitation to upper Midwest booksellers to come together at a Booksellers Forum on Saturday, March 6, at the Comfort Inn Airport, in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. The forum is part of a program that will run from 1:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. and is co-sponsored by the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA).

The Campaign for Reader Privacy (www.readerprivacy.com), a nationwide grassroots effort to restore safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records eliminated by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, officially launched this week, but many independent booksellers have been collecting customer signatures on petitions calling for an amendment of Section 215 since early January. And those who spoke to BTW reported that customers do not need to be prompted to lend a hand, literally, to the cause.

January was a very good month for many retailers, according to an Associated Press story in the February 6 edition of the Seattle Times, which reported that last month's robust sales at many retailers around the country were well above expectations and could be an early indicator of a consumer spending recovery. The article noted that analysts point to the redemption of gift cards purchased during the holiday season as one spur to sales in a month many consider to be the least important in the retail sales calendar.

At the recent meeting of the American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors, the Board approved the report of the ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by Neal Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California. The committee presented the Board with the names of three candidates for three-year terms as directors on the Board (2004-2007). (Under the current ABA bylaws, each year three members of the nine-member Board come to the end of their terms.)

The American Booksellers Association is currently accepting nominations of booksellers' handselling favorites for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (BSBY). All ABA member stores are eligible to nominate titles in the categories of Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Children's Illustrated, and Paperback. Only one nomination form per store is allowed; the first form received will be the official ballot.

On Wednesday, February 25, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and COO Oren Teicher will meet with booksellers at an open forum at Olsson's Books & Records in downtown Washington, D.C. Held in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), the forum is an opportunity for booksellers to ask questions, express opinions, and discuss issues relating to ABA, NAIBA, Book Sense, bookselling in general, and more.