Industry News

Longtime North Carolina bookseller Wallace Kuralt died on Saturday, December 13, in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Kuralt, brother of the late CBS journalist Charles Kuralt, had been treated for Merkel cell carcinoma, a skin cancer, for nearly two years, as reported by the Raleigh News & Observer. He was 64.

BookSense.com has announced that Houghton Mifflin will join the BookSense.com Co-op Reimbursement Program starting this January. "We're participating in the BookSense.com co-op program to support Book Sense and to be supportive of every new program it offers -- and to be one of the early birds," said Houghton Mifflin's Carla Gray. "It's a great way to get titles onto booksellers' Web sites and displayed in their stores."

The New Yorker has created a new public service advertising campaign to promote book buying this holiday season. The campaign features two pieces of art that include the slogan "Have You Booked Your Holiday?… Something for everyone. Literally." The New Yorker has made the artwork available to anyone who wishes to promote books this season.

It may have just started gathering momentum, but the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance (AIBA) was organized enough to hold a recent "Buy Local" shopping day. On Saturday, December 6, the fledgling group asked Albuquerque consumers to buy only at locally owned businesses.

October bookstore sales of $1,064 million were 3.5 percent ahead of the $1,028 million sales figure of a year ago, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Retail Trade Branch.

With the Census Bureau's recent adjustment of September figures upward from $1,491 million to $1,524 million, October is the fifth month in a row that bookstore sales showed improvement over the previous year.

Overall retail sales for October 2003 of $320 billion were 7.0 percent ahead of the $299 billion in October 2002.

The full January/February Book Sense 76 with booksellers' quotes is now online at news.bookweb.org/read/2060, and it's an auspicious harbinger for the quality and scope of published titles in 2004. Fliers will be mailed to stores the first week of January.

Here are two quick reminders about current Book Sense promotions:

On Monday, December 8, a federal judge in District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Little Rock said he needed answers before he could rule on whether amendments to an Arkansas statute that restrict the "display" of material that is "harmful to minors," among other things, violates the First Amendment, as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In June 2003, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), Arkansas' That Bookstore in Blytheville, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, and others challe

The new electronic Book Sense Gift Card Program is off to an auspicious start according to booksellers from around the country who described instant success and a painless transition to the new cards, when they recently spoke to Bookselling This Week. Booksellers' reports on consumer response to the gift cards bear out research conducted by the National Retail Federation 2003 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, which stated that there will be a significant leap in the gift card sector, with 48.4 percent of consumers indicating that they would like to

With the Book Sense Gift Card Program in full swing, and the holidays upon us, booksellers participating in the gift card program should note these important announcements regarding reordering cards. Booksellers can now restock their Book Sense Gift Cards and the coordinating presenters at a newly launched web site: booksenseorders.givex.com. Booksellers need to use the same login and password, which was provided by Givex, that they use to access store.givex.com.

Online Sales Soar for Some Over Black Friday Weekend

According to the second installment of the 2003 eHoliday Mood Study, conducted by Shop.org and BizRate.com, over half of retailers surveyed saw sales increase more than 25 percent over last year for the Black Friday weekend. Additionally, 71 percent of online retailers said that they are feeling optimistic about the holiday season, up four percent from two weeks ago.

ABA has announced that as of Tuesday, December 9, all rooms at the Allerton Crowne Plaza and Radisson Hotel & Suites set aside for ABA member booksellers planning to attend BookExpo America (BEA) 2004 in Chicago have been sold out.

"ABA and BEA thank all the booksellers who have signed up to take advantage of these great hotel offers," said ABA COO Oren Teicher. "We have some great things in store for you when you arrive!"

On Monday, December 8, ABA COO Oren Teicher sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to thank him for his efforts to educate consumers about the ins and outs of gift cards and to provide the senator with information about the new Book Sense Gift Card program. Enclosed in the letter was a $25 Book Sense Gift Card presented to the senator by ABA, as well as a list of stores in New York State where he can redeem the card. (To read the letter in full, click here.)