Maryelizabeth Hart, co-owner of Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, in San Diego, California, is the editor of San Diego Noir (Akashic Books), an anthology that showcases award-winning and first-time authors, while exposing a darker side of San Diego.

Here’s a look at the latest additions to the list of Wi7 presenters and roundtable moderators.

The independent bookselling community recently lost two of its own: James (Jim) Hull Farley, the founder and owner of Farley’s Bookshop, and  Necia (Nicky) Salan, the founder of Cover to Cover Booksellers in San Francisco.

BookPeople’s Steve Bercu recently took part in the Moscow International Book Fair as a member of the Read Russia 2012 Advisory Board. Here are several excerpts from his travel log.

Nathan Halter, a former bookseller at The Doylestown Bookshop, joins ABA as a Member Relationship Manager for bookstores in the GLIBA, MIBA, MPIBA, PNBA, and SIBA regions.

This week, Shannon O’Connor, a former teacher and children’s book buyer at Doylestown Bookshop, joined the ABA staff in the newly created position of ABC Children’s Group Manager.

ABA President Becky Anderson shares her experiences as a guest at this summer’s Booksellers New Zealand and Australian Booksellers Association annual conferences, as well as a look at some of the things ABA is currently working on.

Carl Lennertz named NAIBA Legacy Award winner; Chronicle’s Jack Jensen to receive Jack D. Rittenhouse Award; Putumayo World Music enters digital market; Unbridled to be distributed by PGW; Facebook drops local deals business

Barbara Drummond Mead, the president of Reading Group Choices, died on Tuesday, August 23. She was 51.

Len Vlahos, ABA’s chief operating officer and a longtime staff member, has been selected as the executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, Inc., effective September 12, 2011. Vlahos’  last day at ABA will be September 2.