BTW News Briefs

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RosettaBooks Inks Deal With Ingram Publisher Services

Digital publisher RosettaBooks will soon begin publishing print books through a new agreement with Ingram Publisher Services. Rosetta will make use of Ingram’s sales, print-on-demand book manufacturing, and global distribution services.

RosettaBooks plans to publish about 15 books in the next year. The first scheduled to be published is Moonshot! by John Sculley.

 Best Little Bookshop Goes Beta

Best Little Bookshop, an international online bookstore, has launched in beta form and intends to dramatically increase the number of books being offered on the site. Kieron Smith, who formerly worked for the U.K.’s Amazon-owned Book Depository,  The Bookseller that Best Little Bookshop plans to sell books in 100 countries, in 19 currencies, with the website available in five languages.

In the coming weeks, booksellers worldwide will be able to sell books directly to customers anywhere through the website. Books will be sold ranging between full price and a 37 percent discount, including shipping. A bookseller or publisher would be expected to pay 13 percent commission on a sale.

The online bookshop is still making changes to its layout to engage the customer personally. The book pages will have large, user-friendly images, and for every title there will be a suggestion or insightful detail about the book provided. Categories such as new books and gift ideas will reflect the needs of the consumer.

Binc Foundation Honored, Names New Board Members

The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation has been honored with a 2014 Top-Rated Award by Great Nonprofits. Binc was nominated by clients, volunteers, and donors on the Great Nonprofits website. Many of them wrote of their personal experiences with Binc and how they’ve been affected by the foundation’s work.

Binc Executive Director Pam French noted that the foundation recently expanded its financial assistance program to include homelessness prevention, funeral expenses, and matching grants.

Binc was one of the first groups to qualify this year and will be added to Great Nonprofits #GivingTuesday Guide, which is a guide to nonprofits throughout the years.

Also this week, Binc appointed to two new Board members: Annie Philbrick, co-owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut, who also serves on the ABA Board; and Mary Jane Karwoski, vice president of human resources for Books-A-Million.

Finalists for 2014 Thurber Prize Announced

Finalists for the 2014 Thurber Prize for American Humor, honoring the author and publisher of an outstanding book of humor writing published in the U.S. between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013, are:

  • Liza Donnelly for Women on Men (Narrative Library)  
  • John Kenney for Truth in Advertising (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster) 
  • Bruce McCall and David Letterman for This Land Was Made for You and Me (But Mostly Me) (Blue Rider Press/Penguin Random House)

The award will be presented at a ceremony at Caroline’s on Broadway in New York City on September 30, 2014. The host for the event will be Dan Zevin, winner of the 2013 prize for Dan Gets a Mini-Van.