Read More
 In mid-June, things looked pretty grim for Cover to Cover Booksellers in San Francisco. For some time, owners Tracy Wynne and Mark Ezarik had been fighting the realization that they would need to close the bookstore, but finally the numbers made it painfully clear that they would have to end Cover to Cover's 25-year run.
Carnot USA Books Inks Distribution Deal With Continental Sales
Carnot USA Books, a subsidiary of the French Carnot Group, will be distributed by Continental Sales Inc. beginning with the fall 2003 season. Carnot USA books offers original trade paperbacks and hardcovers, as well as nonfiction and fiction titles that focus on current events, crime and mystery, and the arts.
In 2001, after hearing that a Borders Books & Music would be moving to Corvallis, Oregon, Jack Wolcott, co-owner of Grass Roots Books & Music, and Bob Baird, owner of The Book Bin, asked the founders of the Boulder Independent Business Alliance (BIBA), Jeff Milchen and Jennifer Rockne (more recently, the founders of the American Independent Business Alliance) to host a Town Hall Meeting regarding the impact of local businesses versus chains.
On Thursday, May 29, approximately one hundred booksellers attended ABA's Marketing Workshop, held during BookExpo America in Los Angeles. The session, moderated by Michael Hoynes, ABA's marketing officer, focused on strategies and tactics that independent booksellers can use to gain a greater share of current customers' business and to introduce new customers to the unique values of independent bookstores.
BookSense.com has been alerted by a number of booksellers to a new fraudulent order scheme that is being perpetrated on member bookstores. In the new scam, booksellers are receiving handwritten orders via postal mail from Nigeria, accompanied by a check for several thousand dollars. In the past, fraudulent orders have typically taken the form of an e-mail, or an order placed through a store's online shopping cart, for a large number of books, with the purchaser being based in a foreign country.
 During the week of July 14 -18, The History Channel is traveling the highways and byways of America during Hit the Road Week, and, to complement the series, stores with Book Sense will be featuring bookmarks for Fodor's The Thirteen Colonies and Fodor's Old West in their History Channel/Hardcover History in-store displays. The bookmarks were sent to participating stores in the June white box mailing.
 Patricia S. Schroeder, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and a former Democratic representative from Colorado's 1st Congressional District, calls for the passage of the Freedom to Read Protection Act in this Op-Ed piece, which was published in the July 6 edition of the Denver Post.
By Patricia S. Schroeder
The fall regional booksellers association trade show season will begin with the Mid-South show, to be held on September 4 - 7 in Austin, Texas. Throughout September and October, there will be eight more shows as well as the Southern California Booksellers Association's Authors Feast and Fall Seminars.
Bookselling This Week will provide complete pre- and post-show coverage for all of the events. Look for BTW's pre-show coverage to begin in the coming weeks.
Here is a list of the fall shows:
San Francisco Independents Join Together for Independence Day
Ten San Francisco independent bookstores are joining together to celebrate the Fourth of July by offering tax-free sales for July 4, 5, and 6. Each store will also celebrate independence in its own way -- with readings, in-store promotions, and food, among other things. The stores noted in a press release that this was their way of expressing appreciation to San Franciscans for their loyalty to independent bookstores.
 |
|
The new Square Books Jr.
|
Two new bookstores decided to catch a ride on Harry Potter's cloak tails and scheduled grand opening celebrations during the Order of the Phoenix book launch.
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Nike v. Kasky -- a case that could have produced an important ruling on whether or not the First Amendment protects corporate commercial speech. Now, the Supreme Court says it won't hear the case after all. On June 26, the high court issued a one-sentence order declaring it had changed its mind -- that Nike's appeal had been "improvidently granted." The case will head back to California's state court, though experts believe there's a good chance that it will end up at the door of the U.S.
"The nice thing about milestones is that they give you the occasion to sit back and take stock," said Elliott Bay Book Company's Peter Aaron. However, when Elliott Bay celebrated 30 years of bookselling on June 29, it's likely that Aaron didn't have much chance to sit back, as the store hosted author readings and a party for 300 people, including employees, past employees, and friends. Terry Tempest Williams showed up; so did poet Madeline DeFrees.
Aaron recently spoke to Bookselling This Week about how Elliott Bay has weathered the years.
Pages
About ABA
The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.
Independent bookstores act as community anchors; they serve a unique role in promoting the open exchange of ideas, enriching the cultural life of communities, and creating economically vibrant neighborhoods.
|
Very soon, bookstores with Book Sense will able to sign up for the new Book Sense Gift Card program. This innovative program will provide booksellers with a number of choices regarding card designs and processing options. ABA has partnered with Givex, one of the fastest-growing transaction processors, whose sophisticated service will allow for a customized solution for the more than 1,200 bookstores participating in Book Sense.