Industry News

The 2003 American Booksellers Association Booksellers Forum schedule kicks off with two forums and ABACUS Sneak Preview sessions to be held in California prior to ABA's January Board meeting. The first forum and ABACUS session will be held in cooperation with the Southern California Booksellers Association on Tuesday, January 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the DoubleTree Guest Suites -- Santa Monica, 1707 Fourth Street, Santa Monica.

Here is an outline of the most recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online.

Publishers with questions about access to the editing features of the Handbook online should send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 1263 or 1261.

When the director of the Piqua, Ohio, public library called his colleagues together to demonstrate the library's new public Web site, things did not go quite as planned. When he entered the new URL -- www.fleshpublic.lib.oh.us -- the library's computer refused access. Puzzled, he tried again and was denied again, before he realized the problem: The library's software filtered the site because the word "flesh" was included with the word "public."

The latest Miami literary happening was a far cry from the theme of the community's city reads program of "One Book, One Community," launched in July. This month, from November 17 - 24, the city was flooded with 1 million books for sale, almost 300 well-known authors speaking and autographing, and representatives from scores of communities from South and Central America, the Caribbean Islands, North America, and Europe.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would respond by January 15 to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in August by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and three other advocacy groups, as reported by the Associated Press.

The first New Atlantic Independent Bestseller List, published in a cooperative effort between Book Sense and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), debuted last week. The NAIBA list is the fifth regional Book Sense bestseller list, joining lists published in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association, the Great Lakes Booksellers Association and the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, and the Southeast Booksellers Association.

Nancy Kranich, chair of the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee

As bookseller concern continues to grow regarding the current state of civil liberties in a post-9/11 world, here's a comprehensive resource list of Web sites

His Honor, mayor of Three Rivers, Michigan (population 7,500), and owner of the town's eponymous Lowry's Books and More, is also the new owner of a bookstore in Sturges, Michigan, 22 miles away. The new Lowry's, formerly a 40-year-old Read-Mor store, is half as big as the 4,000-square-foot Three Rivers store in the larger, more affluent town.

Three weeks ago, BookExpo America (BEA) show managers launched a City Survey Poll of the book community to find out where the industry would like to see the convention held in the future. The Web-based survey solicited feedback on sites for confirmed dates (Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York) and cities that the convention has not visited in recent years that are also under consideration, which included:

In a letter to Vermont's congressional delegation, Vermont booksellers and librarians contend that the USA Patriot Act contains provisions that "undermine" Americans' constitutionally protected right to read and to access information without government interference. The letter, which is being distributed to Vermont-based bookstore members of the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA) for signature, urges Senators Patrick Leahy and Jim Jeffords and Congressman Bernard Sanders to introduce legislation to eliminate these provisions.

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching -- and the starting gun for the holiday season poised to fire -- many consumers appear ready to turn to the Internet for gift buying.

Over 800 people gathered last night at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel for the 53rd annual National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner. The formal gala was hosted by comedian and author Steve Martin, who quipped in his opening remarks that "the total number of authors [nominees] I've heard of totals two." By the end of the night, however, at least four authors had made a name for themselves by winning the prestigious NBA.

In recent weeks, usage of the new online ABA Book Buyer's Handbook has continued to increase dramatically. The number of successful requests for information in October increased 61 percent over the previous month, and usage has grown over 140 percent since the online launch in May.

Here is an outline of the most recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online.

Publishers with questions about access to the editing features of the Handbook online should send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 1263 or 1261.

The release of the new film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has again sparked protests from those who claim that the writing of best-selling author J.K. Rowling promotes witchcraft and pagan religion. The movie adaptation of Rowling's second title in the series opened nationwide on November 15 and grossed an estimated $87.7 million in its first three days.