Publisher News

Poet to Read at Obama's Inauguration

Graywolf Press has announced that poet Elizabeth Alexander will read an original poem at the January 20 inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the U.S.

Random House Makes Free Digital Titles Available Via iPhone

This week has been a tough one for U.S. publishers. Among the changes announced over the last several days are a major restructuring at Random House; jobs cuts at Simon & Schuster, Thomas Nelson, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and R.R. Bowker; and salary freezes at HarperCollins and Penguin.

On December 3, Random House announced that it had restructured its adult trade divisions effective immediately.

SharedBook, a custom publishing platform provider, is partnering with booksellers to offer customers a variety of customized classic children's books featuring personalized photos and a greeting. Booksellers can feature the customized books on their store websites via a link to www.kids.sharedbook.com, which SharedBook can brand to look like the store's site.

Against a backdrop of a significant economic downturn -- and recent projections of flat to falling holiday retail sales -- Random House, Inc., has developed a new promotional campaign to help spur both in-store and online book sales.

It's that time of the year when book orders take on a much greater sense of urgency, and to accommodate the holiday rush most wholesalers will be extending their hours. Here's a rundown of the holiday hours as provided by several major wholesalers.

Beginning Friday, November 28, through Tuesday, December 23, Baker & Taylor's phone ordering hours for book product will be:

Gary Frank's accomplishments during his 30 years building The Booksmith into a San Francisco Bay Area institution were many. However, last year, when Frank sold the store to Christin Evans and Praveen Madan and went into semi-retirement, there was still one thing that he felt he could have done better -- shelf-talkers.

HarperCollins is soliciting entries exclusively from booksellers for regional versions of Ecco's State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America (edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey), which is on sale now in stores around the country.

The American Booksellers Association today announced the names of 23 Publisher Partners that are sponsoring bookseller scholarships to its Fourth Annual Winter Institute (Wi4). The scholarships will cover the cost of reasonable transportation and up to a three-night stay at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown, the host hotel for Wi4.

Abrams Image, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc., is challenging ABA members to create a few brave new words for the publishing and bookselling industries. Abrams has partnered with IndieBound to create a contest exclusively for ABA member booksellers that celebrates the October release of Addictionary: Brave New Words, compiled by Jim Banister.

The American Booksellers Association is partnering with Scholastic to create an exclusive, promotional marketing card for this fall's launch of The 39 Clues. Featuring books, cards, and a dynamic online game, The 39 Clues is a multimedia series that offers a combination of action and humor for middle graders -- including reluctant readers and video game players. Book #1, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, launches on September 9, 2008.

ABA's gift card and e-commerce programs will be the focus of staff-led users group meetings on Friday, May 30, at BookExpo America. Participants, and those who are new to each of the programs, are invited to join in meetings at the L.A. Convention Center, where they'll hear about the latest program developments, as well as have a chance to share tips and tricks with fellow booksellers.

Ingram Book Group and Ingram Publisher Services to Underwrite Bookseller Education

The American Booksellers Association announced today the formation of a new strategic partnership with Ingram Book Company and Ingram Publisher Services to underwrite bookseller education for the next three years. The new partnership will begin with ABA's Day of Education being held in Hollywood, California, on Thursday, May 29, in conjunction with BookExpo America.

Billed as "indispensable guides to stylishly unique, locally owned eating and shopping," the eat.shop series is a natural for the independent bookstore customer. The guides, created by Kaie Wellman and self-published under her imprint Cabazon Books, have a stand-out, simple design, and highlight about 90 local restaurants and shops in each of 20 city guides.

Independent booksellers and representatives from 12 major publishing houses and Ingram Book Group/Ingram Publishers Services gathered last week in New York for a series of focus groups organized by the American Booksellers Association on behalf of the participating companies. This is the third year that ABA has facilitated the focus groups, which enable publishers to gather bookseller feedback about existing programs, as well as input on plans for the future.