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Abby Geni, author of the fall 2013 Indies Introduce debut and November 2013 Indie Next List pick The Last Animal, talks about the inspiration for her debut short story collection, the influence of nature on her life and work, and more.

Go Local, Grow Local 2014 early registration discount ends March 31; NCIBA holding logo contest; Roxana Robinson elected president of the Authors Guild; Academy of American Poets launches Poet-to-Poet project; National Book Critics Circle names award winners; Penguin Random House to acquire Santillana Ediciones Generales; Consortium adds three presses

Makiia Lucier talks about her debut title for young adults, A Death-Struck Year, the merits of historical fiction, and more.

BEA reveals lineups for author breakfasts; Bryan Pearce given posthumous humanitarian award; Senate to vote on Maria Contreras-Sweet for SBA administrator; AAUP releases Books for Understanding: Ukraine; Inaugural Pinckley Prizes announced

TaraShea Nesbit is the author of the debut novel The Wives of Los Alamos, a spring 2014 Indies Introduce title and a March 2014 Indie Next List pick, which tells the story of women from all over the world who cut their ties with friends and relatives to live in isolation at Los Alamos while their husbands developed the atomic bomb.

Debut author Sally Green talks about the inspiration for her YA novel Half Bad, the importance of fiction, and some of her favorite authors and books.

In an effort to optimize the Kobo experience for ABA bookstore members, Kobo’s Nicole Elliott will be working at the association’s offices for several days each month and will be available to member bookstores and ABA’s Kobo team.

Rohan Gavin’s Knightley & Son “is a clever, creative, exciting adventure perfect for everyone who loves a good, classic mystery,” says Kris Vreeland of Once Upon a Time Bookstore. Here, Gavin discusses the inspiration for his debut novel for middle grade readers and more.

Ezra Jack Keats children’s book awards announced; Michael Carley to leave Simon & Schuster

Walton’s eloquent debut YA novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, about a girl with speckled wings and a heritage of love, loss, and magic has been called “timeless, beautiful, and perfect for lovers of magical realism” by bookseller Melissa Fox of Watermark Books and Café.

Literary prize created in honor of Politics & Prose founder; BEA to expand independent author programming; Colorado’s “Amazon tax” law blocked by judge

Author James Patterson has begun fulfilling his promise to give away $1 million in grants to independent bookstores, distributing $267,000 to 55 bookstores across the country thus far.

Jessica Hendry Nelson’s If Only You People Could Follow Directions is a collection of autobiographical essays about family relationships, addiction, and the chaos they bring. Reviewers have praised Nelson’s debut memoir as hypnotic and wryly funny.

Kobo announced on Tuesday that company founder and CEO Michael Serbinis was stepping down and would be replaced by Japanese executive Takahito “Taka” Aiki, effective immediately. Aiki formerly served as CEO of Fusion Communications, a telecom subsidiary of Rakuten, Kobo’s parent company.

Many of the stories in The UnAmericans were inspired by Molly Antopol’s family history, notably their involvement in the Communist Party. “I come from a big family of storytellers,” said Antopol, “and I grew up surrounded by tales of surveillance, tapped lines, and dinnertime visits from the FBI.”