People

After Robert Spector's 1995 book The Nordstrom Way became a top seller, the author became somewhat of a customer-service guru: He parlayed the book's success into a follow-up title (Lessons From the Nordstrom Way) as well as speaking engagements across the U.S. and around the world -- including appearances at BookExpo America and regional bookseller conventions.

Arkansas Display Statute Decision Challenged

In Arkansas, the State's Attorney General has appealed a federal court decision in November that struck down the provisions of an Arkansas code that criminalized the display of books that are inappropriate to younger minors, but constitutionally protected as to older minors and adults.

ABA's Booksellers Advisory Council (BAC), which offers the association's Board of Directors guidance on issues important to independent booksellers, met with representatives of the ABA Board and senior staff on January 9 - 10 in Salt Lake City.

Stella Rimington, author of the espionage novel At Risk (Knopf), is surely one of the most high-profile first-time spy-thriller writers of this or any year -- and, perhaps, the best informed.

NRF Finds Holiday Sales Increased 5.7 Percent

By Rhonda Abrams

Happy New Year! You have many goals for 2005: Make more money, have more loyal customers, get more satisfaction from your work. One simple thing can greatly increase your chance of success -- developing an annual plan.

Each year we create an annual plan in my business. We do our planning in late summer -- when things are fairly quiet -- but it's appropriate to do an annual plan at the beginning of the year.

Dave King's teenaged writing endeavors included a novel penciled on a steno pad and a screenplay he thought would be a good vehicle for David Bowie (who never did respond to King's pitch).

Bloomsbury Buys Walker

On Wednesday, December 22, British publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, announced that it had agreed to buy Walker Publishing Co. Inc., an independent publisher of adult nonfiction and children's books, as reported by the Associated Press. The deal, which Bloomsbury hopes will consolidate its position in the U.S. publishing market, is valued at $6.5 million, the AP article noted.

In 1787, a group of zealous individuals gathered in a London bookshop to organize what would become a landmark undertaking: A campaign that would put an end to slavery in Great Britain. The campaign wasn't a simple one, but about 50 years later, the work of this enterprising group (which included one woman) would bring about justice for those enslaved. Their tireless efforts became a blueprint for human rights activism throughout the world, including the U.S.

Google to Create Online Library

Betty Dukes is no Erin Brockovich. A middle-aged, African-American woman who thought sex discrimination was something unseemly and describes herself as a "preacher of the Gospel," Dukes -- who is currently employed as a 'greeter' at the Wal-Mart in Pittsburg, California -- is nevertheless poised to head a group of 1.6 million women in the largest civil rights class-action suit in history -- Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

In the early '80s, when the news of AIDS first started to disseminate and stigmatization and misinformation were rampant, some of the first to work towards raising funds and awareness about the syndrome were actors. And actors, along with musicians, have continued their fundraising and education efforts ever since.