BTW News Briefs

U.S. Senator Richard Santorum's scheduled commencement address at St. Joseph University in Philadelphia on Sunday, May 18, has prompted a group of students to enlist the help of an independent bookstore to stage a protest. In early April, Santorum made controversial statements in which he likened homosexuality to incest and polygamy. Students asked Giovanni's Room -- a gay bookstore in Center City -- to donate 350 rainbow tassels for seniors to wear on their mortarboards. It is estimated that more than half the senior class will participate in the protest, according to a statement released by Giovanni's Room. --DG

On Wednesday, May 14, 10-year-old, London-based Merrell Publishers announced the opening of their New York offices. Merrell Publishing encompasses the areas of art, design, architecture, and photography. Publisher Hugh Merrell said, "Our New York office will play a crucial role in supporting our extensive relationships with U.S. museums, galleries, booksellers, and authors." Joan Brookbank was named U.S. director and is responsible for overseeing the company’s operations in America. --DG

On May 8, The Publishing Triangle, an association of lesbians and gay men in publishing, presented the 15th Annual Triangle Awards, honoring the best lesbian and gay fiction, nonfiction, and poetry published in 2002.

The winners of the Ferro-Grumley Fiction Awards were: Carol Anshaw for Lucky in the Corner (Hougton Mifflin) for Lesbian Fiction; Jamie O'Neill for At Swim, Two Boys (Scribner) for Gay Fiction. The winner of the Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction was Neil Miller for Sex-Crime Panic (Alyson). Terry Wolverton won the Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction for Insurgent Muse: Life & Art at the Woman's Building (City Lights). Poet Melanie Braverman won the Audre Lorde Poetry Award for Red (Perugia Press), and The Triangle Award for Gay Poetry went to Greg Hewett for Red Suburb (Coffee House Press). For more information on the Awards, go to www.publishingtriangle.org. --DG

The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) recently released its 2002 NARM Annual Survey Report. NARM members reported that product diversification and increased sales in DVDs and Audio/Video Hardware pushed total sales to $29.43 billion in 2002. However, music sales continued to suffer from a weak economy, illegal downloading, and CD burning. Only 13 percent of NARM members reported gains in music sales during 2002, while 87 percent saw their sales decline. Declining sales of both new and used CDs and cassettes affected the overall music category decline. Sales of blank CD-Rs rose sharply reflecting the influence of CD burning and digital downloading.

Books and magazines contributed $3.04 billion to overall sales; video games brought in 1.76 billion; and computer software added $665 million. The annual NARM survey represents more than 80 percent of the industry's chain and independent retailers and rack jobbers. --KS