Change is in the wind!

The American Booksellers Association is delighted to announce the promotions of Mark Nichols as Director of Book Sense Marketing; Dan Cullen as the Editor-in-Chief of the Book Sense 76 lists; Jill Perlstein as Director of Marketing; and Meg Zelickson Smith as Deputy Director of Book Sense Marketing. These changes came about as a result of the impending departure of Carl Lennertz, who is moving to HarperCollins as Vice President, Marketing for the HarperCollins imprint.

"We're absolutely thrilled that we have a superb team already on our staff," said Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA's Chief Executive Officer. "And while we're very sorry to lose Carl -- and wish him the best -- we have total confidence that, in addition to their current responsibilities, Mark, Dan, Jill, and Meg can continue to grow and nurture the Book Sense Program and bring it to new heights."

Book Sense, started in 1999, is the national integrated marketing program of ABA. It has grown to over 1,200 participating locations all across the country. It features the Book Sense 76 lists of bookseller recommendations; a national and regional series of bestseller lists; a national gift certificate program; an e-commerce component -- BookSense.com; and consumer advertising, among other features. The program is built upon the shared attributes that characterize independent bookselling: knowledge, passion, character, community, and personality.

Nichols has been with ABA since 2000 as the Book Sense Publishing Partner Manager. Formerly, he was the Director of Sales Operations at the Time Warner Book Group and for many years worked at The Whitney Bookshops in New Cannan and Washington Depot, Connecticut. Cullen has been with ABA since 1986. He currently serves as the association's Director of Information and is responsible for Bookselling This Week, the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook, and BookWeb.org, the association's member Web site. Prior to joining ABA, Cullen was an editor at Pantheon Books and worked at Tatnuck Booksellers in Worcester, Massachusetts. Perlstein has been with ABA since 1994 and serves as the association's Director of Marketing Services. Prior to joining ABA, Perlstein worked at Children's Circle Home Video, now owned by Scholastic. Smith has been with ABA since 1999 as the Business Development and Marketing Manager for BookSense.com. Her previous experience includes working as the Director of Business Affairs for Yoyodyne Entertainment and as an attorney in private practice in New York City.

Domnitz added, "It's almost uncanny for an organization as small as ours to have so much first-rate talent available. And, while, along with Michael Hoynes, ABA's Marketing Officer, Carl played an indispensable role in helping frame the Book Sense program since its inception, because of our new team's depth of experience all facets of the program will continue in an uninterrupted fashion."