About Bookselling

A panel of industry experts discussed the book market at BookExpo America’s keynote, “Shaping the Future of the Book—Insight From Leaders Who Are Transforming How We Read,” on Wednesday, May 29.

Several independent bookstores have created pop-up shops and kiosk locations, including Vroman’s Bookstore, Village Books, Mysterious Galaxy, and Greenlight Bookstore. Some had better-than-expected success and others found that the cost of the shop outweighed the benefits. 

Shipping can be one of the most complicated — and costly — activities for any small business, but there are ways to reduce your shipping costs, including developing an inbound shipping management program, consolidating shipments, using the correct shipping mode and service level, and getting the best discounts.

Winter Institute 8’s Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups received rave reviews from both booksellers and publishers. Now, ABA is inviting booksellers to sign up by May 3 to meet with publishers to discuss issues of common interest and mutual concern at BookExpo America 2013.

Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, has been selected by Publishers Weekly as the PW Bookstore of the Year. This is the 20^th anniversary of the award.

Following the success of the Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups held at Winter Institute 8, ABA is arranging similar meetings at BookExpo America. Booksellers who are interested in meeting with publishers to discuss issues of common interest and mutual concern must sign up by May 3.

At the Winter Institute session “Beyond the Traditional Author Event,”panelists sweet pea Flaherty of King’s Books, Lacey Dunham of Politics and Prose, and Lauren Savage of The Reading Bug addressed the logistics of planning successful and creative events to increase traffic and drive sales.

Four new promotions created just for independent bookstores will launch this spring under the banner “Celebrate (With) Indies.” Titles for the promotions celebrating debut authors, moms, dads, and grads were selected by booksellers, and many are Indie Next List Picks and Indie Bestsellers.

At the Wi8 breakout session “Nonfiction Buying With Core Curriculum in Mind,” panelists Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Bookshops, Kenny Brechner of Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers, and Richard Buthod of Turtleback Books explained how the new Common Core State Standards are impacting their schools, communities, and nonfiction sales.

DRM lawsuit conference set; Candlewick to launch Big Picture Press; Lambda Literary names schools program coordinator; World Book Night to host April 9 celebration in NYC

“Indie booksellers are innovative agents of change,” ABA CEO Oren Teicher told an audience at the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference on Thursday morning in New York City.

Through the Authors Guild’s Booktalk Nation, booksellers can invite customers to participate in live author discussions and to place an order for a signed edition from their own homes, or anywhere else they have access to a phone or the Internet.

Bookstores that wish to participate in the 2013 celebration of World Book Night in the U.S. must return a Host Store Marketing Agreement by Saturday, December 1.

In its third year, American Express’ Small Business Saturday has established itself as the preeminent national holiday promotion for Main Street businesses, and it is generating substantial national and local advertising that encourages consumers to support their locally owned businesses.