Industry News

Some 228 years ago this July 4, a coalition of independent thinkers raised the awareness of Americans, loyalists, and King George by penning the Declaration of Independence. And while independent business alliances and retailers across the nation aren't looking to do something so grandiose as declare their independence from a tyrannical king, this Fourth of July week, they are looking to raise the awareness in their respective communities regarding the intrinsic and economic value of their local independent businesses by celebrating Independents Week.

While the Ides of March didn't turn out so great for Julius Caesar, this past March 15 did augur well for seasoned bookseller Lyle Starkloff, who opened Query Booksellers, a new gay and lesbian bookstore in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Starkloff has already seen considerable increase in traffic and business from the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) community in the Twin Cities, as well as from the straight-but-not-narrow contingent, particularly since Query carries many categories outside gay and lesbian literature.

On Thursday, June 3, at BookExpo America, African-American booksellers and publishers convened for the annual African American Booksellers Conference (AABC). Throughout the daylong program, publishers, authors, and booksellers demonstrated the strength, diversity, and challenges of the African-American market. Expectations were high for the opening of the first African-American Pavilion on the BEA show floor. Participants were not disappointed the next day when the pavilion hosted 17 publishers, representing over a hundred African-American authors.

This article by Geeta Sharma Jensen originally appeared in the June 12 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

It was just the kind of evening A. David Schwartz would have relished.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression's (ABFFE) online auction will close Friday, June 18, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

Bookstore sales in April dipped slightly below April 2003 levels, interrupting the mostly upward trend of the last 11 months. April 2004 bookstore sales of $1,015 million were off 0.3 percent from the $1,018 million for April 2003.

As a result, bookstore sales in April failed to keep up with overall retail. Overall retail of $332 billion for April 2004 was 8.9 percent better than the $305 billion for April of the previous year.

From former President Bill Clinton's Keynote Address, to a lively trade show floor, to the celebration of the fifth birthday of Book Sense, to author events, and even to the city of Chicago itself, this year's BookExpo America (BEA) proved a crowd pleaser. Booksellers and publishers described this year's trade show at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center as an upbeat, busy event, allowing both to reconnect and to establish new relationships.

On Friday, June 4, at this year's BookExpo America, ABA held its annual Town Hall Meeting, which was then followed by its Annual Membership Meeting.

The Town Hall meeting covered a number of topics during an hour of spirited give and take, and the central focus of the meeting was on the question of whether to report aggregate sales of independent bookstores to publishers. Other issues discussed included the pending sale of ABA's headquarters and booksellers' concerns regarding the rising costs associated with the receipt of damaged books.

As everyone returns from BookExpo America (BEA) to share new ideas, catch up with bookstore business and e-mails, and, hopefully, eliminate some of that sleep deficit, there will also be lots of discussions about upcoming titles, many of which were highlights of BEA.

While everyone is so closely focused on great new books, we hope that you will be especially primed to send in nominations for the upcoming Book Sense Lists.

Some deadlines to keep in mind:

At 27 years old and 16,000 square feet, Little Dickens and Givens Books is the oldest and largest independent bookstore in historic Lynchburg, Virginia.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) has launched an online auction featuring many unique items from BookExpo America (BEA), including posters autographed by bestselling authors and hundreds of new autographed books. Like the three-day Silent Auction that ABFFE runs during BEA, the online auction offers bargains on the latest books, book sidelines and services, and a wide variety of entertainment items, ranging from DVDs and video games to airline tickets and hotel stays.

On Friday, June 4, at BookExpo America, Baker & Taylor announced it was lowering its terms for free freight on book orders for customers utilizing Baker &Taylor as their primary book wholesaler. Customers on file declaring Baker & Taylor as their "first call distributor" will be allowed free freight on shipments of 10 or more books.

Politics and business mixed on Saturday, June 5, at BookExpo America, as Day 3 featured a political lunch, an update on the Campaign for Reader Privacy, and a presentation of petitions to Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, as well as ABA's comprehensive seminar exploring ways to improve profits.