Industry News

ABA wants to remind booksellers that they are invited to an open forum at the association's offices in Tarrytown, New York, on Wednesday, April 14. The day's program runs from 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and is being held in conjunction with the New Atlantic Booksellers Association. On the agenda are a Book Sense gift card demonstration, the open forum, and one-to-one ABACUS tutorials with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz.

Black Images Book Bazaar to Close

Because of the failing economy and high rent, Dallas' Black Images Book Bazaar will close when the store's lease is up next year, as reported by the Associated Press. One-time ABA Board member Emma Rodgers told The Dallas Morning News that "the handwriting has been on the wall for a while. We're not generating as many sales as we were and this economy isn't helping."

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has planned a Senate Judiciary Committee field hearing on the USA Patriot Act for April 14, at 10:00 a.m. MST in the Moot Court Room of the University of Utah law school in Salt Lake City, Utah. The hearing is open to the public.

Inner Ocean Publishing has teamed up with MoveOn, the grassroots civic action group, to publish MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change, a collection of 50 call-to-action essays by everyday people who were inspired to act for change in their community.

Here is some important news, and a reminder, about various Book Sense marketing initiatives with The History Channel. Questions about any of these promotions should be addressed to Associate Director of Book Sense Marketing Meg Smith at [email protected].

This week, ABA bookstore members should have received an envelope containing ballots to vote for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards and to approve officers and elect directors to the ABA Board. The ballots were mailed out on April 1.

As part of ABA's educational programming at this year's BookExpo America (BEA), ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will lead a financial seminar, "The 2% Solution," presenting practical solutions that all independent booksellers can use to draw a road map to profitability. The session will be held at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center from 10:00 a.m. - noon on Saturday, June 5.

At the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association's (NAIBA) Spring Workshop, to be held in Philadelphia on Sunday, April 25, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will lead a session about the 2003 ABACUS study results and how they can be used by bookstore owners and managers to make better operational decisions. The session, from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., will begin a full day of NAIBA programming at the Sheraton Society Hill.

April brings a rich outpouring of goodies from Book Sense Publisher Partners, guaranteed to nourish sales and wash away any doubts as to where the next wonderful handsell titles are coming from!

Before I share some of what's in store provided by publishers, here's some news on other important materials you'll find in this month's Box:

In May, Book Sense will initiate a new monthly, time-sensitive mailing to benefit both booksellers and publishers: the "Red" Box Mailing. The Red Box will offer publishers a new and faster way to get materials into the hands of Book Sense booksellers and will serve as a monthly "In-Store Marketing Action Kit" for bookstores.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is urging publishers, booksellers, and others to support the fight for free expression by contributing to the ABFFE Silent Auction, which will be held during BookExpo America. Every year, ABFFE auctions books, book sidelines and services, tickets for concerts and sporting events, and much more to raise funds to support its efforts to protect First Amendment rights.

BookExpo America (BEA) has announced the panelists for this year's "Editor & Bookseller Buzz Forum." The Buzz Forum allows top publishing executives to present the one or two upcoming books they feel most passionate about to a gathering of booksellers, book reviewers, and other media and industry professionals. The forum will take place on Thursday, June 3, at 4:30 p.m.

In the early '70s, when Gayle Shanks was a teacher at an alternative school in central Phoenix, she and her friends used to gather on the porch at the end of the day and talk about what they were going to do when they "grew up." One day, they came up with the idea of opening their own brand of bookstore -- one where books would become the focus of the community, and they and their books would shape how their customers viewed the world, and, of course, they'd get to read all day….

ABA bookstore members should be on the lookout for an envelope containing ballots to vote for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards and to approve officers and elect directors to the ABA Board.

By early next week, stores will receive the mailing, which also includes a cover letter from ABA Nominating Committee Chair Neal Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz, biographical data on the Board candidates, information on ABA programming at this year's BookExpo America, and a special postage-paid envelope for return of the ballots to ABA's accountant, KPMG.