Publisher News

The Art of Selling Books, a new promotion from Abrams that offers 90-days dating, free freight, and extra discounts on 20 curated assortments of front and backlist titles for adults and children, is getting an enthusiastic reception from indie booksellers around the country.

Atria mystery authors to take to the road; BAM and Indigo refuse to sell Amazon titles; OpenStax College to offer free textbooks; MIBA reduces staff

HarperCollins kicked off its Comprehensive Backlist Program today with a ceremonial first-run print-on-demand copy of Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett at nine indie bookstores with Espresso Book Machines®.

Here’s a rundown of holiday hours as provided by the major book wholesalers.

Next fall, Coffee House Press, distributed to the trade by Consortium, will publish Our Favorite Books, a compilation of 25 lists of independent booksellers’ favorite titles that began as a project of Micawber’s Bookstore owner Hans Weyandt for the store blog.

Booksellers should schedule appointments now to meet with representatives from more than 15 service providers at the Winter Institute’s Consultation Station on Thursday, January 19.

On Monday, November 21, Random House instituted “2-Day Transit,” a new shipping policy aimed at helping independent booksellers during the holiday season.

Children’s Choice Book Awards voting opens March 14; Esi Edugyan wins Giller Prize;  Inc. on leveraging the senses to spur holiday sales; BISG study finds deepening commitment to digital formats; Google eBooks launches in Australia; B&N unveils Nook Tablet

ABFFE survey seeks Banned Books Week suggestions; Washington Post features “Indie City Index”; Google eBook Store launches in Canada; SBA to host disaster-preparedness webinar on November 15; HarperCollins in deal to buy Thomas Nelson

Books-A-Million to open 41 stores in November; Ingram Publisher Services, Consortium add new clients; Amazon given okay to take over U.K. online bookseller

With the recent addition of two publishers at the Shared sponsorship level and the switch of another from Shared to Full, the 2012 Winter Institute sponsor list is now complete.

Julian Barnes wins Man Booker Prize; Lauren Myracle’s Shine withdrawn from National Book Awards; Ingram to distribute Nolo, Coutts to service Singapore libraries; New York Times examines effects of Amazon’s publishing programs; BEA announces Read Russia as focus of 2012 Global Forum

A special promo on IndieBound bags and more; OverDrive WIN Catalog to drive sales to bookstores; B&N and BAM remove DC graphic novels; Canada’s Indigo makes changes to business model; Ingram grows Global Connect

Ongoing and upcoming publisher e-book promotions are featured on IndieCommerce.com’s Publisher Promotions page, which includes product numbers and materials provided by publishers to help stores draw attention to e-book titles on sale.

The 2012 Winter Institute in New Orleans is made possible by the overall support of the Ingram Content Group, Wi7’s lead sponsor, and the support of more than 30 large and small publishers.