BTW News Briefs

2008 PEN/Faulkner Fiction Winners Announced

On Wednesday, March 12, the directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation announced that Kate Christensen is the winner of the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for The Great Man (Doubleday).

Four finalists were also named: Annie Dillard for The Maytrees (HarperCollins); David Leavitt for The Indian Clerk (Bloomsbury USA); T.M. McNally for The Gateway: Stories (Southern Methodist University Press); and Ron Rash for Chemistry and Other Stories (Picador USA).

Christensen will receive a $15,000 prize, and each of the four finalists receives $5,000. All five authors will be honored during the PEN/Faulkner Award ceremony on Saturday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. For ticket information, visit www.penfaulkner.org.

NYC's McNally Robinson Expecting a Sibling & a Name Change

The New York Observer has reported that Sarah McNally, owner of Manhattan's McNally Robinson Booksellers, is developing plans to open a second location, possibly in Chelsea or on the city's Upper West Side.

The newspaper noted that McNally envisions the new location at around 25,000 square feet with a large event space and a European-style cafe-restaurant. She is currently talking to investors and realtors and doesn't expect to sign a lease until mid-2009.

The Observer also noted that McNally and her husband, Chris Jackson, an editor at Spiegel & Grau, are expecting their first child in four months, and the store in Nolita (north of Little Italy), which is undergoing a major remodeling effort, will be rechristened McNally Jackson in July.

Stockton Bagnulo to Leave BookStream

Jessica Stockton Bagnulo announced that she will be resigning from her position at independent book wholesaler BookStream on March 28 to turn her attentions to starting a bookstore in Brooklyn. She joined BookStream last year to help the company expand its services to booksellers.

Stockton Bagnulo explained that winning the $15,000 first place prize in the Brooklyn Public Library's Power UP! Business Plan Competition has opened up new opportunities for the launch of her bookstore, and she is leaving BookStream so that she can devote more time and effort to making it a reality.

She will continue to work as full-time events coordinator for McNally Robinson Booksellers, as well as serving on the executive board of the NAIBA regional association and as chair of the Emerging Leaders Council.

New $5 Bill to Enter Circulation

On Thursday, March 13, Federal Reserve banks will begin putting redesigned $5 bills in circulation.

Free educational materials are available to prepare cash handlers and consumers to recognize the new design and protect against counterfeits. Materials are available to order or download in multiple languages at www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney.