BTW News Briefs

SIBA Names Book Award Winners

In celebration of Independents Week, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) has announced the winners of the 2010 SIBA Book Awards. Winners were selected in four categories by a panel of bookseller judges from a list of 19 finalists as voted by SIBA member booksellers.

This year's winners, representing the books from last year that Southern indie booksellers most enjoyed handselling, are:

• Children's: The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass (Candlewick)
• Cooking: The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern by Ted and Matt Lee (Clarkson Potter)
• Fiction: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam)
• Nonfiction: The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg (Macadam Cage)

The winners and finalists will be recognized during the Writers’ Block Auction at the September SIBA trade show in Daytona, Florida.

Charlesbridge Acquires Imagine Publishing

Twenty-year-old Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc. has acquired Imagine Publishing of New York, a publisher of unique and eclectic books for children and adults. Imagine was founded in 2009 by the father/son team of Charles and Jeremy Nurnberg, who will be joining Charlesbridge, effective immediately.

Imagine’s list includes the Peter Yarrow Books imprint (Yarrow was part of the iconic trio Peter, Paul and Mary). Charlesbridge will immediately begin shipping Imagine Publishing titles from its Massachusetts warehouse. Imagine customers may call Charlesbridge at (800) 225-3214 for questions pertaining to their orders.

Scholastic Activity Kits Help Booksellers Prep for Mockingjay Release

Scholastic's Ultimate Hunger Games Activity Kit, which landed at accounts in time for the July 3 release of The Hunger Games in paperback, contains an array of resources to help booksellers plan parties and promote the August 24 release of Mockingjay, the third and final book in the series.

The kit includes a window cling and giveaways for fans of all ages – 100 bookmarks featuring an exclusive quote from Katniss from Mockingjay, 100 Mockingjay tattoos, and one bookplate signed by Suzanne Collins that can be used as an in-store raffle prize. A disc provides downloadable event materials, including a party planner, invitations, store announcement sheets, and trivia questions from the first two books in the series.

At midnight on August 23, Scholastic plans to blast a video clip of Suzanne Collins reading from the first chapter of Mockingjay. The clip will be available to all Scholastic accounts to post on their websites, send to consumers, and use for their in-store TV monitors.

Tin House Launches "Buy a Book, Save a Bookstore"

"In the spirit of discovering new talent as well as supporting established authors and the bookstores who support them," Portland, Oregon's Tin House Books has announced that it will accept unsolicited manuscripts dated between August 1 and November 30, 2010, as long as each is accompanied by a sales receipt for a book from a bookstore. Tin House magazine will also require the same for unsolicited submissions sent between September 1 and December 30.

The publisher is encouraging writers who cannot afford to buy a book or cannot get to an actual bookstore to offer an explanation in haiku or one sentence (100 words or fewer). The purchase of e-books will be considered as a substitute only if the writer explains why he or she cannot go to a neighborhood bookstore, or why he or she prefers digital reads, what device, and why.

Tin House Books will not accept electronic submissions; Tin House magazine will accept manuscripts by mail or digitally.