BTW News Briefs

Judy Blume Honored by National Book Foundation

On September 15, the National Book Foundation announced that it would bestow its 2004 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters upon Judy Blume, one of the country's most widely read children's authors and a "vigorous" activist against censorship. Blume is the first author of young-adult literature and the fifth woman to receive the Medal in the 16-year history of the award. She will be honored at the 55th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square in New York City on Wednesday, November 17.

The award is given to a person, who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation, has enriched our literary heritage over a life of service, or corpus of work. Blume is the author of more than 20 books. "I'm thrilled by this unexpected honor," said Blume in a statement. "We don't write hoping to win awards. We write because we have to -- because of a burning need to share our characters and stories. For those of us who write for young readers, the hope is always that something we've written will so touch a young person that she or he will become a lifelong reader."

James E. Chandler Named President & CEO of Ingram Book Group

On Monday, September 13, Ingram announced that James E. Chandler, chief commercial officer of Ingram Book Group, was named president and chief executive officer. Chandler succeeds Mike Lovett, who will assume a new position with parent company Ingram Industries Inc., according to John R. Ingram, vice chairman of the board and chairman of Ingram Distribution Holdings. "Jim's extraordinary leadership skills and business acumen have been absolutely vital to the success of Ingram Book Group since he joined Ingram over seven years ago," Ingram noted.

In a related move, Peter Clifton, president of Ingram International Inc., will assume responsibility for Ingram Book Company, Spring Arbor Distributors Inc. and Tennessee Book Company, Ingram business units, which previously reported to Chandler. These new responsibilities are in addition to Clifton's current responsibilities for Ingram Periodicals Inc. and Ingram Library Services Inc., as well as Ingram International.

Scholastic Hires Head of Trade Sales

On September 10, Scholastic Inc. announced that it has appointed Jack W. Perry as vice president, Trade Sales, Scholastic, beginning mid-October. Reporting to Barbara Marcus, president of Children’s Books, Scholastic, Perry will oversee sales in the trade national account, independent, warehouse clubs, and special sales channels. Most recently, Perry was the vice president, director of sales & marketing for Sourcebooks, Inc. in Naperville, Illinois, where he was responsible for all day-to-day and strategic planning for the entire Sales & Marketing department, as well as the Publicity Department. Before Sourcebooks, Perry held management positions at Random House over nine years, rising to vice president, sales, responsible for the sales efforts for six adult imprints.

Operation Ohio Looks to Wake Up Voters With Author Calls

Sunday's edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that San Francisco writer Stephen Elliot has created Operation Ohio, a two part effort "aimed at coaxing out the youth vote," and focusing on the swing state of Ohio. Part I will consist of voter registration events at Ohio State University, Oberlin College, and Cleveland State University at the end of September. Part II will see famous writers give first-time voters age 25 and younger a "voting wake-up call."

Elliot told the Dealer that students make up one of several groups under-represented in elections. "Of course, do I think students are more likely to vote Democrat? I do," Elliott told the Cleveland paper. "But it's actually not a partisan project." Operation Ohio estimates that approximately 5,000 new voters attending the registration events, or through yet-to-be-established Internet forms, will request calls. The Dealer said that authors such as Aimee Bender, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Rick Moody, Robert Olmstead, Julie Orringer, ZZ Packer, Anthony Swofford, and Tobias Wolff have all agreed to be part of the phone bank.

Innova Publishing Inks Deal With CDS

On September 14, Innova Publishing announced that it had entered into an agreement with Client Distribution Services (CDS) to distribute its books throughout the U.S. and Canada. Formed in 2004, Innova licenses lifestyle content and repackages and republishes titles that provide consumers with lower-priced hardcovers. Innova publishes in lifestyle categories such as parenting, health, nutrition, cooking, and self-improvement.