BTW Articles

17 Jan

A Call for 2002 Book Sense Book of the Year Nominations

Join your fellow independent booksellers in the first round of voting to nominate five titles in each of five categories -- Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Illustrated Children's Book, and Rediscovery -- for the 2002 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards. Nominations will be drawn from the Top Ten Book Sense 76 picks of 2001. Only books published in the preceding year are eligible. Lines for write-ins are also provided on the nomination form.

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17 Jan

From Tiny Classified Ad to Community and Cultural Center in Fort Worth

In 1992, Sonia Williams-Babers entered the world of bookselling with "the smallest ad available" in the June issue of Black Enterprise magazine. The ad read "Get Hooked on Black Books -- send $1 for a catalogue." On returning home to Fort Worth, Texas, from Anaheim, California, and their first ABA Convention, Williams-Babers and her husband and business partner, Elvis Babers, found an overflowing post office box.

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17 Jan

Getting Some Deserving Books Back Into Print

In a nutshell, I'd like to gather a list from booksellers of favorite books that have been out of print for a while and deserve a new life, AS WELL AS a list of recently published hardcovers that aren't going into paperback.

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17 Jan

Attention Booksellers and Publishers: A Directory of All 76 Picks to Date

Many booksellers have written to say they like to review past 76 fliers for books they may have missed and for ideas for reading groups. Also, they report that past fliers are a good resource for beefing up backlist, and even for going around and stickering past picks.

The word from publishers is similar in a way. Reminders to marketing staff and reps about past 76 picks provide a way to increase backlist sales. Publishers may also want to go back and prepare reading group guides, if you haven't already.

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17 Jan

A Shelf Life That's Always Growing: At Doug Dutton's house, books rule -- from rare texts to paperbacks

By Susan Salter Reynolds
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Poetry is in the front hall. Music in the living room. Books on books in the dining room. Science under the piano in the family room. Classics are in the little wooden bookshelf with glass-paneled doors, but only run through Aristotle before they spill over into the den. There are 4,000 books inside the house, 10,000 more in storage. Once, the pantry held cans and plates and no books. Now, the shelves are filled with pages.

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17 Jan

Leader in U.K. Crime Fiction Finds Fans in U.S.

Quick, now: Who was the biggest-selling crime-fiction writer in the United Kingdom in 2001, according to official industry figures? P.D. James? Ruth Rendell? Patricia Cornwell? John Grisham?

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17 Jan

Ban on Sophie's Choice Lifted Following Protest by ABFFE and Others

A California school district has ordered a high school principal to return William Styron's novel Sophie's Choice to the shelves of the school library. La Mirada High School Principal Andrew Huynh had removed the acclaimed novel after a parent complained that the book contained sexual material that was inappropriate for minors.

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17 Jan

Restructuring Changes at Random House Sales Group

Random House has begun a reorganization of its company sales group. It is the first company-wide reorganization in three years, and Ruth Liebmann, director of independent bookselling for Random House, told BTW that a major impetus for the changes is that "a lot has changed in the last three years, in the marketplace, in the needs of booksellers, and in the needs of our publishers."

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18 Jan

AMS Set to Acquire PGW

Advanced Marketing Services, Inc. (AMS) announced on, January 17, that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Publishers Group West (PGW) for a reported price of about $38 million. Under the terms of the deal, PGW founder Charlie Winton will continue to serve as company president for the next year to implement the transition. AMS -- which has built its business on supplying warehouse price clubs and other large retailers -- had revenues last year of about $700 million, as reported by the New York Times. PGW had sales of over $125 million in 2001.

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22 Jan

November Bookstore Sales Hold Up Well

Bookstore sales in November remained resilient in the face of difficult economic conditions, registering a 5.9 percent increase over the previous November. Preliminary sales of $1,282 million for November 2001 compared favorably with the $1,211 million performance of November 2000.

November bookstore sales outperformed overall retail for the same period. Preliminary overall November retail sales of $299 billion were 4.9 percent better than the $285 billion in sales recorded the previous November.

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About ABA

The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.

Independent bookstores act as community anchors; they serve a unique role in promoting the open exchange of ideas, enriching the cultural life of communities, and creating economically vibrant neighborhoods.

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