Industry News

For 2020, Reader’s Digest invited people to recognize those in their lives who have stood up against COVID-19 as part of Nicest Places in America 2020: United in Kindness.

A portion of each sale is being donated to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation to assist bookstores impacted by COVID-19. 

In addition to free freight, booksellers are eligible for an extra discount on orders placed between Wednesday, July 1, and Friday, October 30, 2020.

To support booksellers nationwide who are working under extraordinary circumstances, Penguin Random House will accelerate to summer the start of its annual Two-Day Transit Program. 

Six $3,500 scholarships were awarded to dependents of booksellers, and one $5,000 scholarship went to a current indie bookseller who has overcome learning adversity or is a non‐traditional student.

The Booker Prizes have created a downloadable poster, booklet, and reading guide for stores to promote the shortlist, which was announced June 15.

The drop in the conversion rate as well as the simultaneous drop in traffic may indicate that another shift in consumer behavior is occurring.

Much of the traffic increase from two weeks ago was driven by first-time customers who were referred from Google searches to bookstores that were selling antiracism titles. 

Indie Shindig will consist of 14 separate hour-long themed weekly events to introduce booksellers to new and upcoming titles.

Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was named Publishers Weekly’s 2020 Bookstore of the Year and recognized during the virtual ABA Annual Meeting and Town Hall on Thursday, June 11.