Industry News

U.K. indies report book sales up 30 percent during “Books Are My Bag” campaign; Authors share #BooksThatHooked in Twitter campaign; HarperCollins acquires e-Book deals newsletter The Midlist

Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a Halloween party, author signing, and 10-cent book sale this Saturday, October 31. 

An amendment to the Bylaws of the American Booksellers Association that will increase the number of Board members from 10 to 11 was approved by the membership in a vote that concluded on Monday, October 26.

Saturday, October 31, is the last day for ABA members to submit the names of qualified candidates for consideration by the Nominating Committee for the 2016 ABA Board of Directors elections.

Saturday, October 31, is the last day for ABA member stores to take advantage of Indies First publisher specials and for stores new to Indies Introduce to register for the Winter/Spring 2016 debut title program.

Anyone can nominate a bookstore employee for author James Patterson’s $250,000 holiday bonus program, but applications are due by November 1.

On Tuesday, October 27, ABA launched a test designed to increase traffic to member stores — and to their e-commerce websites — by improving the online shopping experience for an initial purchase on IndieBound.org.

HarperCollins is once again offering independent booksellers in the U.S. expedited shipping for the holiday season.

This week, the American Library Association revealed the shortlists for its 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. The announcement’s move to October gives booksellers the chance to promote the finalists to holiday shoppers.

A few spaces are still open to members of the book industry who are interested in taking part in the first U.S. Publishing Mission to Cuba, from February 12 to 17, 2016.

ABA’s Board of Directors is strongly urging bookstore members to vote today on an important amendment to ABA’s bylaws, which, if passed, will increase the number of Board members from 10 to 11.

To ensure store favorites are nominated in time for the 2016 Indie Next Lists, the complete schedule of deadlines is ready for download and posting in a store’s backroom or wherever reading copies and ARCs are kept.

The ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by Jamie Fiocco of Flyleaf Books, has extended the deadline for the nomination of candidates to serve on the ABA Board of Directors until next Saturday, October 31. Any ABA member may nominate a qualified candidate.

Minimum Wage Roundup is a new BTW feature that will report on minimum wage stories from around the country in an effort to keep booksellers on top of developments in their local communities and states.

As the third annual celebration of Indies First on Small Business Saturday approaches, bookstores are encouraged to enter their event details into the Indies First Activity Registry so their plans are publicized to consumers through IndieBound.org’s Indies First map.