Industry News

Bookstores that have not renewed their dues in ABA for the year February 1, 2014, to January 31, 2015, will lose all of their membership benefits on March 31.

Five e-book promotions were recently added to the IndieCommerce Publisher Promotions page. Categories include cooking, titles by author Larry Brown, springtime activities, and gardening. 

ABA’s upcoming ABC Children’s Institute is totally oversubscribed, but thanks to a grant from author James Patterson the event’s plenary and breakout education sessions, as well as interviews of keynote and reception authors, will be available to all ABA member booksellers on video in the weeks following the event.

The details of California Bookstore Day were officially announced to the media on Tuesday in a press release highlighting the inaugural celebration of the vitality and diversity of independent bookstores on May 3, 2014. 

An array of resources to promote Children’s Book Week  and the Children’s Choice Book Awards is now available to booksellers on the CBW website, including details of an in-store display contest.

More than 80 of the 100-plus authors and illustrators who have already signed up to read to children on Indies First Storytime Day are waiting to be contacted by local bookstores interested in hosting an event. 

To secure the special rate at Hotel ABA for BEA 2014, stores must book their rooms by midnight EDT on March 31. Every store that makes a reservation will be entered into a random drawing for free hotel nights, courtesy of BEA.

Urban Expositions, which manages and produces gift shows throughout the year in locations around the country, is welcoming booksellers to attend its exhibitions free of charge.

Up to three booksellers per ABA member store can now book their reservations for ABA’s 2014 Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch, to be held on Thursday, May 29, at BEA.

Booksellers at all ABA member stores are invited to cast their ballots for the 2014 Indies Choice Book Awards and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards from now until April 11. The winners will be honored at the Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch at BEA.

Retail sales at bookstores were down by 6.9 percent in January 2014 compared to January 2013, according to preliminary figures recently released by the Bureau of the Census.

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The ABC Children’s Institute’s six breakout sessions will feature an outstanding lineup of booksellers, authors, publishing professionals, university professors, and librarians, who will offer insights on everything ranging from managing successful bookfairs to selling picture books in the wake of age compression.

Independent booksellers will soon be able to sell and buy back used higher education textbooks through Ingram Content Group’s expanded textbook program.

On  March 12, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary held a full committee hearing on the issue of sales tax fairness. The hearing focused on various ideas for collecting sales tax on remote sales not covered in the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013.