Industry News

It was a day of fear, drama, and concern as Hurricane Katrina, a raging Category 4 storm, reached land after gathering strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

By this afternoon, the storm had moved inland and weakened to a Category 2 storm, but, when it made landfall east of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m., it blew winds of 145 miles per hour with driving rain.

HarperCollins recently became the first publisher to begin offering retail and wholesale customers the option of a "paperless co-op" process. "HarperCollins Publishers Co-op Direct" is significant in that it eliminates a major deterrent for retailers wishing to claim co-op dollars -- the often-burdensome amount of paperwork.

The Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) 25th Annual Trade Show will be held Friday, September 23, through Sunday, September 25, in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at RiverCentre.

The American Booksellers Association is forming a task force to offer input on the world of Spanish-language bookselling, in both Spanish-language stores and within general trade stores.

The recent New York International Gift Fair, held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, featured plenty of everything, from the classic to the latest, hottest wares from almost 2,600 exhibitors. This week, BTW takes a look at just some of the many offerings in the categories of home, office, and travel.

As part of its ongoing programs to develop educational and informational resources for bookseller members, the American Booksellers Association is conducting a study on the sale of non-book merchandise in bookstores.

The study seeks to gather information on the key financial variables involved in carrying non-book merchandise, as well as space and inventory planning considerations.

The 2005 Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association (MBPA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Thursday, September 22, through Sunday, September 25, in Denver, Colorado, at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.

Consumer voting for the inaugural Quill Awards began on August 15, but there is still time for ABA member booksellers who encourage consumers to vote to participate in a random drawing to win a trip to the red carpet awards ceremony to be held in October in New York City.

The American Booksellers Association has begun formulating plans for future educational offerings for bookstore members. To create a program that truly meets members' needs, the association is seeking the input of bookstore owners and staff through an online survey accessible through the BookWeb homepage or directly at www.bookweb.org/read/7981.

The American Booksellers Association recently announced that beginning October 1, 2005, Regular Bookstore Members choosing to pay their dues on a quarterly basis will only be able to do so through ACH transfer (electronic debit to a checking account). Credit card payments will no longer be accepted for quarterly dues payments.

Booksellers who opt to pay their dues in a single payment may still do so by credit card.

Powell's and Seattle's University Book Store Join Forces

Powell's Books, in Portland, Oregon, recently announced that it was teaming up with Seattle's University Book Store for a "used-book buying extravaganza," to be held from September 10 through September 18. For nine days, Powell's plans to operate a temporary used-book buying kiosk at University Book Store and will offer the public either cash for their books or a higher amount in merchandise credit, good at University Book Store.