Industry News

On Monday, August 1, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and other groups representing libraries, authors, publishers, and professors filed an amicus brief in support of an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit challenging the FBI's authority to issue National Security Letters (NSLs) under 18 U.S.C. 2709 of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.

This week, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) launched a campaign to encourage booksellers to participate in Banned Books Week, which will be held this year from Sep

As previously reported by Bookselling This Week, in late July, Bruce V. Spiva of the law firm Tycko, Zavareei & Spiva offered comments on behalf of the American Booksellers Association to the Antitrust Modernization Commission Robinson-Patman Act Panel, which was established by Congress to review the nation's antitrust laws.

2005 Hugo Winners Announced

The 2005 Hugo Awards, honoring excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy, were presented at the Worldcon Convention on Sunday, August 7. This year's winner of best novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury USA), was a Book Sense Book of the Year fiction winner. Among this year's other winners were:

The American Booksellers Association has announced plans for its first annual Winter Education Institute, to be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, in Long Beach, California.

On Friday, July 29, the final day before its summer recess, the Senate unanimously approved a bill that adds to the USA Patriot Act many of the safeguards for reader privacy sought by the book and library community since the passage of the law in 2001. The move set the stage for a showdown when Congress reconvenes in the fall and very different House and Senate bills go to a conference committee for reconciliation.

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Fall Trade Show will be held September 8 - 10 at the Oregon Convention Center and Red Lion Hotel in Portland, Oregon. This year's trade show promises a plethora of educational programs for booksellers, publishers, and authors, as well as Book & Author Breakfasts on Friday and Saturday morning.

Collection of 2004 data from ABA member bookstores for the 2005 ABACUS Study ended this week with an unprecedented number of participating stores having submitted their financial information.

On Thursday, August 4, the five nominees in each of the 19 categories for the first Quill Awards were announced by Reed Business Information (RBI) and the NBC Universal Television Stations. The nominees for the awards, which were created to honor excellence in book publishing, were selected by the Quills Nominating Board, comprised of approximately 6,000 librarians and booksellers, including booksellers with Book Sense.

Opening the special candy bars, children and adults of all ages hold their breath. Only a select few will find a golden ticket entitling them to a complete tour of a local, independent chocolate factory. None are exactly sure what they will find there, if they do win.

Last week, Bookselling This Week noted the opening in July of three new independent bookstores -- The Spotty Dog Books & Ale in Hudson, New York; Bridge Street Bookshop in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; and Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock, Illinois.

We're happy to report that our notice elicited a response from three more independent booksellers who opened their stores last month.

As a helpful reminder, here is a "Three-Month Bookseller Action List" highlighting important dates related to ABA/Book Sense programs and events for the period August - October 2005. The list may also be downloaded in pdf format.

Penguin Group (USA) Launches New Trade Paperback Line

The Penguin Group (USA) paperback division, which includes among others Penguin, Plume, New American Library, and Riverhead Trade Paperbacks, will launch a new trade paperback line, "Essential Editions," this fall. The line will feature top-selling titles including The Kite Runner and The Secret Life of Bees, as well as classics such as The Bluest Eye and The Godfather, in a deluxe trade paperback format.

"Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials," a weeklong workshop for those interested in opening, buying, or investing in a bookstore, will be held from Monday, September 19, to Saturday, September 24, in Stillwater, Minnesota. The program is also appropriate for a prospective bookstore owner's spouse or partner and anyone in a managerial or supervisory position in a bookstore.

The American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors held its summer meeting in Missoula, Montana, from Thursday, July 21, through Sunday, July 24. The meetings began in the late afternoon on Thursday with an orientation to introduce new Board members Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers in Minneapolis and Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco to the association's policies and procedures.

Over the course of the following three days, the Board: