Industry News

This week, ABA announced a new partnership with Constant Contact, a leading company that provides services to manage e-mail marketing campaigns. Through this partnership, all ABA member bookstores will have access to Constant Contact's suite of tools -- making it easier to create and send compelling e-mail newsletters -- and will earn annual rebates for participating.

Early next week, ABA will mail to bookstore members an envelope containing ballots to approve officers and elect directors to the ABA Board, as well as the brochure, "ABA Convention Programming at BookExpo America."

This year's African-American Programming for Book Industry Professionals at BookExpo America (BEA) will include authors, prominent industry figures, and panels created to assist stores in increasing their profit margins. "African-American booksellers will have an opportunity to meet and network," said Emma Rodgers, owner of Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, who organized the programming with Clara Villarosa.

SOLD OUT! With BookExpo America just over two months away, booksellers who are still interested in staying at Hotel ABA - NYC (the Park Central Hotel) must act now to ensure they reserve a room. All double rooms at the Park Central have been sold out and singles are going fast. This year's BEA will be held from Thursday, June 2 - Sunday, June 5, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

BookExpo America (BEA) has announced this year's full education conference program. BEA's education sessions will extend over four days, beginning Wednesday, June 1, and concluding on Saturday, June 4. All programming will take place at the Jacob K Javits Center in New York City, this year's convention site for BEA.

On March 23, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that it had joined forces with several conservative organizations "to fix the most extreme provisions of the Patriot Act," many of which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2005.

Booksellers looking for ways to increase their profit margin are encouraged to submit their financial figures to the 2005 ABACUS Study.

Every week dozens of booksellers seek and share advice and information about bookselling and the book industry on BookWeb's Idea Exchange Forums. Here, BTW presents a look at some of this week's topics -- with the hope that more booksellers will join in.

Among the topics that booksellers are discussing in the Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum this week are:

When author Daniel Pinkwater appears on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition -- Saturday with host Scott Simon to read and discuss books for children, independent booksellers take note. That's because, inevitably, the title mentioned is quickly snapped up by consumers. However, because booksellers have no prior knowledge of which titles will be mentioned they are often left unable to immediately meet customer demand.

You still may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you can discover certain things about a publisher's priorities and philosophy regarding the environment and conservation by checking the contents of a book's paper stock. Over the past few years, environmentalists, publishers, paper mills, authors, and printers -- both in Canada and the U.S. -- have attempted to mitigate the damaging environmental impact of book publishing and to raise the environmental standards without diminishing the quality of the books.

On March 23, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) announced a clearance sale on its limited edition Harry Potter T-shirts and buttons. 

The "Luck of the Irish" is with you this month, no matter what your heritage, as our Book Sense Publisher Partners offer an abundance of reading copies, special offers, and other useful items for your consideration. Among the goodies:

ARC's, Galleys, and Finished Books: