Industry News

On Saturday, May 31, from 10:30 to noon at BookExpo America, the panel "Economic Impact of Locally Owned Businesses" will give attendees the opportunity to see firsthand the results of a study showing the economic impact of chains versus local, independent retailers.

At its April 23 meeting, California's State Board of Equalization (BOE) voted 3-2 to conduct a full-scale audit of Barnesandnoble.com to determine if the online retailer has nexus in the state of California. The vote came after the Board reaffirmed its September 12, 2002 decision that Barnesandnoble.com was obligated to pay California back use taxes for a period of four months -- from November 15, 1999 to March 31, 2000 -- because Barnes & Noble stores were offering coupons discounting purchases made at Barnesandnoble.com.

The written word's influence on other artistic mediums is often taken for granted, but San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Deborah Pardes is hoping that literature's broad reach into other art forms will inspire both the illiterate and alliterate alike to read.

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) recently sent a petition on behalf of its members to all U.S. congressional representatives from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington urging support of H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Information Act, which would repeal Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

The May 12 issue of The New Yorker magazine on sale now features a special insert, "Bound to Please," highlighting "the sage recommendations of America's independent booksellers."

The next special Book Sense feature in The New Yorker will appear in the July 14 issue, on sale July 7, and will highlight summer paperback reading. To complement the story, the magazine is once again seeking photographs of bookstores with Book Sense. All Book Sense stores are encouraged to send photographs of their stores, especially good exterior shots, by May 21.

On Friday, May 2, the Women's National Book Association (WNBA) announced the winners of this year's Lucile Micheels Pannell Awards. Dutton's Brentwood Bookstore in Los Angeles won the award for a general bookstore. The children's specialty category went to Halfway Down the Stairs Children's Book Shop in Rochester, Michigan.

On Wednesday, May 7, John Updike chose Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by Z.Z. Packer (Riverhead) as the 11th selection to be read by the "Today Book Club."

Locales in this debut collection of eight stories, featuring mostly young African Americans, include a Girl Scout camp, the Million Man March on Washington, Japan, and, of course, elsewhere.

Steve Bercu, owner of BookPeople in Austin, Texas

Last summer, Steve Bercu, the owner of the independent bookstore BookPeople, joined with Waterloo Records, the Austin Independent Business Alliance, and Liveable City, a local, nonprofit community organization, in a campaign to keep