Industry News

Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, by Jane Leavy (HarperCollins), was selected on Thursday, February 13, as the next title to be read by the USA Today book club.

Today is the last day to submit nominations for the 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (BSBY) via fax or online form. Ballots returned via mail had to be postmarked no later than Friday, February 7.

Every current ABA-member bookstore is entitled to nominate five books in each category: Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Illustrated Children's, Rediscovery, and Paperback Book of the Year.

An Exclusive Money-Saving BEA Hotel Deal for ABA Member Booksellers

Getting the best housing deal possible at BookExpo America is always a major concern for independent booksellers. This year, BEA management, together with ABA, has found a great solution for any ABA member bookseller interested in the best hotel value at the show.

Below is an outline of the most recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online.

Publishers can update their online listings and add special offers at any time using the Publisher Editing Tools at http://handbook.bookweb.org/pubhome.jsp. Questions about access to the editing features of the Handbook online should be e-mailed to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 1263 or 1261.

On Thursday, February 6, approximately 30 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum, held in conjunction with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA), at Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan. According to a number of attendees, ABA's sales tax fairness initiative was the hot topic of the discussion.

Scholastic announced today that the suggested retail price for the next Harry Potter title, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will be $29.99.

The fifth book in the bestselling series by J.K. Rowling will be published on June 21, 2003. The title will have 38 chapters and will be over a third longer than Rowling's previous book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

This week over 560 independent booksellers nationwide joined ABA President Ann Christophersen in signing letters urging their state governors and other elected officials to immediately take steps to enforce state tax laws fairly and uniformly. Specifically, the letters call for states to require retailers with a physical presence in their respective states to collect sales taxes on online sales. (To read the full text of the letter, click here.)

On Thursday, February 6, NBC News' Today Show announced that the eighth selection of its monthly "Today Book Club" is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor). The title was an Autumn 2002 Top Ten Book Sense Mystery 76 pick.

New York City's independent bookselling landscape continues to change. On the heels of news that Oscar Wilde Bookshop was sold and Bluestockings Women's Bookstore may close, New York City's Coliseum Books announced that it is set to reopen in a new location directly across from the main branch of the New York Public Library. The store signed a lease with Tishman Speyer last Friday. Coliseum owner George Leibson told BTW, "I'm euphoric in signing a new lease, but also terrified. I'll probably be running on adrenaline for quite awhile."

Last week, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) President and Publisher Jonathan Galassi announced that the company was dropping its commission sales rep network and that accounts visited by a commission rep would now be served by the Holtzbrinck Publishers Sales Group. The move affects titles published by both FSG and its distribution clients. The FSG in-house sales force will remain intact.

The American Booksellers Association will be holding Booksellers Forums on Friday, March 14, in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Spring Show, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and in conjunction with the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) Spring Meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

BookExpo America's "Editor & Bookseller Buzz Forum," where leading industry editors and publishers pitch their key titles to booksellers, book reviewers, and other industry professionals, was one of the focal points at last year's BEA, where it debuted. On February 4, BEA announced the panelists for this year's Buzz Forum. They will include Sonny Mehta (president and publisher, Alfred A.

Coleen Harty of Madison, Wisconsin, has spent years perusing the vast category of personal growth books and tapes. Beginning March 1, she will be putting her knowledge into practice and helping others navigate the self-help arena in her own bookstore, Invest in Yourself. Harty, a long-time employee of the Middletown, Wisconsin-based Pleasant Company, founder of the American Girl dynasty, is opening the 1,500-square-foot store, also in Middletown.

This week's Book Sense Children's Bestsellers list was previewed in the Wednesday, February 5, edition of USA Today. On the front page of the newspaper's Life section, the top five illustrated children's books were highlighted in the popular "USA Today Snapshot."

Another well-known New York City independent bookstore is looking for a last-minute reprieve. Just two weeks after announcing that her store was up for sale, Bluestockings Women's Bookstore owner Kathryn Welsh told BTW that the store would close at the end of February unless a buyer materializes before then. The news comes less than a week after Deacon Maccubbin announced he had purchased the landmark gay and lesbian bookstore Oscar Wilde Bookshop, just prior to the store's scheduled closing.