Industry News

Book Sense recently welcomed Creative Publishing international to its ever-growing family of Publisher Partners.

The Great Lakes Booksellers Association Trade Show will be held September 27 - 29 at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan. The show will feature a broad range of educational programming, author events, and a full-day trade exhibit from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 28.

'Giant' in Chicago Bookselling Community Dies

Anne Waddington Leonard, proprietor of Anne W. Leonard Books in Chicago, died on July 31 at her home in Beverly, Illinois. She was 67. "We heard her reading light was still on when she was found; she worked at her store during the day and died in her sleep," John Presta, co-owner of nearby Reading on Walden Bookstore, told BTW.

On August 21, two days after House Judiciary Committee Chair F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) threatened to subpoena Attorney General John Ashcroft over the Justice Department's refusal to divulge information on the USA Patriot Act, civil liberties groups filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the department.

The 2002 Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) Trade Show will be held at the RiverCentre complex in St. Paul, Minnesota, from September 27-29. Susan Walker, executive director for UMBA, told BTW that this year's show is particularly important to UMBA booksellers, as many did not have the opportunity to attend BookExpo America this past May. As a result, she said, UMBA is gearing up for a strong turnout.

After refusing a Congressional demand to reveal, among other things, how many subpoenas the Justice Department has issued under the USA Patriot Act to bookstores, libraries, and newspapers, Attorney General John Ashcroft might find himself served with a subpoena. That, at least, was a threat levied by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

The 2002 Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) Fall Trade Show will be held this year at the Broward County Convention Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from September 20-22. SEBA Executive Director Wanda Jewell told BTW that there was once again an emphasis on education and event programming that showcased a wide range of authors. And this year, she said, "I feel it's an especially good lineup of authors."

Here's the complete list of the September/October Book Sense 76 to give you a heads up for planning and ordering. Watch future coverage in BTW for the complete list with booksellers’ quotes.

1. THE LAST GIRLS, by Lee Smith (Algonquin, $24.95, 1565123638; in stores Sept. 17) Also Highbridge Audio (1565117018; CD, 1565117026)

2. MIDDLESEX, by Jeffrey Eugenides (Farrar, $27, 0374199698; Sept. 4) Also Audio Renaissance (1559277807)

Houghton Mifflin on the Block

Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA grew fast amidst a two-year buying spree by former chairman Jean-Marie Messier. Unfortunately, so did the company's debt. Messier was subsequently fired in July, and on August 14, Messier's replacement, Jean-Rene Fourtou, announced that the company is looking to shed some of its 19 billion euros in debt: First on the block -- U.S. publishing giant Houghton Mifflin.

In early August, some residents of Pampa, Texas, handed the Pampa Independent School District school board a petition containing 750 signatures requesting a ban of the Harry Potter series, as reported by www.kamr.com. On August 5, the board voted 5-2 to deny the petition and keep the Potter series in the school curriculum.

Since late June, on an almost weekly basis, BTW has included a Book Sense category bestseller list. These lists, based on sales from over 300 independent bookstores across America, are provided to help booksellers check inventory, to alert publishers about what's selling, and to provide the media with lists of interest that acknowledge the diverse specialty titles sold by independents.

Lists are currently available in the following subject categories:

Over the past decade or so, in the Lake Washington area of Washington state, 12 independent bookstores have closed their doors. However, it's not all doom and gloom. In the lakefront city of Kirkland, there's one independent bookstore that is not only thriving, but growing: Parkplace Books. Currently, the bookstore is expanding from 4,000 square feet to 7,000.

Below is a brief outline of the most significant recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online. There have been a number of distribution changes since LPC Group stopped fulfilling orders. ABA staff is seeking information on a number of other publishers previously distributed by LPC.

Larry Abramoff credits his "mid-life crisis" as a catalyst for some new directions at his bookstore. After founding Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons in Worcester, Massachusetts, 27 years ago and expanding to five locations (including the main store, which houses a full-service restaurant and publishing company), Abramoff was ready to do some event retooling.

Bookstore sales for June showed no improvement over last year, and actually slipped a fraction of a percentage point by comparison with June 2001. Preliminary June bookstore sales figures of $1,200 million were down 0.1 percent from the $1,201 million of the previous June.

June is the fifth month in a row in which bookstore sales failed to keep pace with overall retail.

Overall retail sales of $302 billion for June 2002 came in 1.3 percent over the $298 billion realized in June of 2001.