Publisher News

Popularity of print books tops LA Times list of 2016 book trends; Ann Patchett’s WSJ article heralds “The Return of Bookstores”; Penguin Random House sells Author Solutions; Authors groups pen open letter calling for fairer terms from publishers; The Nation names new assistant literary editor

Sourcebooks Landmark, publisher of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, the #1 Indie Next List Pick for January, is inviting readers to vote for their favorite bookstore for the chance to win a prize for themselves and for the three indie bookstores garnering the most votes.

Association of American University Presses backs U.K. collective licensing program; Grant program to make out-of-print humanities titles available as free e-books; Ferlinghetti, Katzenberger win PubWest’s 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award

Nominations open for CBC’s Teen Choice Book Awards; Books-A-Million becomes private company again; Ingram acquires Aer.io; Penguin Random House raises #GiveaBook campaign level to 50,000 books

2016 PEN Literary Awards longlists announced; Chicago Review Press CEO announces retirement; James LaRue to head ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom; S&S to distribute Insight Editions; Matt Baldacci joins Shelf Awareness

Major publishers are offering expedited order fulfillment programs this holiday season and booksellers who have utilized similar programs in the past say they offer big benefits that all stores should consider.

Tamblyn to become CEO of Kobo; Outstanding science trade books for students K–12 announced; Author/founder of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day organizes bookstore field trip; Vicki Lansky to retire from Book Peddlers

Several major publishers are once again offering expedited shipping to indie bookstores this holiday season and, in some cases, beyond. Here’s a look at previously announced programs from Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Perseus, and Simon & Schuster.

From now through November 30, Constant Contact is offering a Cyber Monday Special: New subscribers can sign up for Constant Contact’s full range of e-mail marketing tools and free coaching at 40 percent off for three months.

Don Weisberg named president of Macmillan, Jen Loja promoted to president of Penguin Young Readers; Penguin Random House launches 2015 #GiveaBook campaign; Chronicle Books launches #GiveBooks campaign; PBS to provide online coverage of Miami Book Fair; The Rise of the Robots named 2015 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year

BookCon announces celebrity-studded guest list; HarperOne to publish new digital-first fiction line; 2015 National Outdoor Book Award winners announced; District of Columbia Library Association wins 2015 WNBA Eastman Grant

AAUP opens Washington, D.C., office; Houston’s Table Restaurant to add bookstore; Amazon opens brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle; Fledgling LGBT publisher Query Books reaches fundraising goal

This week, Penguin Random House announced that, for the first time, Penguin adult and children’s print new releases, frontlist, and backlist will be part of the company’s annual Two-Day Transit holiday shipping program. Weekend shifts added at two distribution centers through the year-end will also expedite order fulfillment.

U.K. indies report book sales up 30 percent during “Books Are My Bag” campaign; Authors share #BooksThatHooked in Twitter campaign; HarperCollins acquires e-Book deals newsletter The Midlist

HarperCollins is once again offering independent booksellers in the U.S. expedited shipping for the holiday season.