People

To celebrate the appointment of Gene Luen Yang as the fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, First Second Books has made downloadable shelf-talkers, sell sheets, and signs for his titles available through Edelweiss.

In the final installment in our series on ABA Board members, Jamie Fiocco, the owner of Flyleaf Books, talks about changes in bookselling in the past six years, her goals as a Board member, and more.

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

Jonathon Welch, the co-owner of Talking Leaves...Books, talks about his early reading experiences, building the bookstore into a community and cultural center, what he’d like to see ABA achieve, and more.

Jean Margaret Matthews, the former co-owner of Hamilton, Montana’s Chapter One Book Store and the wife of former ABA President Russ Lawrence, died on December 16, 2015. She was 58 years old.

Katherine Hannigan, who will be at the Wi11 Backlist Book Swap, recently wrote a letter thanking booksellers for selecting Ida B…and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World as a Revisit & Rediscover title.

Once Upon a Book opens in upstate New York; Byrd’s Books celebrates four years; Book Bin to welcome new owner; Square Books’ Howorth to serve second term on TVA board; Papercuts J.P.’s Layte shares passion for books in TEDx Talk

Sarah Bagby, the owner of Watermark Books & Café, talks about her early experiences with books and reading, what motivated her to become a bookstore owner, and her goals as an ABA Board member.

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

Green Apple Books co-owner Pete Mulvihill talks about his early reading experiences, changes in the book industry, and his goals as a member of the ABA Board.

Newbery Award-winning author and literacy advocate Kwame Alexander will deliver the Tuesday breakfast keynote “The Idea Business: A Life Spent Writing and Selling Books” at Winter Institute 2016. Alexander talks here about his writing career, literacy action projects, and more.

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

David Cohen, a pioneering Washington lobbyist and the former co-owner with his late wife, Carla Cohen, and Barbara Meade of Politics & Prose, died on Sunday, November 29, at the age of 79 of a heart attack.

Annie Philbrick, co-owner of Bank Square Books and the forthcoming Savoy Bookshop & Café, talks about her early reading experiences, her goals as an ABA Board member, what she’s reading now, and more.

Bernie Tushaus, the longtime co-owner with his wife, Jane, of Prairie Books & Gifts in Hastings, Nebraska, died in October. In a letter to ABA, his son, Michael Tushaus, recently paid tribute to his father and his 40-year career in independent bookselling.