BTW News Briefs

Binc Blog to Cover Qualifying Events for Bookseller Assistance

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) is planning a monthly series of blog posts to highlight the various qualifying events that can be the basis for Binc assistance to booksellers.

The first blog post, What is Homelessness?, covers facts about homelessness and how bookstore employees can get assistance.

“We hope that by explaining these in more detail, booksellers who may be on the verge of an emergency will contact the Foundation,” said Binc Office Manager Kit Steinaway.

Stay tuned for more posts on other qualifying events to appear on Binc’s blog in the days to come.

NAIBA Announces 2015 Award Winners

The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) has announced the winners of its 2015 Book of the Year Awards, as well as the winners of its 2015 Handseller and Sales Rep of the Year Awards, all of which are nominated by NAIBA booksellers.

The NAIBA Book Awards recognize an author who was born or has lived in the NAIBA region, and/or a book that takes place in the NAIBA region. Eligible books must have published between June 1, 2014, and May 31, 2015. The winners are:

• Fiction: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf)
• Nonfiction: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (Spiegel & Grau)
• Children’s Literature: Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• YA/Middle Reader: El Deafo by Cece Bell (Abrams)
• Picture Book: Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato (Henry Holt and Co.)

The 2015 Drabayak Handseller of the Year Award went to Sean Curran of the Doylestown Bookshop in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. At the bookshop, Curran, who at various times in his life has been a writer, an editor, and a bookseller, is a floor supervisor and customer service expert. On his own, he hosts a weekly literary podcast, Cracking the Spine.

Glenda Childs, owner of Doylestown Bookshop, wrote of Curran, “His excitement for books goes beyond the usual job responsibilities. A few years ago, he created a video called BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS that went viral on YouTube. He continually looks for ways to let our customers know about new books and talented authors."

The winner of NAIBA’s 2015 Helmuth Sales Rep of the Year Award is Eric Stragar of Perseus Books Group and Publishers Group West. Before Perseus, Stragar was first a bookseller at Olsson’s Books and Records in Washington, D.C.

Curran, Stragar, and all winning authors will accept their awards at the NAIBA Fall Conference Awards Banquet on October 3.

Alice Award Shortlist Revealed

The J.M. Kaplan Fund’s Furthermore publishing grants program, which recognizes printed and illustrated books, has announced the shortlist for its 2015 Alice Award.

Inaugurated in 2013, the Alice Award honors Alice M. Kaplan, who co-founded the J.M. Kaplan Fund with her husband, Jacob M. Kaplan, in 1945. Alice Kaplan was a supporter of music, dance, libraries, and the visual arts and served as the longtime president of the American Federation of Arts.

The Alice prize awards $25,000 to a book previously supported by Furthermore that represents excellence in all aspects of the work, from idea to design to quality of production.

Works shortlisted for the 2015 Alice Award are:

• Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861-2008, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut​
• Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan
• The Open Road, Aperture, New York, New York
• One Hundred Books Famous in Children’s Literature, the Grolier Club, New York, New York
• A Portrait of Britain, National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom

The Alice Award will be presented at The Frick Collection on October 27.

HarperCollins, Ediouro Group Establish HarperCollins Brasil

HarperCollins has announced the formation of HarperCollins Brasil, a new publishing entity combining the existing operations of Thomas Nelson Brasil and Harlequin Brasil with the Ediouro Group’s commercial trade publishing titles and personnel. Antonio Araujo will serve as its Executive Director.

HarperCollins Brasil will publish a yearly list of approximately 350 titles from the HarperCollins trade, children’s, Christian, and romance imprints from around the world, in addition to a focused list of Brazilian authors. This new structure aligns Brazil with HarperCollins’ strategy to grow its authors’ international presence and publish outside of the English language, as has been done in Germany, Poland, the Nordic countries, Holland, Japan, and Spain.

In other publisher news, HarperCollins is bringing a pop-up shop to New York City’s new downtown shopping environment Seaport Studios. The HarperCollins BookLab, an event space and reading lounge, will open in mid-September, according to GalleyCat, and remain open until late October. It will host various programs, launch events, readings, panels, talks, and receptions.

“We see this not only as a destination for visitors, but also as a cultural hub for the growing number of New Yorkers who live and work in the area. In a world full of increasing distractions, the idea of a place to sit and read a book, listen to an author, or buy a book is a novel idea,” said HarperCollins President and Publisher Michael Morrison.