BTW News Briefs

Ferlinghetti to Receive Curtis Benjamin Award

On January 31, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced that Lawrence Ferlinghetti, founder of City Lights Publishers and co-owner of San Francisco's City Lights Books, has been named to receive the Curtis Benjamin Award for Creative Publishing. The award will be presented to Ferlinghetti at the association's 2005 Annual Meeting in New York on March 3.

The Curtis Benjamin Award, which is administered by the AAP, was first given in 1975 to honor Curtis Benjamin, a former President of McGraw-Hill. It is given to a living publisher in the United States who has demonstrated exceptional creativity and innovation in publishing.

Book Industry Study Group Announces Making Information Pay 2005

Registration has begun for the second annual book industry executive conference, "Making Information Pay: How Smart Publishers Build More Effective Trading Relationships with Their Key Accounts," to be held at The Yale Club of New York on April 7, 2005. Hosted by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and sponsored by VISTA International, Making Information Pay 2005 will offer an opportunity for leading retailers, wholesalers, and distributors to reveal the best practices currently driving the success of book industry leaders. Topics covered will include: how to support the sales process, how to reduce costs and turnaround time, and how to get the most out of your investment in product marketing information.

Admission to the half-day event is $45 for BISG members and $95 for nonmembers. To register, visit the BISG website at http://www.bisg.org/conferences/biz2.html.

Ingram Signs Four Publishers

Ingram Publisher Services Inc., a new company of Ingram Book Group that will specialize in providing distribution services for publishers, announced that it has entered into agreements to be the exclusive distributor of four publishers. Ingram's newest enterprise goes live on March 15, 2005, when it begins shipping books on behalf of Applewood Books of Bedford, Massachusetts, a publisher of American history.

The other publishers Ingram will provide distribution services for are: Bloomberg Press in Princeton, New Jersey; Make Believe Ideas of London, England, with U.S. headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee; and Champion Press, Ltd. located in Fredonia, Wisconsin.

Thurber Prize Announces 2005 Judges

On January 24, Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio announced the three judges for the 2005 Thurber Prize for American Humor. The judges are New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, and authors Rachel Cline and Dan Zevin. Thurber House is the national literary center for writers and readers based in the boyhood home of author, humorist, and New Yorker cartoonist, James Thurber, in Columbus, Ohio. The annual award will be presented at a ceremony at New York's Algonquin Hotel, once home to Thurber, in November.

The Prize is to be conferred upon the author and publisher of the outstanding book of humor writing published in the U.S. between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2004. Initiated in 1996, the award carries with it a $5,000 prize. Three finalists will be announced in September 2005, and the winner will not be revealed until the November event at the Algonquin. For more information visit www.thurberhouse.org.

Bouchercon to Be in Chicago

Chicago will host Bouchercon, the world mystery convention, September 1 - 4, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers. Bouchercon, named for mystery's premier reviewer and critic, Anthony Boucher, annually draws 1,500 - 2,000 writers, fans, readers, collectors, booksellers, publishers, agents, and media. The convention also hosts the Anthony Awards, one of mystery's most coveted honors. Harlan Coben will be toastmaster at this year's event. Registration forms and more information are available at www.bouchercon.net.

HarperCollins Children's Books Accepting Submissions for Fiction Contest

HarperCollins Children's Books announced that it will be accepting submissions for the 2005 Ursula Nordstrom Fiction Contest between March 15, 2005, and April 15, 2005. This is the second annual Ursula Nordstrom Fiction Contest, which is open to U.S. middle-grade novel writers who have not been previously published. One winner will receive a book contract for a hardcover edition, a $7,500 advance and a $1,500 cash award. The winner will be announced on June 15, 2005.

Ursula Nordstrom was director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 - 1973. She published many of America's most beloved middle-grade writers, including Louise Fitzhugh, Mary Stolz, Mary Rodgers, E.B. White, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. For further information on the official rules of the contest, please visit www.harperchildrens.com/writingcontest.