BTW News Briefs

EBF and IBF to Hold Joint Conference in London

The European Booksellers Federation (EBF) and the International Booksellers Federation (IBF) are holding their first joint conference in London to tie in with this year’s London Book Fair. Fifty delegates from across the world will attend the conference on April 9 and 10 in the Westminster Room at Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

Speakers at the conference include ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Tim Godfray, CEO of the Booksellers Association of the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as booksellers from Belgium, Norway, Germany, and Spain. The conference will feature a strong digital theme, with presentations by Google and a session on using social media to promote bookshops by Spanish and German booksellers.

Ingram Content Group and O’Reilly Media Partner

On April 7, the Ingram Content Group and O’Reilly Media announced an inventory management initiative that integrates O’Reilly Media’s technology content with Ingram’s print, distribution, and inventory management solutions.

 O’Reilly said the new partnership would allow it to move from a traditional inventory and capital-intensive business model to an on-demand program that selects timely and cost-effective methods to print and distribute books.

NCIBA Names 2011 Book of the Year Winners

The Northern California Independent Booksellers Association has announced the winners of its 2011 Book of the Year Awards. All books were written by authors living in the region.

This year’s list of finalists featured 34 titles and led to some very close races in several categories. As a result, NCIBA gave four books Honorable Mention notice because of their strong second-place finishes.

Winners and honor books are:

• Fiction: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li (Random House)
• Nonfiction: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (WW Norton)
  Honorable Mention: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (University of California)
• Poetry: Come On All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder (Copper Canyon)
• Food Writing: My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher (WW Norton)
• Children’s Picture Book: The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
  Honorable Mention: Zero by Kathryn Otoshi (KO Kids Books)
• Teen Lit: The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (Dial)
  Honorable Mention: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Regional Title: Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlasby Rebecca Solnit (University of California)
  Honorable Mention: State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California by Laura Cunningham (Heyday)

Christophers Honor 12 Authors and Illustrators

The 62nd Christopher Awards will recognize the authors and illustrators of nine books for adults and young people on Thursday, May 19, at a celebration in New York City. Along with books, the awards salute the creators of feature films and TV/cable programs that remind audiences of their power to make a difference as individuals.

Among the winners in the adult category are Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow (Penguin Press) and Thea’s Song: The Life of Thea Bowman by John Feister and Charlene Smith (Orbis Books).

More information and the full list of winners is available at www.christophers.org.

Griffin Poetry Prize Reveals 2011 Shortlist

Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry and David Young, trustee, this week announced the International and Canadian shortlist for this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize. The winners will be announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards evening on June 1.  Each winner will be awarded $65,000.

The four books on the International Shortlist are:

• Human Chain by Seamus Heaney (FSG)
• Adonis: Selected Poems by Khaled Mattawa (Yale University Press)
• The Book of the Snow by Philip Mosley (Arc Publications)
• Heavenly Questions by Gjertrud Schnackenberg (FSG)

The three books on the Canadian Shortlist are:

• Ossuaries by Dionne Brand (McClelland & Stewart)
• The Irrationalist by Suzanne Buffam (House of Anansi Press)
•  Lookout by John Steffler (McClelland & Stewart)

NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists Named

The New York Public Library has announced the finalists for its 11th annual Young Lions Fiction Award. The award honors the works of young authors carving deep first impressions in the literary world. The winning writer will be awarded a $10,000 prize on May 9 at a ceremony hosted by actor Ethan Hawke at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York.

The finalists for 2011 Young Lions Fiction Award are:

• Citrus County by John Brandon (McSweeney’s)
• Vida by Patricia Engel (Grove Press)
• The Instructions by Adam Levin (McSweeney’s)
• Death Is Not an Option by Suzanne Rivecca (W.W. Norton)
• Kapitoil by Teddy Wayne (Harper Perennial)