BTW News Briefs

Joseph-Beth Emerges From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

On Wednesday, May 4, Joseph-Beth Booksellers announced that it had successfully transitioned out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The business is now owned by mall-affiliated Booksellers Enterprises LLC, which bid $3.977 million for three Joseph-Beth stores, in Lexington, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, and the corporate headquarters in Cincinnati.

NBC’s Lexington, Kentucky, affiliate, Lex18, reported that Joseph-Beth’s new president and CEO, Mark Wilson, intends to keep current booksellers, management, and leadership teams at the stores. The bookstores will also continue to support local and regional authors and focus on community involvement, through school book fairs and the company’s Gives Back member program.

The new owners are inviting the community to celebrate at Joseph-Beth on Sunday, May 22, during its Customer Appreciation Day.

Constant Contact Offers Free Business-Building Events

To celebrate Small Business Week (May 16 - 22), Constant Contact, an ABA affinity program, will be hosting Get Down to Business, a nationwide series of free business-building events, featuring experts in e-mail and social media marketing.

Small business owners are invited to meet and mingle with other small businesses and local influencers in their areas. Topics include:

• How organizations like yours are winning with social media
• Proven tips and strategies to kick start your social media plan
• Which organizations in your neighborhood are supporting small business
• How small businesses are doing around the country
• And much more

Events will be held in Arizona, Central and South Florida, Colorado, Georgia, Houston Metro, Illinois, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New England, New York Metro, Pacific Northwest, Philadelphia Metro, San Diego Metro, Southern Ontario, Texas, Washington, D.C. Metro, and Western Wisconsin. For details and to register, visit ConstantContact.com.

Kids Pick Children Choice Book Award Winners

The Children’s Book Council (CBC) in association with Every Child a Reader, the CBC Foundation, announced the winners of the fourth annual Children’s Choice Book Awards at a gala in New York City on Monday, May 2. The event was part of Children’s Book Week, which runs from May 2 - 8. More than 500,000 votes were cast by children at bookstores, school libraries, and at www.BookWeekOnline.com.

This year’s Children’s Choice Book Award winners are:

• Author of the Year: Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) (Disney-Hyperion)
• Illustrator of the Year: David Wiesner for Art & Max (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year: Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby (Putnam/Penguin)
• Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year: Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf/Random House) 
• Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year: The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)
• Teen Choice Book of the Year: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Dutton/Penguin)

The Children’s Choice Book Awards program was created in 2008 to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading.

Publishing Triangle Presents 23^rd Annual Awards

The 23rd Annual Triangle Awards, honoring the best lesbian and gay fiction, nonfiction, and poetry published in 2010, were presented on April 28 at the Tishman Auditorium of the New School in New York City in a ceremony that was open to the public.

This year’s winners are:

• Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry: Michael Walsh, The Dirt Riddles (University of Arkansas Press)
• Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry: Jen Currin, The Inquisition Yours (Coach House Books)
• Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction:Barbara Hammer, Hammer! (The Feminist Press)
• Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction: Justin Spring, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward (Farrar Straus and Giroux)
• The Judges’ Special Award in Nonfiction: Editors Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman, Gender Outlaws (Seal Press)
• Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction: Katherine Beutner, Alcestis (Soho Press)
• The Ferro-Grumley Award for LBGT Fiction: Michael Sledge, The More I Owe You (Counterpoint Press)
• Leadership Award: The Gay & Lesbian Review
• Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement (previously announced): Alan Hollinghurst

AMIBA Co-founder Calls for National Solution to E-Fairness Issue

On April 28, Bloomberg Businessweek published a commentary by Jeff Milchen, co-founder of the American Independent Business Alliance, that calls on Congress to close the sales tax loophole that gives online retail giants, such as Amazon.com, an unfair advantage over Main Street retailers. Milchen noted that Amazon collects sales tax in just five of 19 states in which it has a physical presence, although only two have no statewide tax.

“State bills closing the Amazon loophole do help level the playing field for many businesses and build momentum for needed national reform such as that proposed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), who plan to reintroduce the ‘Main Street Fairness Act’ during the current session,” wrote Milchen. “Their bill would ratify the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, a compact developed by a coalition of state government representatives to harmonize sales tax policies. The bill also would give states the authority to collect tax on interstate sales under these simplified rules.”

Although a national solution will carry drawbacks, Milchen said, “as states and municipalities seek to fill budget shortfalls, only a national solution will preclude dozens more state battles.”

Farcountry Press Under New Ownership

Farcountry Press, which was owned by newspaper chain Lee Enterprises, was recently bought by Linda and Steve Netschert. Linda Netschert, who is now the publisher, has worked at the press since 1996 and served as sales and marketing director since 2003.

Farcountry Press, based in Helena, Montana, publishes photography books, children’s series, guidebooks, cookbooks, and regional history titles nationwide. It currently produces about 15 books annually, and its backlist includes more than 300 titles. Sweetgrass Books, its custom publishing division, was included in the purchase.

The company has moved to its new office and warehouse at 2750 Broadwater Avenue in Helena, Montana. Its P.O. Box, 800 number, fax number, and e-mail addresses all stay the same; updated phone numbers can be found on the company’s website, www.farcountrypress.com.