BTW News Briefs

Bowker Reports Number of Print Books Increased in 2010

On Wednesday, May 18, Bowker released its annual report on U.S. print book publishing, compiled from its Books In Print® database. Based on preliminary figures from publishers, Bowker is projecting that traditional U.S. print title output in 2010 increased by five percent. The number of new titles and editions increased from 302,410 in 2009 to an estimated 316,480 in 2010.

Science and technology were the leading areas of growth, with major increases in Computers (a 51 percent increase over 2009), Science (37 percent), and Technology (35 percent). Bowker found that categories subject to discretionary spending were the top losers, with Literature, Poetry, History, and Biography all recording double digit declines. Fiction was down three percent from 2009.

Growth in the non-traditional sector — largely on-demand titles produced by reprint houses specializing in public domain works and by presses catering to self-publishers and “micro-niche” publications, which are marketed almost exclusively on the web — increased 169 percent, from 1,033,065 in 2009 to an amazing 2,776,260 in 2010. Three publishers — BiblioBazaar, General Books, Kessinger Publishing — accounted for almost 87 percent of total titles produced by the non-tradition sector in 2010.

BISG Begins Search for New Executive Director

On Wednesday, May 18, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) announced that its executive director, Scott Lubeck, had resigned for personal reasons, and the association had formed a search committee to find his replacement. In the interim, BISG Deputy Executive Director Angela Bole was named to carry out the functions of the executive director.

BISG has engaged the services of Bert Davis & Associates to manage the search for a new executive director.

Blue Rider Press to Publish in Fall 2011

David Rosenthal has chosen the name Blue Rider Press for his general trade imprint at Penguin Group (USA), which launched in November 2010. The imprint’s inaugural list will be published in fall 2011 and will include The New New Rules by Bill Maher, host of HBO’s Real Time, and Sen. George McGovern’s political blueprint, What It Means to Be a Democrat.

Lerner Publishing Launches Distribution Company

Lerner Publishing Group is launching Lerner Publisher Services, a new division focused on sales, services, and distribution of print and digital books from children’s publishers to the library, school, retail, online, gift/museum, and international markets.

Current clients include Andersen Press USA, The Kane Press, ARC Press, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and We Do Listen Foundation. Two more clients coming on board in Fall 2011 are Gecko Press and Inside Pocket Books.

Lerner Publisher Services will operate sales, distribution, customer service, billing and collections, and book manufacturing through its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minimum Advertised Pricing on ASTRA Agenda

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) announced this week that it has commissioned an industry white paper exploring the effects of discount Internet sales from all sides of the issue, which will be presented at ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy in June.

ASTRA has asked researcher Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance to work with manufacturers, toy retailers, and others to identify concerns and develop solutions regarding the issue. A preliminary report is to be presented at the ASTRA Annual Membership Meeting on Monday, June 20, in Anaheim, California.

ASTRA’s Marketplace & Academy will be held from June 19 - 22 at the Marriott Anaheim.

Philip Roth Wins Man Booker International Prize

Philip Roth has been named the winner of the fourth Man Booker International Prize, awarded for an achievement in fiction on the world stage. The award, which is presented once every two years to a living author for a body of work published either originally in English or widely available in translation in the English language, is worth £60,000.

The other contenders for the Man Booker International 2011 were:

• Juan Goytisolo (Spain)
• James Kelman (UK)
• John le Carré (UK)
• Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)
• David Malouf (Australia)
• Dacia Maraini (Italy)
• Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada)
• Philip Pullman (UK)
• Marilynne Robinson (USA)
• Su Tong (China)
• Anne Tyler (USA)
• Wang Anyi (China)

Roth’s award will be celebrated at a formal dinner in London on June 28, 2011.