BTW News Briefs

A Special Promo on IndieBound Bags & More

W.G. Ellerkamp Co., the American Booksellers Association’s partner for IndieBound bags, giftwrap, journals, and more, is offering a 15 percent discount on all stock products from now until October 31.

Ellerkamp’s new catalog will be arriving in stores in the October Red Box mailing.

OverDrive WIN Catalog to Drive Sales to Bookstores

OverDrive, a global digital distributor of e-books and audiobooks to libraries and schools, met this week at the Frankfurt Book Fair with major and independent publishers and booksellers to share details of its new WIN ("Want It Now") Catalog, which it said will maximize discovery and potential sell-through by providing samples and links to national and local booksellers for library website visitors that discover a title and "Want It Now." 

Libraries that opt-in to offer access to OverDrive's WIN Catalog will earn affiliate fees for all sales referred through a link from their public library website. To enable the 'buy-it-now' links from the library websites, OverDrive has entered into associate and affiliate programs with national and independent bookstores including Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com, Powells.com, and Books-A-Million, and is in dialogue with major and independent booksellers in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and other markets. Publishers and retailers can apply to join the OverDrive affiliate network through OverDrive’s online admin portal, Content Reserve.

Books-A-Million and B&N and Remove DC Graphic Novels

In response to DC Entertainment’s deal with Amazon, which will give the Kindle Fire exclusive rights to 100 of DC’s graphic novels in e-book format, Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble have informed DC Entertainment that they are removing those 100 graphic novels from their shelves, according Publishers Weekly. Last week, Barnes & Noble announced it would not sell the books because of DC's exclusive deal with Amazon, and this week BAM followed suit.

Books-A-Million President Terry Finley said, in a press release: "Due to DC Comics plan to sell the digital format of their top 100 graphic novels exclusively through Amazon’s Kindle Fire, BAM Stores are currently removing physical copies of these titles from our shelves… We will not promote titles in our stores showrooms if publishers choose to pursue these exclusive arrangements that create an uneven playing field in the marketplace.”

According to PW, the DC deal with Amazon is apparently only intended to last four months.

Indigo Books & Music Makes Changes to Business Model

The Toronto Star reported that Indigo Books & Music has some Canadian publishers “nervously anticipating the fall and Christmas retail season.” The chain has replaced some prominent book displays with sidelines displays, shortened the minimum shelf life for books, and introduced a “marketing charge” for all books sold. The Star reported that Indigo is responding to increased competition from Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Costco by becoming, what Indigo CEO Heather Reisman called, “the world’s first lifestyle store for booklovers.”

Ingram Partners With Books On Demand to Grow Global Connect

On October 12, Ingram Content Group announced the expansion of its Global Connect program through an alliance with Books On Demand (BoD), a leading digital book manufacturer in Germany with substantial retail distribution in the region. The new program will increase the reach of print content beyond Ingram’s current channels, which include facilities in the U.S., U.K., Australia and France, to new markets through a network of select book manufacturing and distribution partners. At the same time, BoD will expand its reach through the Ingram Global Connect network, including all the markets that Ingram serves.