News - Bookselling

BEA Show Director Steve Rosato has unveiled plans for an alternative option to expensive New York hotel rates for trade show attendees. Rosato expects to open reservations next week for a block of 120 dorm rooms at Barnard College at the rate of $115 per night.

In time for Valentine’s Day, authors M.J. Rose and Randy Susan Meyers have created the AuthorBuzz Indie Love Award, which is intended to honor independent bookstores for consistently sharing beloved titles with their customers.

Sherman Alexie and Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling authors and passionate defenders of the freedom to read, will be at Winter Institute 8 to discuss efforts to ban their books and other young adult works that some people claim are too “dark” for children.

Booksellers are asked to tell ABA about some of the creative things they have done to make their stores more successful and profitable via a short, online survey. Responses will help in the formulation of the Spring Forum season’s educational component, “The Top 10 Things You Must Do Now!”

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has announced that as of November 1, 2013, Amazon.com will begin collecting state sales tax in exchange for opening a distribution center in Connecticut and bringing jobs to the state.

The 2013 post-holiday Independent Business Survey, conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in partnership with ABA and other indie business organizations, has found that independent businesses experienced solid revenue growth in 2012, buoyed in part by “buy local first” initiatives and growing public interest in supporting locally owned businesses.

By popular demand, Candlewick and ABA are bringing back Find Waldo Local  in July 2013. To make this month-long promotion even better the second time around, Candlewick is asking booksellers who participated in last year’s event for their feedback.

In conjunction with the opening of the Austrailian-German film Lore, Vintage Books will be re-releasing the Rachel Seiffert book that is the basis for the movie, and Music Box Films is offering several promotional opportunities for booksellers.

A unique feature of Winter Institute 8 will be a field trip for booksellers to the National Association of College Stores’  2013 CAMEX trade show on Sunday, February 24. Wi8 bookseller attendees who place an order of any size from an exhibiting vendor while they’re there will receive a $100 rebate per store.

BTW’s spotlight on current and upcoming eBook promotions that booksellers can choose to highlight on their IndieCommerce websites returns this week with 15 promotions, including three free samplers, a selection of cookbooks and home organizers, great titles for Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Ash Wednesday, and more.