News - Bookselling

At a Winter Institute session that focused on how independent bookstores can form beneficial relationships with self-published authors, Paul Hanson of Village Books and Harvard Book Store’s Jeff Mayersohn shared details of their store’s successful practices, and Ron Smithson of Ingram Content Group introduced a program that will make it easy and profitable for indies to offer self-published works.

This Friday, April 5, is the deadline for stores to sign up to participate in this spring’s Celebrate (With) Indies multi-publisher promotions. Booksellers can choose to participate in one, some, or all four offerings.

Bookstores participating in the American Booksellers Association/Kobo partnership can offer their customers a new Kobo Mini & Snapback offer, beginning this Friday, April 5, and running through Thursday, April 18.

Drummer John Densmore of The Doors is helping independent record stores and bookstores celebrate Record Store Day, on April 20, with the launch of his new, self-published book, The Doors: Unhinged, a look at the deep divide among the remaining band members after Jim Morrison’s death.

ABA will travel to the Midwest and Great Lakes regions on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, respectively, to host two of its 11 Spring Forum programs. Each event will feature an open forum discussion of industry issues and the ABA education session “The 10 Things You Must Do Now!” plus additional programming.

One of the two #1 picks for the April 2013 Indie Next List is Jill McCorkle’s Life After Life, which introduces readers to the world of Pine Haven Estates, a retirement community in Fulton, North Carolina. McCorkle recently spoke to Bookselling This Week about the genesis of the novel, the process of bringing her characters to life, and the reasons behind many authorial decisions.

Winter Institute 8’s Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups received rave reviews from both booksellers and publishers. Now, ABA is inviting booksellers to sign up by May 3 to meet with publishers to discuss issues of common interest and mutual concern at BookExpo America 2013.

Voting to choose this year’s winners of the Indies Choice  and E.B. White awards is open to the owners and staff at all ABA member bookstores until April 15. The deadline to reserve a spot at the ABA’s Celebration of Bookselling and Authors Awards Lunch is May 10.

Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, has been selected by Publishers Weekly as the PW Bookstore of the Year. This is the 20th anniversary of the award.

ABA will hold both its annual Membership Meeting and Town Hall on Thursday afternoon, May 30, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, in conjunction with BookExpo America.