Seajay, Women and Children First, in Review Venture

by Claire Kirch, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 12/14/2005

Industry veteran Carol Seajay, formerly publisher of the now-defunct Feminist Bookstore News and currently publisher of the Books To Watch Out For subscription-based online book review newsletters, has joined forces with Chicago's Women and Children First bookstore in a unique venture. Seajay and the store are collaborating to produce a new online book review publication, called More Books for Women.

The monthly publication contains 25-30 reviews of books of interest to women, all selected and reviewed by Women and Children First co-owners Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon, as well as store employees Pam Harcourt and Tish Hayes. Each issue will also include a column discussing mysteries and suspense titles, written by former bookseller Nan Cinnater, who used to write a similar column for Feminist Bookstore News.

Launched last month, More Books for Women has 5,000 charter subscribers who receive the publication online, while hard copies are sent to readers who request it in that format. Subscription rates are $30 for the PDF version, and $42 for print copies. Readers can also order books reviewed in the publication directly from Women and Children First through a link to that store's Web site.

Seajay said she started More Books for Women to provide readers who might not have access to a bricks-and-mortar bookstore with all the resources of a good women's bookstore. "I continue to be irked that so many people feel that they have to shop at Amazon.com because so many independent bookstores have closed," she said. "I want to give people an alternative."