BookStream Seeks TitleWave in Hartford

by Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 1/15/2008 7:05:00 AM

After dipping its toes into the events waters in October with KidSplash, a day-long shop-talk presentation of children’s books for New England and Mid-Atlantic booksellers, BookStream is wading in a bit deeper. On February 27 it will hold TitleWave, a day-long, invitation-only, presentation of forthcoming adult books at the Sheraton East Hartford in suburban Hartford, Conn.

BookStream staffers will give booksellers an overview of spring books, with handselling tips. And several fiction writers will be on hand to meet with booksellers, including debut novelist Steve Toltz, author of A Fraction of the Whole (Spiegel & Grau); Hillary Jordan, author of Mudbound (Algonquin), winner of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction; and Richard Price, author of Lush Life (FSG), who received a 2007 Edgar Award for his writing for the HBO series The Wire.

For BookStream president Jack Herr, TitleWave is a key piece in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based company’s plan to go beyond the role of a traditional wholesaler, and to facilitate the conversation among publishers, retailers and authors. “We think we’re becoming an important resource to our customers,” said Herr.

In the coming weeks, BookStream will continue to stretch that role when it launches a new Web site, which will include industry information. The new initiatives were facilitated by the hiring of Jessica Stockton Bagnulo last fall and by BookStream getting out from under the credit problems that dogged it when it first began shipping in 2006.

“We had a marvelous Christmas,” said Herr. “We beat our numbers from last year and our budget, and we look forward to growing every month.”