TODAY'S NEWS

September Bookstore Sales Drop 4.5%
by Jim Milliot
Reports of softness at bookstores in September were confirmed by figures released this morning by the U.S. Census Bureau that showed that bookstore sales fell 4.5% in the month, to $1.49 billion. Bookstore sales for the first nine months of the year, helped by sales at college bookstores, were up 1.8%, to $12.53 billion.

The release of the September figures came just as the Commerce Department was announcing preliminary October sales for the entire retail segment. Those numbers showed sales falling by 2.8%, the largest decline ever recorded. (Commerce Dept. measures sales in constant dollars, adjusted for inflation; PW reports sales in real dollars). The deepest decline came in auto sales, but even excluding car sales, retail sales were down 2.2% for the month. Sales at bookstores, sporting goods stores and hobby stores fell a total of 1.6% in the month on an adjusted basis.

Appeal Filed in 'Harry Potter Lexicon' Case
By John A. Sellers
Lawyers for RDR Books have filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals regarding Judge Robert P. Patterson’s ruling in J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.’s copyright infringement suit against the publisher. The appeal was filed on November 7 by RDR’s legal team, which includes lawyers from the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. In September, Judge Patterson ruled in favor of Rowling , issuing a permanent injunction against the publication of The Harry Potter Lexicon by Steven Vander Ark and awarding damages in the amount of $6,750.

Rowling and Warner Bros. sued RDR last fall to stop the publication of Vander Ark’s book, based on his Web site of the same name, claiming the book’s content would infringe on Rowling’s bestselling Harry Potter novels. Rowling, Vander Ark, publishing professionals and academics took the stand during three days of testimony this past April. Read on »

BookStream Slows As It Waits for Funding
by Judith Rosen
BookStream is counting on Santa coming early this year. Two and a half years after the indie distributor based in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., became fully operational, it has had to scale back its inventory while it awaits an infusion of cash. According to president and CEO Jack Herr, the capitalization could come as early as Thanksgiving, although that might still be too late for BookStream to take full advantage of Christmas sales, since it would take another three to five weeks to rebuild its inventory. Read on »

A Cavalcade of Authors at the Miami Book Fair International
By Oscar Pedro Musibay
Cultural critic, educator and philosopher Cornel West, his publisher, broadcaster Tavis Smiley and a cadre of nonfiction authors writing in both English and Spanish, dominated the first few days of the 25th annual Miami Book Fair International held at Miami Dade College in downtown Miami. The Miami Book Fair, which attracts more than 250,000 book-loving visitors during its eight-day run, hosts publishers, authors and vendors from all over the world. It’s signature “Evenings With” series features different authors each night, in both English and Spanish. The presentations build momentum toward the weekend street fair and author-palooza with 400 writers speaking to packed rooms throughout the college campus. Read on »

Rock Bottom Remainders Founder Honored
By Bridget Kinsella
Kathi Kamen Goldmark is known for many of her accomplishments in the book business—for being the media escort who founded the Rock Bottom Remainders, an author and radio producer; but among the San Francisco Bay Area literati she is perhaps best known as the person most likely to show up and support other writers. Last Saturday the Bay Area literati got to return the favor and came out to celebrate the Woman’s National Book Association’s presentation to Goldmark of its biennial award honoring a woman who has made “extraordinary contributions to promoting literacy, freedom of expression, a love of reading or women’s careers in the world of books.” Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Monday's Reviews Today: Short Stories & China Uncovered
Daniyal Mueenuddin's winning short story collection, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, set in Lahore, "invites the reader to a richly human, wondrous experience." And James Fallow's take on China, Postcards from Tomorrow Square, provides an "entertaining" and "candid outsider’s take on contemporary China." Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Quantum of Solace; Pregnant Man; Sin Boldly
Today, Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond movie, opens, starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright and Tim Pigott-Smith. Tie-ins include photographer Greg Williams’s Bond on Set: Filming Quantum of Solace (DK, 978-0756641207, $22) and Ian Fleming’s Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories (Penguin, 978-0143114581, $15; Blackstone CD, $19.95). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

'Ambulance' Chasers
On Monday, at a panel discussion/launch party for War is Beautiful: An American Ambulance Driver in the Spanish Civil War (New Press), a number of people came out to Instituto Cervantes in New York City to discuss James Neugass’ book, which was originally published in 1949. Pictured here (l. to r.) are: co-editors Peter N. Carroll and Peter Glazer, James Neugass' son, Jim Neugass, and (in the back row) New Press executive director Diane Wachtell. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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