TODAY'S NEWS

NEIBA Accentuates the Positives
by Judith Rosen
The days of regional trade shows being ordering shows may be over, but they still serve an important function by facilitating a dialogue between booksellers and publishers. So much so that last week's 35th annual New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) trade show, which was back in Boston after an absence of three years, opened with a literal "Conversation" among Bob Miller, president and publisher of HarperStudio; Jonathan Karp, publisher and editor-in-chief at Twelve at Hachette; and independent booksellers. "I thought it was a great show," said Beacon Press associate publisher and director of sales and marketing Tom Hallock. "With less conflicts between programming and floor time, the focus really was on interactions between publishers and booksellers." To promote those interactions even more, HarperCollins sales people stickered their favorite galleys. V-p of field sales Jeanette Zwart's pick was Daniel Bergner's A Map of Desire (Ecco, Feb.), while sales representatives Anne de Courcey and Karen Gudmundson chose Toni Jordan's debut novel, Addition (Morrow, Feb.). Read on »

Harvard Common Press Launches Trademarked Series
By Lynn Andriani
In 2005, the Harvard Common Press published Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. It was a tremendous hit for the Boston independent, even in the competitive field of slow cooker books (an Amazon search for "slow cooker cookbooks" yields some 525 results). HCP followed up with Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two (2006) and Not Your Mother's Recipes for Entertaining (2007). The books went on to become the press' bestselling series ever in its 32-year history, with more than 500,000 copies sold to date. As a result of the unprecendented success, has HCP trademarked the name Not Your Mother's, designed a Web site at NotYourMothersCookbooks.com and is expanding the Not Your Mother's series to include books that venture beyond slow cookers. First up: Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking. Read on »

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Authors Sign On for Books4Barack
by Bridget Kinsella
Since novelist Ayelet Waldman launched Books4Barack on September 3, the long-time supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has raised almost $120,000. The began when Waldman (author of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Daughter's Keeper and The Mommy Track Mysteries) e-mailed a few politically like-minded writer friends to see if they wanted to donate signed copies of their books to entice people to donate to Obama's campaign. "It went viral," Waldman said, thanks in no small part to her husband Michael Chabon and friends like Amy Tan who helped spread the word. The story found its way to the blog and listserv worlds. Read on »

BEC 2009 Confirmed for June
by Josh Kerbel
Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, BookExpo Canada is staying put for now. According to Bonnie Pashley-Tassé, sales executive for Reed Exhibitions, owner of BEC, the 2009 show will be held June 21 and 22, 2009 in Toronto. A number of Canadian houses had been pushing for the show to be moved to September, feeling it would serve as a push for the holiday season. Read on »

The PW Morning Report
by Dermot McEvoy
Barney Rosset is Obscene; Doubling Jewel; Suite Francaise Exhibit; Baldwin Promotes; American Psycho to Broadway; and Celebrating "Blumesday" Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Jenny McCarthy; Alec Baldwin; Dennis Lehane
Today, Oprah chats with Jenny McCarthy, whose Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds (Dutton, $24.95; Blackstone unabridged CD, $19.95) pubbed yesterday. After the jump: Alec Baldwin, Robert Wagner, Dennis Lehane, Thomas L. Friedman, cancer survivor Kris Carr and Starbucks' latest book pick: The House at Sugar Beach. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Going Up in Hot Air
On Saturday author, Merle Good artist P. Buckley Moss launched the latest title in their children's book series, Reuben and the Balloon (Good Books), with a hot air balloon ride over Lancaster County, Penn. Three readers, chosen in a drawing at The People's Place Gallery and Book Shoppe in Intercourse, Penn., joined Moss and Good. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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