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'Mockingjay' Lands in Bookstores
From a five-ft. mockingjay and a 17-ft. cornucopia with a four-ft. opening filled with books at Powell’s Books in Portland to seven mockingjays painted on the exterior of The King's English in Salt Lake City, booksellers found unique ways to celebrate Monday's midnight release of the final book in Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay.
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A 'Pretty Little Liars' Contest in Maine
Earlier this month, Kenny Brechner was typing titles of the Pretty Little Liars series into the computer at his store, DDG Booksellers in Farmington, Maine. He found himself using those PLL titles conversationally, to answer questions from his staff: "Yes, call Jim Bubier about his book, it would be wicked not to notify him of the delay." Then he had an idea, and the Pretty Little Liars Word Game Contest was born.
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Glenn Goldman's Books Go on the Auction Block
When he was alive, Glenn Goldman would have been proud to be judged by his book collection, acquired during his three decades as the proprietor of the legendary Book Soup in West Hollywood, Calif., before his untimely death in January 2009. The crowd that gathered on Sunday, August 22, at an auction house in Los Angeles might not have known the bookseller personally, but they were certainly aware of the value of his eclectic library.
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Alibris, Bookbyte Team to Offer Cheaper Textbooks
Alibris, an online marketplace for books and other media, has entered into a partnership with Bookbyte.com, an online retailer of used and new textbooks, that will give Bookbyte shoppers access to 100 million items, including new and used textbooks, offered for sale by Alibris' networks of independent resellers.
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Bierley Leaving Borders
A week before it is set to release second quarter results, Borders Group has announced that CFO Mark Bierley has resigned "to pursue another employment opportunity." Vice president Glen Tomaszewski has been named interim CFO, while Borders searches for a new CFO.
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Cost Cutting Raises Profits at Books-A-Million
Sales fell 2% for the second quarter ended July 31 at Books-A-Million due to what executives called a weak book lineup that led to a 3.2% drop in comparable store sales. Despite the sales drop, net income for the second quarter rose to $1.9 million up from $1.5 million in the comparable period last year. Executives attributed the improvement in profits to cost-cutting measures that included a "significant decrease" in store salaries and health insurance.
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GABBS in Boston Highlights Benefits of Bargain Books
Attendance may have been down 10% from last year's high of 268 buyers, but spirit was up for the Great American Bargain Book Show, which returned to Boston for the second year in a row on August 19 and 20. First-time bargain book buyers like Jan Hall of Partners Village Store and Kitchen in Westport, Mass., attended the show looking to make bargain work.
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BookMasters Goes Vertical
Over the past 38 years, the BookMasters Group in Ashland, Ohio, has grown from a print broker into a vertically integrated provider of printing, content, and distribution services. As recently as three years ago it was one of the best-kept secrets in fulfillment and distribution, even though it began offering both in 1988.
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B&N Nominates Two for Its Board of Directors
In the latest move at Barnes & Noble in advance of the national book retailer's September 28 annual meeting, David G. Golden and Dr. David A. Wilson have been nominated to stand for election to B&N's board of directors. The two will replace Michael Del Guidice and Lawrence Zilavy, who have decided not to stand for reelection. Golden is executive v-p and partner at Revolution LLC, an investment company, and Wilson is president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admission Council, a nonprofit education association.
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ABC and ABA to Present Merger Plan in September
It's been over a year and a half since the Association of Booksellers for Children first began exploring the possibility of merging with the American Booksellers Association as one way of securing its future. Now that possibility is moving a step closer, with the release of a merger plan early next month, and a vote in October.
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Chains, Fiction, Paperback Ruled in 2009
Although online retailers have been making deep inroads in the bookselling market, the major bookstore chains sold more units than their e-tailing competitors last year, according to Bowker's newly released "2009 Book Consumer Annual Review: U.S. Demographics & Buying Behaviors."
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Barnes & Noble, Burkle Talks Collapse
Negotiations between Barnes & Noble and its largest shareholder, Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, ended this afternoon without reaching an agreement that would end the dispute between the two parties. "Barnes & Noble and Yucaipa were unable to conclude an agreement on mutually acceptable terms," B&N said in a briefly worded statement.
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Layoffs at Borders Headquarters
Approximately one week after laying off 100 people in its Tennessee warehouse, Borders has eliminated an unspecified number of employees at the company headquarters. A spokesperson confirmed that layoffs took place, but declined to say how many or in what departments.
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Twin Cities Honor Odegard
The literati in the Twin Cities came out in full force Tuesday evening and gathered at the Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul to honor and help one of their own, local literary legend Dan Odegard. Odegard was diagnosed in January with multiple myeloma (plasma cancer). The tribute and fundraiser, called "Our Friend Dan," included readings by local memoirist Patricia Hampl and poet Deborah Keenan. All proceeds from the event will go to cover medical costs for Odegard.
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Rosen Named 'PW' Bookselling Editor
Judith Rosen, PW's longtime New England correspondent, has been named the magazine's new bookselling editor beginning September 1. Rosen will continue to cover the New England region from her Cambridge office, but will now expand her reporting on all areas of bookselling.
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Kobo Investment Ups Loss at Indigo Despite Sales Gain
Despite a C$10.7 million increase in revenues, Indigo Books & Music posted a C$5.3 million loss in its first quarter, which ended July 3, up from C$2.3 million last year. CEO Heather Reisman attributed the bigger loss to the company's heavy investment in the e-bookstore Kobo.
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B&N College Expands Textbook Rental Program
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers has expanded its multi-channel textbook rental program to hundreds of colleges and universities. B&N piloted its textbook rental program in January and a survey found that more than 90% of students said they would rent books from their campus bookstore again.
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Riggio in the Barnes & Noble Driver's Seat
The founder and chairman of the bookstore chain has never liked to operate under the spotlight that running a public company brings, one reason that over the years rumors have periodically surfaced that Riggio was considering taking B&N private.
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Used Books: On the Up and Up
Even before the recession hit, used-book sales were on the rise. During the past decade, they grew so rapidly that by April 2002 the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers attacked Amazon for placing new books at risk.
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B&N Annual Meeting Could Be Lively Affair
The Barnes & Noble annual meeting has been a quiet affair in recent years, but that was going to change when shareholder Ron Burkle said he was considering proposing an alternative slate to run for the board of directors, and interest in the meeting, set for September 28, has been heightened by the distinct possibility that Burkle and B&N chairman Len Riggio could be competing for ownership of the retailer. B&N's recently released proxy statement, while giving the date for the meeting, does not list a time or place; traditionally the meeting has been held at B&N's New York headquarters.
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