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Powell's Rehires Some Employees to Handle Online Orders
A surge in online sales at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., has allowed the bookseller to rehire 49 previously laid off union employees, ILWU Local 5 has confirmed. They are now working alongside more than 50 people in management to fulfill orders.
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This Week's Bestsellers: March 30, 2020
As day care centers and schools in the areas of the country hardest hit by coronavirus shut down, ‘My First Learn-to-Write Workbook’ is the #1 book in the country. Plus adults holed up at home are coloring like it’s 2015, and ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ lights up on Hulu.
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Print Unit Sales Fell 5% in Mid-March
Unit sales of print books fell 5% in the week ended Mar. 21, 2020, compared to the similar week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan.
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B&N Temporarily Closes 400 Outlets
The retailer has temporarily closed about 400 stores to the public as it works with state and local official to comply with shelter-in-place rules. At many outlets that are closed for in-store shopping, B&N is continuing to offer curbside pickup for online orders.
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How Regional Indie Bookstore Associations Are Helping
Regional independent booksellers associations are working to support their members with information, digital resources, virtual events, promotions, and more.
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Care Packages Help Bookstores Amid Covid-19 Closures
Two West Coast booksellers have found success with custom care packages during Covid-19 closures, shipping books, gifts, and cards to customers.
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Print Units Held Steady Last Week
A huge gain in unit sales in the juvenile nonfiction category helped to offset declines in adult nonfiction and juvenile fiction, keeping print unit sales last week even with the previous week at outlets that report to BookScan.
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Bookstores Seek Essential Exemptions
Bookstores in numerous states are facing a crush of online sales, offering delivery and pickup to customers, and applying for waivers to keep doing so as public health orders grow more strict.
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Two Indie Bookstores In Chicago Closed Their Doors Right After They Opened—and These Authors Are Trying to Help
Chicago authors are spotlighting the unique plight of two local indies that both closed to walk-in traffic on March 16: one bookstore that was only officially open for one day, and another that had changed ownership two weeks earlier.
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Unemployed NYC Booksellers Launch Online Bookstore
More than a dozen out-of-work booksellers in New York City have launched The Bookstore at the End of the World on Bookshop.org, to "make money doing what they do best."
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Binc Steps In for Booksellers in Need
Binc, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, has emerged as one of the few reliable sources of financial support for independent booksellers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Diamond Halts Shipments of New Comics to Comics Shops
Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest distributor of comics in North America, announced that it will cease the delivery of weekly published comics until further notice.
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Shipping Delays Hit Books, Other Products, at Amazon
The surge at Amazon for such items as household staples and health and medical goods has resulted in extended shipping times for other products, including books.
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Indie Black Booksellers, Publishers Hold National Pandemic Conference Call
A coalition of African-American independent booksellers and publishers convened a national video conference call to survey the state of black books around the country in the wake of the new coronavirus pandemic.
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Strand, Books & Books Lay Off, Furlough Booksellers
The Strand Book Store in New York confirmed Sunday that 188 employees, the majority of the bookstore’s staff, have been let go in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Miami's Books & Books has furloughed 80 of its own.
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This Week's Bestsellers: March 23, 2020
Memoirist and motivational speaker Glennon Doyle has the #1 book in the country with ‘Untamed.’ Plus Hilary Mantel wraps up her Wolf Hall trilogy with ‘The Mirror & the Light,’ #2 in the country, and novelist Kate Elizbeth Russell debuts with ‘My Dark Vanessa.’
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Print Unit Sales Down 5.7% in Mid-March
A large decline in the adult nonfiction segment dropped sales of print units 5.7% in the week ended Mar. 14, 2020, compared to the similar week in 2019, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan.
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Powell's Closes for Eight Weeks as Laid Off Employees Fire Back
In a letter to employees, Emily Powell, owner of Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., said the store would be closed for a minimum of eight weeks, forcing layoffs. Former employees rejected her explanation, saying it "added insult to injury."
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B&N's Daunt: 'Books Are Essential'
While total sales have fallen slightly since the outbreak of the new coronavirus at Barnes & Noble, company CEO James Daunt is confident the bookstore chain can continue to be a profitable venture with one provision—that it is allowed to keep its stores open.
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ABA Donates $100K to BINC, Offers Strong Support
American Booksellers Association CEO Allison Hill said the organization had donated $100,000 to the Binc Foundation. In addition, it is reducing membership fees, paying out for e-commerce faster, and running a daily open forum for members.
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