News
Del Rey Publishing is offering a free download of the first title in the bestselling
Star Wars series, Legacy of the Force, in PDF, audio book, and eBook formats.
This promotion will run for two weeks, from 9:00 a.m. Tuesday April 29th until midnight on Tuesday, May 13th.
The free download is available here.
Vroman's Bookstore "Bookseller of the Year"
| PASADENA, CA, March 11, 2008 - Publishers Weekly, the International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling announced today that Vroman's Bookstore from Pasadena, California has been named Bookseller of the Year 2008. This coveted award is the industry's highest honor, recognizing an independent bookstore that has demonstrated excellence in buying, marketing, hand selling, customer service, community involvement, management-employee relations, merchandising, innovation and uniqueness as well as business operations. Past winners include: 2007 Changing Hands, Tempe, Arizona 2006 Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vermont 2005 Book People, Austin, Texas Vroman's Bookstore was founded in 1894 by Adam Clark Vroman. "He believed in books, philanthropy, community and people: his employees and his customers," said Allison Hill, Vroman's President and COO. "We honor his legacy by staying true to those core values. We gauge our success by our ability to run a profitable business while committing ourselves to doing the right thing for our employees, for our customers and for our community." Vroman's offers a profit sharing plan to employees to recognize and reward their contribution to the store's success. Last year, $80,000 was contributed to the plan for the benefit of employees. The store also offers staff scholarships for booksellers to attend trade shows and industry events. "I could wax poetic for pages on what a great service they provide to their community, their responsiveness to customers, their ability to hand sell staff favorites, the quality of their selection, the way their listen to their sales reps, how well they promote their events, etc. etc. etc," said Macmillian rep Marshall Presnick. |
DUTTON'S BRENTWOOD CLOSING ITS DOORS |
| Los Angeles, CA, February 25, 2008 - It is with profound regret and sorrow that Dutton's Brentwood Books must announce that it will be closing on April 30, 2008. As our regular customers and friends well know, the past year for the store has been one of upheaval and turmoil. Hard on the heels of the closure of the Dutton's Beverly Hills location came word that the Brentwood property had changed ownership, and the new owner, Charles T. Munger, announced plans to redevelop the property. The multiple uncertainties of the bookstore's future, combined with the encumbrances associated with the closure of the Beverly Hills store have crippled the store's ability to provide the kind of immediate service and depth of inventory that our customers have come to rightly expect. It is no secret that the store today is a shadow of its former self. Given our situation as it now stands, the pride we feel in our past achievements, and the vagaries of the current book market, shuttering our doors seems the only realistic solution. It is important to note that Charles Munger has committed to a significant amount of financial support for the difficult process of closing the store, and we appreciate his generosity. Be assured, especially those of you who have regularly asked, "How are things going at the store," that every effort has been made to try to sensibly and rationally save this enterprise. Those efforts continued up until last week. It is the uncertainty that has, more than any other factor, led us to this painful decision. It has arrested improvement to the physical property, impacted inventory, and made it impossible for our extraordinary staff to provide the level of service that they are accustomed to giving. We have been asked if the store will reopen in the proposed new development, or at another site in the area. At present, any plans to reopen or relocate will have to await a real offer in a real situation, combined with a sober assessment of the realities of the book world. That said, we have not said "no" to any future possibility. The one certainty that we have relied upon for our many years at this location is the honest and dedicated support by this community to the value of books and bookstores in general, and to this one in particular. This is a demonstrable fact, proven repeatedly, and while we openly acknowledge our debt to our customers for their years, and even decades, of support, we further ask for your understanding and forbearance in the extremely difficult months ahead. |
2/07/2008
The staff of Mrs. Nelson’s recently got the chance to sit down and have lunch with the new (soon to be bestselling) author Michael Reisman at a lovely restaurant in downtown
Observing Michael Reisman's life has its share of interesting moments. Why, just last Thursday he met with an excellent Penguin books publicist and a number of charming
The booksellers were tolerant of this, somehow restraining themselves from clubbing Michael silly with the copies of SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER laying around. Conveniently enough, the weirdest-food winner might well have been the people who tried the restaurant's bleu cheese ice cream.
Yes, that's right, bleu cheese ice cream. Michael tasted some and declared that, in his mind, bleu cheese is better suited for buffalo wings than for ice cream. (He and I are in agreement, there.) I wish Michael had thought to bring a camera to the event so there could be action photos of the lunch, the booksellers, and the bleu cheese. But he didn't, so there aren't. (Re-read the title of this blog-post for the explanation.)
The only other news in Michael's thrill-a-decade life is that he's gotten two excellent reviews for his upcoming book. Of course, the accolades really belong to me -- after all, it's My Chronicle. He only had it published. But he's reprinted the reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly on his website here: http://michaelreisman.com/index.php?page=news
You can view more of Michael’s blog here and click the video below to view a short movie Michael created to accompany The Gravity Keeper.
2/05/2008
A Letter from the National Ambassador for Children’s Literature, Jon Scieszka (from a recent article in Children’s Bookshelf)
Dear Bookshelf Readers,
It has been a weirdly wild month. The whole combination of touring for Trucktown with Dave Gordon, Loren Long and Dave Shannon, and simultaneous Ambassador touring, has combined into a perfect storm of kid mania. I've been received by my people with small open arms.
Here, for instance, is a partial list of suggestions from Ambassador fans big and small of what I should receive as Ambassador:
cape
sash
laurel wreath/crown
bejewelled goblet
those little flags for my car
guards for my embassy
an Apache attack helicopter (my idea)
jetpack
Popemobile
jetpack-Popemobile
instant restaurant reservations anywhere, anytime
a fancy uniform
medals
epaulets
a Captain Crunch style admiral's hat (Dave Shannon's suggestion)
Secret Service Franking privileges (mine also)
lifetime diplomatic immunity, for anything (ditto)
a million dollars (surprisingly not mine, but very nice)
official seal diplomatic pouch rank above TSA officials
Ambassador underwear
championship wrestling style belt
require everyone to address me as "Your Excellency" or "Your Eminence"
A butt of Malmsey (traditional payment for England's Poet Laureate)
I'm thinking we should implement ALL of the ideas.
But the best, the absolute best tribute so far was my reception at the
I liked it so much that I went out and came in three more times. And Dave Shannon was with me, so I had them play it for him as Vice-Ambassador—
only half of it, and twice as fast.
It's been very cool to actually get the attention of the ever-fickle media to get across the message that we can and should let our kids read for pleasure. And that there are all kinds of good books out there that kids will want to read.
I have gotten an avalanche of requests. Some of them weird, but most of them heartfelt. The CBC is fielding more every day, looking for events important on a national scale.
I'm also working on a plan to promote the best of every publisher's list for Reluctant Readers, deputizing teachers, librarians, booksellers, parents, kids, and anybody who's found a book that works. Details to be released soon.
Oh, and Dave Shannon also taught a library full of 250 K and first graders the "traditional" way to say goodbye to the Ambassador: both arms straight up overhead, bowing/salaaming farewell. Priceless. Though my wife is not too crazy about doing it every time (or humming the Fanfare, now that I think of it).
Bum bum-bum Baaaahh!
Salaam,
Ambassador Jon
1/01/2008
Amulet, Book One; The Stonekeeper
A great new graphic novel has just hit the book shelves and it already has people buzzing. Written and illustrated by the immensely talented Kazu Kibuishi, this book is the first in a series which was purchased by Scholastic in a heated bidding war. Fans of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” will love the action and humor as well as the breath-taking artwork.
Book Description:
“Emily and Navin are moving, again. After a road accident took their father from them, their mother has decided it’s time to move to their grandfather’s old home deep in the woods. Grandpa Silas was an inventor, though, and there are a number of peculiar creations and creatures lurking in the home. When their mother is taken captive by a monster that looks like a cross between an octopus and a spider, though, the two are forced to cross into another world where a mysterious amulet is guiding them towards their last chance to save their family—and a lot of danger as well.”
Media Links:
* Click here to view more details about the book.
* Browse other books by Kazu here.
* Read an excerpt from the new novel here!
* Read an interview with Kazu on Newsarama.com
* Read a short Publisher's Weekly article from 2005
* Visit Kazu at his homepage, BoltCity.com
* View "The Future of Graphic Literature" panel discussion here.