Following closely on the heels of Amazon.com's decision to end its "business relationships" with marketing affiliates in North Carolina (Shelf Awareness, June 29, 2009), the company has made a similar move in Rhode Island.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon "sent an email to its Rhode Island affiliates on Monday saying that it was closing their accounts immediately." This was in response to a bill passed by the state legislature recently "that would force companies to collect sales taxes if they have online-marketing affiliates--businesses that get a sales commission by featuring links to outside e-commerce sites on their own Web sites--in the state."
Rebecca Madigan of Performance Marketing Alliance "estimates there are some 2,000 online affiliates in Rhode Island, who pay about $3 million in state income tax," according to the Journal. "We're seeing small businesses being hit," she said. "They are the collateral damage through all of this legislation, which inaccurately classifies affiliate marketers as sales agents."
North Scituate resident Lydia Walshin, who writes the Perfect Pantry food blog, told the Providence Business News that "she was 'dismayed' to receive Amazon's e-mail this morning notifying her that the company had closed her affiliate account."
"I've been a happy Amazon.com affiliate for three years, and belong to other affiliate programs as well," she added. "If all of the programs pull out of Rhode Island, doesn't that defeat the purpose of including this tax in the budget?"
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Barnes & Noble has joined the book app world with a bookstore application for iPhone and iPod Touch. The company said it had also partnered with LinkMe Mobile from Evryx Technologies, Inc. and Spotlight Mobile, Inc. "so that users can simply snap a photo to search millions of products. Using the iPhone camera, just snap a photo of the front cover and within seconds get product details, editorial reviews, and customer ratings--even find and reserve a copy in the store closest to you. The store locator will help you find the Barnes & Noble store nearest you, see upcoming events, and get directions."
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Calling Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse a "part of the Washington landscape, just like the Palm or FedEx Field," the Washington Post profiled the bookstore in celebration of its 25th anniversary (the Post article was off by five years).
"Our primary criteria is the books be thoughtful or stimulating," said co-owner Barbara Meade. "The criteria for chain stores appears to be entertaining or diverting."
Meade and co-owner Carla Cohen "view themselves as impresarios. Adding value. Padding around the premises. Schmoozing," the Post observed.
"It's about the nurturing thing," said Cohen. "We offer smiling faces and a sense of place."
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"Is this the future bookstore?" asked the Boston Globe in a piece about the Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vt., and "Lurch," the staff's nickname for the Espresso Book Machine currently in residence at the bookshop.
"This has added an entirely new element to the bookstore," said manager Chris Morrow. "The idea is that soon we'll be able to print out any book that's ever been printed. That could really change people's image of the small bookstore."
In addition to potentially connecting patrons with millions of books, however, the Northshire "discovered that the machine's ability to print original books in very small numbers was attracting a lively customer base of local authors," the Globe reported.
"Self-publishing was a plus we didn't expect," said Annette Rodefeld, Northshire's print-on-demand coordinator, adding that "It's exciting to see an author's face when I hand them the first book off the press. To see the dream, the fantasy, become a reality--that really tickles me. I get to be Santa Claus all the time here."
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The New England Children's Booksellers Association's Spring Galley Top Ten List features an interactive web page this year, with images linking to IndieBound. The full NECBA Spring Galley Review Project is also available in PDF format.
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Do not mess with Twitter. Author Alice Hoffman stirred up controversy when she reacted to Roberta Silman's review of The Story Sisters in Sunday's Boston Globe. The New York Times reported that, in a series of tweets, Hoffman called the reviewer "a moron" and encouraged fans to "Tell her what u think of snarky critics."
By Monday, Hoffman's Twitter account had been deleted, and a statement issued through her publisher, Crown imprint Shaye Areheart Books, said, "I feel this whole situation has been completely blown out of proportion. . . . Of course, I was dismayed by Roberta Silman's review, which gave away the plot of the novel, and in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn't. I'm sorry if I offended anyone. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions, and that's the name of the game in publishing. I hope my readers understand that I didn't mean to hurt anyone and I'm truly sorry if I did."
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Chelsea Green is offering a library "Wish List" gift registry, which allows librarians to select new books from the publisher's list and direct their patrons to the company's website, where they can buy titles at a 40% discount and have them shipped free-freight to designated libraries. The company noted that all types of libraries are eligible to participate, including public, school, academic and special.
"Libraries have been struggling in these challenging times, and this is one way we can help them stay competitive and current, especially with sustainability and green living titles," said sales director Peg O’Donnell.
Chelsea Green's Library Gift Registry will be unveiled at the American Library Association convention in Chicago, July 11-14. The publisher added that librarians who sign up for the program (even online from their hometowns) between July 9-15 will qualify for a raffle of $500 worth of Chelsea Green titles.
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Sourcebooks announced the winners of its National Poetry Month contest, held in conjunction with independent booksellers, for kids 7-10 years old. Each participant wrote a poem using one of four suggested categories (silly, rhyming, hip-hop or non-rhyming). The winning poets and participating bookstores will receive in-person visits by Nikki Giovanni or Kenn Nesbitt, who will present the winner with a personal signed copy of their book and perform a reading.
The winners were a silly poem, "Pink Giraffe," by Lucy Zimmerman (age 10), submitted through Anderson's Bookstore, Naperville, Ill.; and a hip-hop poem by Frances Aldana (age 9), submitted by Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla.
"We are absolutely over-the-moon excited that Frances’ poem won," said Debra Linn, events and marketing coordinator at Books & Books. "We had so much fun with our in-store and in-school poetry workshops for this contest, that winning seems like too much good fortune. And the fact that we get a visit from our dear Nikki Giovanni--well, that's just an embarrassment of riches."
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Two Edgar Award-winning writers are joining forces for a book tour and "they're looking to see some true crime-related sites along the way." The Busted Flush Press Blog reported that Megan Abbott, author of Bury Me Deep, and Theresa Schwegel, author of Last Known Address (they also contributed to the female noir anthology, A Hell of a Woman, edited by Abbott), are seeking "places like the Scottsdale hotel where Hogan's Heroes' Bob Crane was residing when he was murdered, or the bank Bonnie and Clyde robbed back in 1930, or the strip club Jack Ruby used to own before he shot Oswald."
The blog, which lists their tour schedule, already has suggestions posted by readers and invites anyone to post or e-mail additional possibilities.
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Effective immediately, Simon & Schuster is handling worldwide sales for all lines of books publishing by Kaplan Publishing. S&S has been the distributor of all Kaplan trade and test prep titles since January 2007. The new arrangement with S&S's sales and distribution division aims to expand sales of Kaplan books. During the last year, the company published more than 200 titles.
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A recent small trend in the ever-crowded parenting genre has produced several memoirs written by smart women (most often in their 40s) that question and comment on the state of modern motherhood. Although some have been more successful than others, all share a sardonic, sharp and often funny approach to their subject. With its clever title and packaging, Hell Is Other Parents promises all of those elements but ends up delivering quite a bit more.