Effective January 1, Quirk Books, Philadelphia, Pa., will be warehoused, distributed and sold worldwide by Random House Publisher Services. The three-year deal encompasses print and e-books.

Quirk has been distributed by Chronicle Books since its founding in 2002. Chronicle was the publisher in 1999 of The Worst-Case Scenario Handbook, co-written by Quirk Books founder and publisher David Borgenicht.

"We've had an incredible partnership with Chronicle Books," Borgenicht said in a statement. "Together, we have created many publishing successes, and I am grateful to have been able to team up with them. In this ever-changing publishing landscape, our new relationship with Random House will open up new and significant opportunities while building upon our previous achievements."

Quirk sales director Jessica Schmidt emphasized that "the reach of Random House's sales teams across all market channels nationwide is equally matched by their top-notch operational systems and services."

Jeff Abraham, president of Random House Publisher Services, said that Quirk's "success in reaching multiple market segments--trade, special, and international--is a perfect fit for our approach."

 

 

Slide show of the day: MyCentralJersey.com's 31 pictures documenting the Sunday move of Clinton Book Shop, Clinton, N.J., via "book brigade" to its new old building two blocks away.

 

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"It might be hard to imagine, but there was once a 'book row' in downtown Los Angeles," the Los Angeles Times observed, adding that now "the Caravan Book Store may be all that remains of the row, which extended along 6th Street from Hill to Figueroa streets."

Leonard Bernstein, Caravan's owner, hopes downtown revitalization will lure new bookshops: "I welcome the other independent bookstores. There's room for more of them. A community of bookstores is better than one…or none. This is my world here, where I feel comfortable. I plan to stay."

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Dog-Eared Pages Used Books, Phoenix, Ariz., and its popular discussion groups were profiled in the Arizona Republic, which noted that the shop, owned by Thom Butcher and Melanie Tighe, "with its hardwood floors (it used to be a dance studio) and maze of bookshelves is homey, with plenty of places to sit after pulling a book down to peruse."

"We have a lot of fun," Butcher said of the Venerable Scholars Committee discussion group. "We've discussed energy, budgets, taxes, health care. Oh, my goodness, they still want to talk about health care. "

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Ingram Content Group president and CEO Skip Prichard has sent "deep gratitude" to publishers who have expressed their concern and contributed to a relief fund for Ingram employees affected by the flooding early this month in Tennessee, some of whom suffered "massive losses."

Contributions to the special relief fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee can be made at www.cfmt.org/ingram.

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A new Amazon.com statistic: there are now more than one million books eligible for the e-tailer's textbook buyback program, under which students can trade in textbooks for a credit with Amazon.

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Video of the day: FineMoustaches, starring the Bronte Sisters Power Dolls by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. This was a fake commercial made in 1998 and never aired for a series of educational shorts about action figures based on historical figures. In it, the Brontes fight "evil publishers to get their books into print."

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Congratulations to Open Books, the Chicago, Ill., nonprofit that operates a bookstore, provides community programs and mobilizes volunteers to promote literacy, which has won the Social Enterprise Alliance's Award for Innovation.

"We believe Open Books has introduced a method of advancing its primary social mission through entrepreneurial strategies that are genuinely unique and effective," Jerr Boschee, Alliance interim president and CEO, said. "For those of us who have been in the field of social enterprise for decades, as I have been, it's wonderful to be surrounded by innovators like Open Books who are always breaking down paradigms and finding new routes to old destinations."

Founded in 2006, Open Books has a store in River North that has more than 50,000 donated titles.

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Having a bad day? You might be perfectly qualified to take the Guardian's "literary bad days quiz."

Last Wednesday Oxford University Press celebrated the launch of Oxford Bibliographies Online--the press's first online-only product--in New York City. On line (from l.): Colleen Scollans, v-p of sales and marketing, OUP; Sarah Ultsch, marketing director, OUP; Rebecca Seger, marketing and sales director, OUP; Nigel Portwood, CEO of OUP; and Tim Barton, president of Oxford University Press USA.

During the ABA's Day of Education on Tuesday, May 25, at the Javits Center, the following nuts-and-bolts sessions aimed at booksellers are scheduled:

From 10:15 to 11:45 a.m., the "It's a Wrap" Video Lab is a hands-on lab in which participants will learn how to shoot a short video, transfer the video from camera to computer and get the clip to blog, website or Facebook page. People interested in attending should e-mail presenter Paige Poe, ABA's marketing manager, at paige@bookweb.org and put "video lab" in the subject line.

During the same time period, at the Techniques & Tactics for Online Website Promotion presentation, ABA technology director Matt Supko will discuss how booksellers can make the most of their websites, increase audiences and increase sales.

Also from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m., at the It's in the Payroll session, ABA COO Len Vlahos will focus on payroll control. This is suitable for stores of all sizes.

From 12:45 to 2:15 p.m., at the large store roundtable, owners and managers of large stores are invited to discuss issues of interest.

In the same time period, at the Business of Accepting Credit & Debit Cards session, Michael Barnard, owner of Rakestraw Books, Danville, Calif., offers advice about the basics of credit and debit cards, "from managing procedures to ensure you are getting the best rate to understanding PCI compliance."

Also from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m., the IndieBound Workshop focuses on how booksellers can use the ABA program to create events, sales opportunities and awareness with other independent businesses. Presenters: ABA membership and marketing officer Meg Smith and ABA marketing manager Paige Poe.

From 2:30 to 4 p.m., at the small- and mid-sized store roundtable, owners and managers of small- and mid-sized stores are invited to discuss issues of interest. Moderator is Sylla McClellan, owner of Third Street Books in McMinnville, Ore.

At the same time, booksellers not using IndieCommerce may learn about the program, formerly called BookSense.com, and see a demo. IndieCommerce has adopted Drupal, which has improved the program. Presenter: Matt Supko, ABA technology director.

Also from 2:30 to 4 p.m., the Succession Planning: Valuing Your Business panel will focus on, among other things, how to increase and assess the value of a bookstore and options for selling or otherwise leaving the business. Moderator: Barbara Theroux, Fact and Fiction, Missoula, Mont. Panelists: Pete Mulvihill, Green Apple Books, San Francisco, Calif., Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, Conn., and Herbert Marks, SCORE, Counselor to America's Small Businesses.

Last but not least, from 2:30 to 4 p.m., the Nuts & Bolts of Children's Bookselling will feature tables where discussions will focus on a particular topic, including selection and shelving, creative display ideas, events, the mechanics of receiving and returns, managing co-op, community networking and partnerships and more. Co-sponsored by the Association of Booksellers for Children.

 

This morning on Good Morning America: Adam Lang, author of BBQ 25 (HarperStudio, $19.99, 9780061990236/006199023X).

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Tomorrow morning on Imus in the Morning: Ben Bradlee and Quinn Bradlee, authors of A Life's Work: Fathers and Sons (Simon & Schuster, $19.99, 9780684808956/0684808951).

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Tomorrow morning on Live with Regis and Kelly: Beth Ostrosky Stern, author of Oh My Dog: How to Choose, Train, Groom, Nurture, Feed, and Care for Your New Best Friend (Gallery, $25.99, 9781439160299/1439160295).

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Tomorrow on Oprah: Geneen Roth, author of Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything (Scribner, $24, 9781416543077/1416543074).

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Tomorrow on the View: Jay Mohr, author of No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales from a Stand-Up Dad (Simon & Schuster, $25, 9781439173213/1439173214). He will also appear tomorrow on Imus in the Morning and the Joy Behar Show.

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Tomorrow on Tavis Smiley: Isabel Allende, author of Island Beneath the Sea (Harper, $26.99, 9780061988240/0061988243).

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Tomorrow on NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim, authors of Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat (Free Press, $16.99, 9781439166420/1439166420).

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Tomorrow night on the Colbert Report: Deepak Chopra, co-author of The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self (HarperOne, $25.99, 9780061962653/0061962651). He's also on the Early Show tomorrow.

 

Martin Scorsese's adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, which was filmed at a toyshop in Paris's Gare du Nord, is "one of five productions awarded a French tax break for international shoots" from the Centre National du Cinema (CNC), Variety reported.

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Melanie Thierry, Carole Bouquet and Andre Dussollier will star in Andre Techine's Unforgivable, adapted from the novel by Philippe Djian. Variety noted that the film will be introduced to buyers at Cannes and the "10-week shoot kicks off this week in Venice."

 

Grand prize, winners, runners-up and honorable mentions for the many Eric Hoffer Book Awards may be found here.

 

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, May 18:

61 Hours by Lee Child (Delacorte, $28, 9780385340588/0385340583) is the 14th thriller with former military policeman Jack Reacher.

Storm Prey by John Sandford (Putnam, $27.95, 9780399156496/0399156496) is the 20th Lucas Davenport mystery.

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (Razorbill, $17.99, 9781595142504/1595142509) is book five of the Vampire Academy series.

 

Glenn Taylor was born and raised in Huntington, W.Va. His first novel, The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, was a 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and a Barnes & Noble Discover pick. His second novel, The Marrowbone Marble Company, is being published today by Ecco. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife and three sons.

On your nightstand now:

It's become a dumping ground for recent gifts from family members. I read these books in short bursts before falling asleep. From my sister: Letters to a Young Teacher by Jonathan Kozol. Consider this: "fighting to defend that right to celebrate each perishable day and hour in a child's life may, in the current climate of opinion, be one of the greatest challenges we have." From my brother-in-law: Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend by Larry Tye. Satchel Paige was much more than a ballplayer.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I found it in a bargain bin at a fundraiser when I was about 10--Somebody Up There Likes Me by Rocky Graziano. I still have it. An old dime-store paperback held together by a rubber band.

Your top five authors:

Though the reasons may be different, the reason for each one is good and real. These are the writers who have had the greatest impact on me over the last decade: Joseph Mitchell, Louise McNeill, Frank X. Walker, Jim Comstock and Rick Bragg.

Book you've faked reading:

There are so many. I wasn't always the most diligent student of literature in school. What comes to mind are things like The Age of Innocence and The Portrait of a Lady.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Refuge by Dot Jackson. A true and beautiful novel.
 
Book you've bought for the cover:

From the Smithsonian Institution, a book simply titled Human. Consider the lines in a human being's hand. See where that takes you.
 
Book that changed your life:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It made me think of my sons and myself as a father, in a particular way I hadn't before. This is both good and bad, of course. Simultaneously it is life-affirming and horrifying.

Favorite line from a book:

"I have gulled the pith from a sumac limb
To play a tune that my blood remembers."
--Epigraph for The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, from former West Virginia poet Laureate Louise McNeill.
 
Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Joe Gould's Secret by Joseph Mitchell.