Marva Allen, owner of Hue-Man Bookstore, is one of the driving forces behind The Power of One, a small-business neighborhood revitalization initiative in Harlem, where the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce reported that more than 35% of small businesses have shut down during the past 18 months.

Allen "realized that the area's small-business owners lacked the kind of mutual support system that she had been a part of when she was building her successful book-selling business," DNAinfo.com reported.

"I figured everyone was getting a stimulus package," she said. "Even though small businesses make up 59% of employment in the U.S., we are treated like second-class citizens. Gentrification is a good thing when it brings jobs to an area, but something needs to be done to preserve what gives a community its uniqueness."

Described as "part marketing campaign, part social action network," the Power of One consortium urges residents to invest in their community by supporting local businesses. The group's goal is to sell one million $1 cards in the next six months.

With Power of One cards, shoppers earn discounts when they shop at area stores. Funds raised through the sale of the cards "will go toward subsidizing the discounts provided by participating small businesses, and finance a micro-loan program for entrepreneurs. Some of the remaining funds will go toward operating expenses, Allen said, and the rest will be used to underwrite a local beautification initiative and help out five local charities," DNAinfo.com wrote.

"Unity is what makes things work, not competition," said Allen. "Together we achieve more."

 

Dominique Raccah, founder and CEO of Sourcebooks, received the Chicago Book Clinic's Sue Nisson Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual who has been successful in the publishing industry and shown a new path and willingness to share their success and knowledge with others. Previous winners include Studs Terkel, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, bookseller Carl Kroch and columnist Bob Greene.

"The success of Sourcebooks alone has shown that Dominique has not only understood how to compete in the publishing industry, but also how to pursue the changes and challenges our industry faces," said Eric Platou, president-elect of the Chicago Book Clinic. "Dominique's willingness to discuss and share these strategies with other publishers and professionals in our industry so that they too have the opportunity to pursue similar successful outcomes makes her a perfect choice for the Sue Nisson Distinguished Service Award."

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China Mobile has launched "an e-book store similar to Apple's iBook store," People's Daily Online reported. 

"Reading habits have fundamentally changed," said Gao Nianshu, general manager of the company's data department, who expressed hope that the new platform will have more than 200 million users in the near future. He noted the e-book platform attracted more than 15 million users during four months of testing in eight areas; and that it will also support the iPad.

According to figures from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, "cellphone users in the country reached 780 million at the end of March. Of that group, mobile readers surpassed 155 million," People's Daily Online wrote. 

"Mobile reading has become a popular service with mobile Internet users in China," analyst Zhang Yanan observed, while cautioning that even though approximately 45% of Chinese mobile Internet users read books at least once a day on mobile phones, few are willing to pay for online content.

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Facebook's new "Community Pages" for celebrities and brands feature "a number of publishing figures, including Stephen King and Kathryn Stockett. Out of the 'big six' publishers, Hachette, HarperCollins, Random House, and Simon and Schuster all have Community Pages," according to GalleyCat, which also reported that a Community Page still exists for author Cory Doctorow, who deleted his personal Facebook account last week in protest over privacy issues.

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Author Max Lucado will join musicians TobyMac, Michael W. Smith and Third Day for the World Vision "Make A Difference Tour 2010," which will be held in 20 arenas nationwide later this year. You can find a complete tour schedule here.

Inspired by themes from Lucado's upcoming book, Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference, the tour is helping to find sponsors for 25,000 children through World Vision. Lucado has pledged to donate 100% of author royalties from all Outlive Your Life products to benefit children and families through World Vision and other ministries of faith-based compassion.

"Partnering with World Vision, TobyMac, Michael and Third Day is a real privilege and pleasure," said Lucado. "None of us can help everyone, but all of us can help someone. "
 
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Tales of book tour world--sports edition. Rick Reilly, author of Hell: My Search for the World's Dumbest Competition, shared stories from his recent book tour in his column at ESPN.com.

"I don't know who invented the book tour, but I hope there's a special endless weather delay at the Wichita airport waiting for him and only a Hot Pockets vending machine from which to eat," he wrote.

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The plot by Marvel Comics "to enslave moviegoers" has gained even more momentum with the recent success of Iron Man 2, but the Guardian observed that, "as the release of Kick-Ass recently showed, comic-book movies no longer necessitate special powers, product placement or family values. And there are more where that came from.... If they all join forces, the Marvel monster might meet its match."

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The year-long 150th birthday celebration for Rabindranath Tagore (born May 7, 1861) in India "has triggered a surge in sales of the Nobel laureate's works," according to the Times of India.

"Tagore sells throughout the year but with the ongoing anniversary celebrations, sales have certainly gone up," said bookseller Sikander Ray of Bahrisons, New Delhi.

Penguin's Smriti Mehra agreed: "He remains one of the most regularly translated and published authors."

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They’re in your town! They're on your street! They're headed for your bookshelves. Literary monster mash-ups cannot be stopped. Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life blog reported on a discussion held last week with Alcott scholar and Pulitzer Prize-winner John Matteson; Porter Grand, author of Little Women and Werewolves; and Lynn Messina, author of Little Vampire Women. 

"My goal when I was writing Little Women and Werewolves was to stay true to Alcott," Grand said. "I really wanted to write it the way I think she would have written it if she had decided to insert werewolves into it."

Messina conceded that the mash-up craze is "going to run its course. I thought it was going to eventually tap out with Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, but I Googled it and it was already a movie."

 

For BookExpo America attendees wanting to see Barbara Streisand's Opening Night Keynote, the following procedures and policies will be in effect:

Ticketing
This event is open only to registered BEA attendees, and you must have a BEA badge and a ticket to gain admission. All tickets are free. A BEA badge is required in order to obtain your free ticket. Admission tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
 
Tickets will be available at the Opening Night Keynote Ticket Counter, which will be located next to the Autographing Counter in the main registration area. The Opening Night Keynote Ticket Counter will be open on Monday, May 24, 1–5 p.m., and Tuesday, May 25, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. (or until all tickets are gone). One ticket will be available per person. (Note: BEA press registration will be open during the same hours so that you may pick up your BEA badge BEFORE you obtain your ticket.   
 
Entry to Event

Once you have both your BEA badge and your Opening Night Admission Ticket, you may begin to line up in Exhibit Hall B on Level 1 no earlier than 12 noon, Tuesday, May 25. Doors will open and seating in the Special Events Hall will begin at 4 p.m. from the queued line. Everyone with a ticket must be seated by 5:45 p.m. or you may lose your seat.

 

Tuesday, May 25

9:30-10:30 a.m., at the panel called Bringing Your Authors to the Social Media Party... and Getting Them to Stay, Sean Gargan and Kirsten Hamstra, director and web marketing specialist, respectively, of SAS Publishing, discuss creating and implementing a social media strategy focused on author and customer engagement using all the social media you can name--Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, blogs and author pages. (Room 1E02.)

10:30-11:30 a.m., Charlotte Abbott, publishing journalist and digital content strategist, will moderate a panel called Building Online Reader Communities with an Eye on ROI. The focus is on helping authors, publishers and booksellers create community hubs within particular subject areas. (Room 1E13.)

Noon to 1 p.m., Frank Lyman, CMO of LibreDigital, moderates the panel When Gutenberg Meets Zuckerberg, which focuses on how to get readers to pay for content online. "The social and mobile webs can provide an ideal platform for budding authors looking to bring their brand to the masses." Panelists are Sarah Wendell, editor of SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com, Doug Paggit, author, and Melanie Notkin, editor of SavyAuntie.com. (Room 1E13.)

Wednesday, May 26

3:30-4:30 p.m., the session Community Social Networking: A Guide for Retailers and Librarians focuses on how retailers and librarians can plan to engage and connect people around books and their ideas. Presenters are Charlene Li, author of Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform The Way You Lead, and David Meerman Scott, author of Real-Time Marketing & PR: How to Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now. (Room 1E03.)

This morning on the Today Show: members of the Van Ryn and Cerak families, authors of Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope (Howard Books, $15.99, 9781439153550/1439153558).

Also on Today: 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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This morning on the Early Show: Amy Wilson, author of When Did I Get Like This?: The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer and Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be (Morrow, $23.99, 9780061956959/0061956953).

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Today on NPR's Fresh Air: Peter Gleick, author of Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water (Island Press, $26.95, 9781597265287/1597265284).

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Today on the Tavis Smiley Show: Damon Wayans, author of Red Hats (Atria, $19.99, 9781439164617/1439164614).

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Today on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Jonathan Alter, author of The Promise: President Obama, Year One (Simon & Schuster, $28, 9781439101193/1439101191).

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Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Fred Thompson, author of Teaching the Pig to Dance: A Memoir of Growing Up and Second Chances (Crown Forum, $25, 9780307460288/0307460282).

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Tomorrow morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe: Jonathan Alter, author of The Promise: President Obama, Year One (Simon & Schuster, $28, 9781439101193/1439101191).

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Tomorrow on Oprah: Laura and Lisa Ling, authors of Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home (Morrow, $26.99, 9780062000675/0062000675).

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Tomorrow on the Tavis Smiley Show: Chuck Palahniuk, author of Tell-All (Doubleday, $24.95, 9780385526357/0385526350).

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Tomorrow on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations (Free Press, $27, 9781439157312/1439157316).

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Tomorrow night on Jimmy Kimmel Live: 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).

On June 23 at 10 p.m., late-night TV's Jimmy Kimmel will host Twilight Saga: Eclipse stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in a primetime special called Jimmy Kimmel Live: Twilight Saga: Total Eclipse of the Heart, on ABC. The Wrap noted that on the show, "Twihards also will see exclusive Twilight content a week before the film premieres."

 

Michelle Lipton will write a contemporary update of Dorothy Baker's 1962 novel Cassandra at the Wedding for production label F&ME, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
     
"Baker's Cassandra at the Wedding is a book of enduring freshness and insight, and is a very smart romantic comedy at the same time," Mike Downey of F&ME said.

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If you loved actress Noomi Rapace in the Swedish film version of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you'll have to prepare yourself for a brand-new Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's upcoming English-language adaptation of the novel. Rapace told the Hollywood Reporter that two years of shooting Larsson's Millennium trilogy in Swedish is enough and she wouldn't accept the role even if it were offered. 

"I'm done with her (Lisbeth), and it's up to somebody else to step into her shoes," Rapace said. "I don't like to repeat myself. So it's better if someone else does it." She did, however, "suggest that Fincher and producer Scott Rudin expand their casting call beyond the A-listers (Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan are among those thought to be vying for the part) to include some lesser-known names."

 

This year's Nebula Award winners, who were honored Saturday by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, include:

Novel: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books)   
Novella: The Women of Nell Gwynne's by Kage Baker (Subterranean Press)
Novelette: "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" by Eugie Foster (Interzone, February 2009)
Short Story: "Spar" by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, October 2009)
Ray Bradbury Award: District 9, Neill Blomkamp (director) and Terri Tatchell (writer)
Andre Norton Award: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
                   
Honorees also included Joe Haldeman, who was named the next Damon Knight Grand Master, and Neal Barrett, Jr., Author Emeritus. Vonda N. McIntyre and Keith Stokes received SFWA Service Awards, and the SFWA Solstice Award was presented to Tom Doherty, Terri Windling and the late Donald A. Wollheim.

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Finalists have been chosen from more than 300 entries for the first annual Moby Awards for Book Trailers. Now the key decisions rest with "Members of the Academy," a judging panel that includes Jason Boog of GalleyCat; Troy Patterson, television critic for Slate; book blogger Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times’ Jacket Copy; indie publisher Colin Robinson of OR Books; Ina Howard Parker of Represent Inc. and Megan Halpern of Melville House Publishing.

Winners will be announced at the Moby Awards Ceremony May 20. The finalists are:

Best Low Budget/Indie Book Trailer
A Common Pornography by Kevin Sampsell
The Electric Church in One Minute by Jeff Somers
Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin
I Am in the Air Right Now by Kathryn Regina
I Lego New York by Chistoph Niemann

Best Big Budget/Big House Book Trailer
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Blameless by Gail Carriger
Going West by Maurice Gee
High Before Homeroom by Maya Sloan
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

Best Performance by an Author
Gordon Lish in Collected Fictions
Dennis Cass in Head Case
Thomas Pynchon (voice of) in Inherent Vice
Daniel Handler in Kindle vs. iPad #10
Jeffrey Rotter in The Known Unknowns

Best Cameo in a Book Trailer
Jon Stewart in I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil...
Jonathan Safran Foer's grandmother in Eating Animals
He Is Legend's Schyler Croom in High Before Homeroom
Deepak Chopra in The Karma Club
Zach Galifinakis in Lowboy

Least Likely Trailer to Sell the Book
Pocket Guide to Mischief by Bart King
Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden by Cameron Pierce
Shoplifting from American Apparel by Tao Lin
Sounds of Murder by Patricia Rockwell
True Confections by Katharine Weber

 

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
 
Hardcover
 
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (Riverhead, $25.95, 9781594487569/1594487561). "It's never easy being the new kid and harder still when you are poor and you don't speak the language. From a comfortable life in Hong Kong to a gritty sweatshop in New York we follow Kimberly Chang, in this smartly told story that illuminates the struggles of adolescence against a backdrop of poverty and cultural conflicts and reveals that, even in the land of opportunity, sometimes you have to fight for what you want and let go of what you love."--Carol Mark, Books on the Common, Ridgefield, Conn.
 
The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and Men Who Could Be Me by Bruce Feiler (Morrow, $22.99, 9780061778766/0061778761). "This is an incredibly personal, extremely moving account of a man coming to terms with cancer and his idea of gathering a group of men to act as 'dads' to his twin daughters. He intersperses the text with letters describing his journey into the world of hospitals and cancer. This is a candid look at mortality and a creative way of dealing with some of life's most difficult issues."--Susan Weis, breathe books, Baltimore, Md.
 
Paperback
 
The Queen of Palmyra: A Novel by Minrose Gwin (Harper Perennial, $14.99, 9780061840326/0061840327). "Gwin uses words the way an artist uses paint, adding layers upon layers as she tells the story of young Florence Irene Forrest. When Florence's family returns home to a segregated Alabama town in the1960s, her father keeps secrets, her mother bakes cakes, and she is a girl holding on to the dream of a happy ending to her story."--Nona Camuel, CoffeeTree Books, Morehead, Ky.
 
For Ages 4 to 8
 
Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard (Candlewick, $15.99, 9780763644536/0763644536). "Steeped in the lore of Himalayan tea picking cultures, this new picture book about a young girl's efforts to help her sick mother is a gem. Readers will love the length, richness and illustrations, which children will want to revisit often."--Angela K. Sherrill, 57th Street Books, Chicago, Ill.
 
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]
 
 

Paul Doiron is the author of the novel The Poacher's Son (Minotaur Books, May 11, 2010), as well as the editor-in-chief of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, Down East Books and DownEast.com. Doiron is a registered Maine Guide and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine with his wife, Kristen Lindquist.

On your nightstand now:

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession by David Grann (see that teetering pile of New Yorkers by the mudroom door? Why do I let them pile up? How come I never read these great stories when they're first published in the magazine?); Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer (what a courageous reporter!); George Magoon and the Down East Game War: History, Folklore, and the Law by Edward D. Ives (the almost true story of a poacher who fancied himself the Robin Hood of Down East Maine.); Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (I seem to be the last person on the planet to read this book).

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Your top five authors:

Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, William Faulkner.

Book you've faked reading:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. If you're going to be a phony, be a real phony.
 
Book you're an evangelist for:

Heart and Blood: Living with Deer in America by Richard Nelson. I can't think of a book that better depicts our tragic disassociation from nature and the horrible consequences for wild animals and ourselves.
 
Book you've bought for the cover:

The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Sibley.
 
Book that changed your life:

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. It taught me many good lessons about writing and just as many bad ones about living.
 
Favorite line from a book:

"In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it any more. It was cold in the fall in Milan and the dark came very early. Then the electric lights came on, and it was pleasant along the streets looking in the windows. There was much game hanging outside the shops, and the snow powdered in the fur of the foxes and the wind blew their tails. The deer hung stiff and heavy and empty, and small birds blew in the wind and the wind turned their feathers. It was a cold fall and the wind came down from the mountains." --Ernest Hemingway, "In Another Country"
 
Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson. Like a knife to the eye socket--but in a good way.