Notes: Brown Rally; Northshire, Gates Win; SIBA Launch
The Save the Bookstore Coalition,
which is fighting a university committee's recommendation that the Brown Bookstore
at Brown University, Providence, R.I., be leased out, plans to hold a
public rally at the store tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in support of keeping
the store independent.
---
Congratulations to Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vt., winner of this year's PW Bookseller of the Year Award. Owned by Ed and Barbara Morrow and managed by their son Chris, the store celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Located in a charming former inn, the 10,000-sq.-ft. store has expanded steadily over the years and now includes, in addition to a sterling selection of at least 40,000 titles, a café/restaurant; used, rare and out-of-print books; movie DVDs; music CDs; and a range of stationery, book marks, book lights, journals, jewelry, wind chimes and other gift products. It also has an excellent Web site.
Thoughtful, well-read and good businesspeople, the Morrow family has also long been active in the bookselling world. Ed is a former president of the ABA (during the wild period when the fatwa was issued against Salman Rushdie) and Barbara a former president of NEBA. They belong to the Independent Booksellers Consortium. They have supported the fight for free expression. Their store emphasizes staff training and customer service and constantly changes. Northshire has been recognized for its achievements in many ways, including perhaps the most telling: the Morrows have been approached regularly by developers and governments to open branches.
Again congratulations!
Also congratulations to Mark Gates of Holtzbrinck, whose home base is Verona, Wis., winner of PW's Rep of the Year of Award.
---
Education by Stone: Selected Poems by João Cabral de Melo Neto, translated by Richard Zenith (Archipelago Books) has won the 2006 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets. Zenith will receive $1,000. For more information, go to the Academy's Web site.
---
Today the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (formerly SEBA) is launching a Web site called Authors 'Round the South (ARTS) that contains the event schedules of SIBA-member stores. Readers and booklovers can search by date, bookstore, author and book title and can request signed copies of books from the store hosting the event.
---
HMV, which owns Waterstone's, has rejected private equity firm Permira Advisers' second takeover off of 210p per share, according to the AP via Forbes.
The struggling company said it is optimistic about its future and that the latest offer undervalues HMV. Some London analysts expect Permira to walk away.
Numis analyst Steve Davies said in a note to clients, "We believe HMV is a structurally challenged business and we expect its profits to decline in perpetuity as it will continue to lose market share to online retailers, downloading, and the supermarkets, leading to further erosion of gross margins."
---
Dan Brown made his first appearance on the stand in London yesterday in the suit brought by two of the three authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail against Random House. According to the New York Times, Brown acquitted himself well, even when encountering some strange attitudes. Then again, maybe the plaintiffs' lawyer is from New York.
The paper reported: "At one point, the lawyer for Mr. Leigh and Mr. Baigent, Jonathan Rayner James, asked Mr. Brown if his local bookshop, the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, was 'the only bookstore in New Hampshire.'
" 'New Hampshire is a small state,' Mr. Brown responded, 'but not that small.' "
---
Lisa Novak, buyer for Borders 29 outlet stores, is joining Atlantic Books as bargain buyer, according to Bargain Book News. Novak has worked at Borders since 1993, for a time in the company's Ann Arbor flagship store.
Atlantic Books has 18 stores, all in the mid-Atlantic area, except for one in the Mall of America in Minnesota. Selling trade and bargain books, the stores range from 1,000 square feet in resort areas to 10,000 square feet.
---
Effective April 3, James C. Clark has been promoted to senior v-p, distribution, Penguin Group (USA), and will be responsible for Penguin's warehouses in Pittston, Pa., and Kirkwood, N.Y., as well as the order fulfillment office in East Rutherford, N.J. He joined the company as v-p, order fulfillment, in 1996.
Linda Bay has been promoted to v-p, order fulfillment, at Penguin. She was formerly v-p, corporate accounting and administration. She earlier worked in finance and operations at Kraft Foods, Pamela Temples Interiors and Lear-Siegler.
---
The Association of Booksellers for Children has new contact information: its home now is 62 Wenham St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. 02130; 617-390-7759; fax 617-344-0540. New executive director Kristen McLean may be reached via e-mail at Kristen@abfc.com.
---
Our apologies! Yesterday's item about C-Span 2's Book TV bus visiting Charleston to film Taylor Books's "local authors day" misplaced the city. The action took place in Charleston, W.V., not in the South Carolina port city.
---
Congratulations to Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vt., winner of this year's PW Bookseller of the Year Award. Owned by Ed and Barbara Morrow and managed by their son Chris, the store celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Located in a charming former inn, the 10,000-sq.-ft. store has expanded steadily over the years and now includes, in addition to a sterling selection of at least 40,000 titles, a café/restaurant; used, rare and out-of-print books; movie DVDs; music CDs; and a range of stationery, book marks, book lights, journals, jewelry, wind chimes and other gift products. It also has an excellent Web site.
Thoughtful, well-read and good businesspeople, the Morrow family has also long been active in the bookselling world. Ed is a former president of the ABA (during the wild period when the fatwa was issued against Salman Rushdie) and Barbara a former president of NEBA. They belong to the Independent Booksellers Consortium. They have supported the fight for free expression. Their store emphasizes staff training and customer service and constantly changes. Northshire has been recognized for its achievements in many ways, including perhaps the most telling: the Morrows have been approached regularly by developers and governments to open branches.
Again congratulations!
Also congratulations to Mark Gates of Holtzbrinck, whose home base is Verona, Wis., winner of PW's Rep of the Year of Award.
---
Education by Stone: Selected Poems by João Cabral de Melo Neto, translated by Richard Zenith (Archipelago Books) has won the 2006 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets. Zenith will receive $1,000. For more information, go to the Academy's Web site.
---
Today the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (formerly SEBA) is launching a Web site called Authors 'Round the South (ARTS) that contains the event schedules of SIBA-member stores. Readers and booklovers can search by date, bookstore, author and book title and can request signed copies of books from the store hosting the event.
---
HMV, which owns Waterstone's, has rejected private equity firm Permira Advisers' second takeover off of 210p per share, according to the AP via Forbes.
The struggling company said it is optimistic about its future and that the latest offer undervalues HMV. Some London analysts expect Permira to walk away.
Numis analyst Steve Davies said in a note to clients, "We believe HMV is a structurally challenged business and we expect its profits to decline in perpetuity as it will continue to lose market share to online retailers, downloading, and the supermarkets, leading to further erosion of gross margins."
---
Dan Brown made his first appearance on the stand in London yesterday in the suit brought by two of the three authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail against Random House. According to the New York Times, Brown acquitted himself well, even when encountering some strange attitudes. Then again, maybe the plaintiffs' lawyer is from New York.
The paper reported: "At one point, the lawyer for Mr. Leigh and Mr. Baigent, Jonathan Rayner James, asked Mr. Brown if his local bookshop, the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, was 'the only bookstore in New Hampshire.'
" 'New Hampshire is a small state,' Mr. Brown responded, 'but not that small.' "
---
Lisa Novak, buyer for Borders 29 outlet stores, is joining Atlantic Books as bargain buyer, according to Bargain Book News. Novak has worked at Borders since 1993, for a time in the company's Ann Arbor flagship store.
Atlantic Books has 18 stores, all in the mid-Atlantic area, except for one in the Mall of America in Minnesota. Selling trade and bargain books, the stores range from 1,000 square feet in resort areas to 10,000 square feet.
---
Effective April 3, James C. Clark has been promoted to senior v-p, distribution, Penguin Group (USA), and will be responsible for Penguin's warehouses in Pittston, Pa., and Kirkwood, N.Y., as well as the order fulfillment office in East Rutherford, N.J. He joined the company as v-p, order fulfillment, in 1996.
Linda Bay has been promoted to v-p, order fulfillment, at Penguin. She was formerly v-p, corporate accounting and administration. She earlier worked in finance and operations at Kraft Foods, Pamela Temples Interiors and Lear-Siegler.
---
The Association of Booksellers for Children has new contact information: its home now is 62 Wenham St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. 02130; 617-390-7759; fax 617-344-0540. New executive director Kristen McLean may be reached via e-mail at Kristen@abfc.com.
---
Our apologies! Yesterday's item about C-Span 2's Book TV bus visiting Charleston to film Taylor Books's "local authors day" misplaced the city. The action took place in Charleston, W.V., not in the South Carolina port city.
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