Allison Belan

Allison Belan has been hired as the ninth executive director of the Book Industry Study Group. She replaces Brian O'Leary, who retires on June 30. He has served as executive director since 2016.

Belan has worked for 22 years at Duke University Press, mostly recently as director, strategic innovation and services, responsible for technology operations and publishing infrastructure at the press, encompassing books and journals. She also is responsible for the launch and day-to-day management of the Scholarly Publishing Collective, a publishing services business within the press that provides content hosting, sales, and fulfillment to nonprofit scholarly publishers.

Belan will join BISG officially on June 22. A transition plan is already underway; BISG members will have opportunities to meet her over the next several weeks.

BISG board chair Matt Kennell of Versa Press noted, "Allison joins BISG with hands-on knowledge of our core topics,  including supply chain, metadata, rights management, accessibility, distribution, and standards development. She also brings the experience and credibility necessary to engage with C-suite decision makers and other stakeholders across the supply chain."

Belan commented, "For the past 50 years, BISG has led the industry in working to solve problems and build interoperability across book publishing. Its contributions are foundational to the modern supply chain: the creation of the BISAC subject codes standard, the launch and development of metadata standards, and the transition to the 13-digit ISBN are just three examples. BISG's recent focus on Book Publishing Next, an ambitious plan to update how the supply chain functions, shows that its vibrant legacy continues. I'm honored and excited to be a part of the transformations that BISG will lead in the future."

Current location

Letterpress PLAY will be leaving its South Congress Avenue location in Austin, Tex., to open a larger store at 209 S. First St., suite 101, which is part of One Oak, the Austin Business Journal reported. The store, which handcrafts "one-of-a-kind and sustainable toys, stationery, and garments," is expanding its offerings and will be called Letterpress PLAY & Bookstore. It will add an approximately 1,100-square-foot book section in its new space, according to Nina Leong, executive v-p at Letterpress Play.

The new location is expected to open by the beginning of September, pending construction. Plans call for closing the current store around the time the new one is completed. Consuelo Wilder, a former longtime employee at BookPeople, will serve as bookstore manager and book buyer. Letterpress PLAY & Bookstore will also feature a coffee bar, partnering with Later Gator Coffee Co. 

The company is owned by Kyle Hawley, who founded Letterpress PLAY, and his brother, Noah Hawley, an author and TV screenwriter known for the FX television series Fargo and Alien: Earth. They also co-founded 26 Keys Productions. Leong added that Noah Hawley's relationship to writing was the impetus for adding a bookstore to the project. 

Blushing Books, which launched last June as a romance-focused mobile bookshop, hosted a grand opening celebration for its first bricks & mortar store last Saturday, May 9, at 101 Clinton Ave E, Suite 101 in Huntsville, Ala. Co-founders Anne Bagwell and Kayla Huebner "opened their doors on Saturday to many excited customers. A line formed around the block to be able to peruse the romance book selection," AL.com reported.

"I couldn't stop smiling," Bagwell said. "I was grinning ear to ear, because it was so fun to see all the people that we know and love, our family, our friends, and all the customers that are now our friends coming and supporting us. It was absolutely bonkers that day. It was just so much fun, and I just felt so grateful the entire day."

For the past year, Bagwell and Huebner have been traveling market to market with their pink bus. "They were so successful that they knew that they wanted to open a bookstore that wasn't on wheels. They thought it would be a dream that would take years, but they took the plunge within months," AL.com noted.

When a storefront on Clinton Row became available, they decided to expand to a bricks-and-mortar location. "The space just fell into our laps," Bagwell said. "Even though we wanted to wait until our kids were a little bit older, we decided we couldn't pass on this opportunity, so we just jumped right in, and we knew, based on the comments from all of our customers and everything like that, that it would be successful. So we just decided, there's no point in waiting, and we got to do it.

"I think people are realizing that these new, more contemporary romance books are written just as a good love story," Bagwell added. "We're not here to judge anybody. We will accept everybody and all their tastes. We will support whoever and whatever they want to read.... Romance is one of the biggest-selling genres in all of books, and the people who like romance books are super into it, so they will be reading more books than other genres as well, so the turnover with that is incredible, and it's also what we read."

Ope and Fable opened on April 25 in Jefferson, Iowa, the Jefferson Herald reported. 

Located 121 N. Chestnut St., on Jefferson's town square, Ope and Fable is half bookstore, carrying general-interest titles for all ages, and half market focused entirely on products made in Iowa, such as apparel, mugs, candles, sauces, and snacks.

Owner Meredith Fetters has lived in Jefferson for nearly all of her life and has wanted to open a store on the town square for years. For a long time, Fetters told the Jefferson Herald, she couldn't quite decide if she wanted to open a bookstore or have a general store. "Then I decided I'm just going to do both. It's been a pretty long journey."

While searching for a suitable space, Fetters traveled around Iowa to small businesses, farmers markets, and vendor shows to compile a list of Iowa-made products and build relationships with suppliers. That step of the process lasted a little over three years, and eventually she found an ideal spot in a building on the square.

"I try to read everything, a little bit of every genre, and I'm big on supporting local small businesses," Fetters said.

Manuela Hoelterhoff, who won a Pulitzer Prize at the Wall Street Journal in 1983 "for her wide-ranging arts criticism and later wrote a trenchant book about the backstage world of opera," died May 6, the New York Times reported. She was 77.

Hoelterhoff spent more than two decades with the Journal, serving variously as a critic, arts editor, book editor, and member of the editorial board. She won the criticism Pulitzer for her writing on television, books, opera, art, and architecture. From 2004 to 2014, she was the executive editor of Muse, an arts and culture section she founded at Bloomberg News.

Her primary passion was opera. In her book Cinderella & Company: Backstage at the Opera with Cecilia Bartoli (1998), she wrote about her two years following the superstar Italian mezzo-soprano around the world. In a review, Anthony Tommasini, the classical music critic at the Times, praised it as "the most perceptive and hilariously honest book on the making and marketing of opera to come along in some time."

She earned a master's degree in art history from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts 1975, and decided to approach the Journal with an article about a performance of Strauss's opera Der Rosenkavalier, the Times noted, adding that "it was Sunday and the offices were empty, so she gave the envelope to a guard."

"I was smart enough to know that all the other papers had a regular writing staff to write their reviews, but naïve enough to believe that this approach at the Journal might work," Hoelterhoff said in a 1985 interview with the reference guide Contemporary Authors.

Hoelterhoff wrote the libretto for Modern Painters, an opera about John Ruskin, the 19th-century English critic of art, architecture, and society. She was also a founding editor of Condé Nast Traveler in 1987 and of SmartMoney magazine in 1992.

In a tribute, the Journal shared excerpts from some of her columns, noting that when she won the Pulitzer for criticism--the Journal's first in that category--the editors nominating her said she combined "a keen critical eye with distinctive, lively writing," adding, "She seldom leaves the reader in any doubt where she stands."

A famous example cited by the Journal is from Hoelterhoff's 1986 column "on the Solomon R. Guggenheim's proposal to expand its iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building by erecting a rectangular tower behind the smaller of the building's two rotundas. 'And that means the smaller rotunda, which now enjoys a measure of light and freedom, will have a slab behind it,' she wrote. 'As astonished observers have not ceased pointing out, the combination of round receptacle jutting into an upright wall unmistakably resembles a huge toilet.' Her review became the talk of the town."

Screenwriter and author Gregory Poirier (l.) celebrated the release of his debut novel, A Thousand Cuts (Diversion Books), at Book Soup in Los Angeles, Calif., last Friday with Sisters in Death author Eli Frankel.

Bright Side Bookshop in Flagstaff, Ariz., shared a pic of the store's book display, created by bookseller Sarah, to celebrate Ride Your Bike Week in Flagstaff, held May 10-16.

Chapter One Bookstore & More in Mendham, N.J., shared an Instagram reel depicting "how people think the owner walks in" vs. "how she actually walks in," noting: "This is extremely accurate."

Independent Publishers Group is adding sales and distribution services for five publishers, effective in June:

Antarctic Press was founded in 1984 and is run by brothers Ben Dunn and Joe Dunn. Recently made into a Netflix show that ran two seasons, its Warrior Nun Areala and the Ninja High School series have established a solid fandom.

A Wave New World publishes graphic novels and anthologies, focusing on socially conscious storytelling and providing a platform for a multitude of creative voices. It has won GLAAD Media and Ringo Awards.

Comicsburgh is a collective of comic book publishers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The term "Comicsburgh" began in 2021 as a series of videos showcasing Pittsburgh comics creators and comic stores. Comicsburgh promotes comic book creation for both educational and artistic purposes and work with aspiring creators who are also committed to that same goal.

Comicker Press offers graphic novels, comics blending humor and drama, and imaginative children's books. Re-launched and re-branded in 2023, the company seeks to publish diverse voices and encourages story submissions from creators.

Cosmic Lion was founded by writer and artist Eli Schwab a decade ago and publishes zines, comics, and magazines, offering more than 50 books.

AJ Jolish has joined Chronicle Books as publicity assistant.

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Sarah Dessen, author of Change of Plans (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $21.99, 9798347108770).

Also on GMA: Haley Sacks, author of Future Rich Person: The New Rules for Building Wealth (Ballantine, $30, 9798217090907), and Lois Romano, author of An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781982140724). 

Today: Maxine Sharf, author of Maxi's Kitchen: Easy Go-To Recipes to Make Again and Again (Clarkson Potter, $35, 9780593800393).

FirstGen, "a production company with credits including Mona Fastvold's recent Searchlight flick The Testament of Ann Lee," is developing a film adaptation of Laura van den Berg's 2018 novel The Third Hotel, Deadline reported. Michelle Garza Cervera (Huesera: The Bone Woman) will direct from a screenplay by Isa Mazzei.

In a statement, Cervera said, "I'm so thrilled to work on an adaptation of such an eerie and brilliant novel alongside Isa Mazzei, whose work I'm a real fan of, and FirstGen, who have made films I love. I'm honored to be part of it."

Mazzei commented: "The book is wonderfully surreal and deeply unsettling in a way that lingered with me. I'm excited to be able to translate that feeling into a cinematic experience, and I feel lucky to be collaborating with such a thoughtful and talented team."

The Third Hotel "follows Clare, a recent widow who travels to Latin America weeks after her husband Richard's mysterious death, driven by the need to understand her role in his early passing.... What begins as a skeptical pursuit of Richard's double quickly devolves into an all-consuming obsession, unraveling Clare's grip on reality and pulling her into a liminal nightmare where she is suspended between the living and the dead," Deadline wrote.

Finalists have been selected for the $100,000 2026 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, in association with the National Library of Israel, which goes to "an emerging writer who demonstrates the potential for continued contribution to the world of Jewish literature."

The finalists:
Laura Hobson Faure, for Who Will Rescue Us?: The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America During the Holocaust (Yale University Press)
Shaul Kelner, for A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews (NYU Press)
Jordan Salama, for Stranger in the Desert: A Family Story (Catapult)
Amir Tibon, for The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel's Borderlands (Little, Brown)

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The Writers' Union of Canada has released a shortlist for the C$10,000 (about US$7,290) Danuta Gleed Literary Award, which recognizes "the best first collection of short fiction by a Canadian author published in 2025 in the English language." Two finalists are also awarded C$1,000 (about US$730) each. The winners will be named in June. This year's shortlisted titles are:

A Song for Wildcats by Caitlin Galway 
Seeing You Home by Catherine Hunter
Good Victory by Mikka Jacobsen
The Cree Word for Love: Sâkihitowin by Tracey Lindberg
My Thievery of the People by Leila Marshy

Adeola Sokunbi is an author and illustrator from London with a passion for doodling and anything fantasy. Sokunbi studied computer animation and now works in the animation industry. During the Covid-19 lockdown, she picked up writing as a hobby and has been in love with creating stories ever since. Sokunbi's first illustrated early reader import, Destiny Ink: Sleepover Surprise (Nosy Crow), is available now, and the second title in the series, Talent Show Magic, will be published in September.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

Do you know an emerging reader who is creative, anxious about new experiences, and/or loves animals? This is the book series for them!

On your nightstand now:

Jolly Monster Town by Rong Rong. I was lucky enough to receive an early proof of this wonderful book and I love it! The illustrations are fantastic and each page is packed with so much goodness. Every time I look at a spread, I see something new.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I've only just started reading this, but I've been told great things. As soon as I'm done, I'll watch the movie!

Favorite book when you were a child:

I discovered my love for reading when I was in my teens so I'm going to replace this with...

Favorite book series when you were a teenager:

Although I love a good standalone book, series have a special place in my heart. They give me more time to grow with the characters and get invested in their stories. I cannot choose one favorite series, so I'll give some of my top choices (not in any order):

The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine
The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick
House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I was (and still kinda am) OBSESSED with vampires and fallen angels.

Favorite book to read to a child:

My Bum Is SO NOISE! by Dawn McMillan, illustrated by Ross Kinnaird (published in the U.S. as My Butt Is SO NOISY!). It's such an entertaining read and has a great rhythm to it. All the illustrations are packed with energy.

Your top five authors (in no specific order):

Malorie Blackman. She was one of the first authors whose writing I fell in love with. To this day, Noughts and Crosses is the only book that has ever made me cry.

Sarah J. Maas. Her books are so much fun to read. I get so engrossed in her characters and the relationships and drama between them.

Brandon Sanderson. His ability to weave multiple complex story lines into an epic story is mind-blowing, and his worldbuilding is inspirational. I also love that he posts writing lectures online. He's such a fountain of knowledge and an amazing person to learn from.

Brian K. Vaughan. Saga is my favorite comic series of all time. The story is so addictive, and the characters are incredibly relatable. I'm invested in all their stories. And I have to mention how FANTASTIC Fiona Staples's illustrations are. She's done an amazing job at bringing the story to life. Her character design skills are inspiring.

Richelle Mead. I have read soooo many of her books and I've loved every single one of them. She has a way of creating characters that are so easy to care for.

Book you've faked reading:

I didn't finish a single book that we had to read for our English literature exams in secondary school. (Sorry, Mrs. Stoddard!) There was something about being told I had to read a book that put me off reading it.

Book you've bought for the cover:

A lot of the books I've read have been chosen purely based on the cover! I love to go into books knowing absolutely nothing--I rarely even read the blurb. So, if a book hasn't been recommended to me or isn't by an author I already love, I usually just go off the cover. The things that usually attract me are dark colors, pretty patterns, a cool looking character, and pointy looking things.

A couple of books that I've picked up recently were Gild by Raven Kennedy and Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa.

Best book recommendations you have received:

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao. This book sent me on an emotional roller coaster. It really is a master class on how a sequence of events can be seen completely differently depending on which character is telling the story.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. This book was a game changer for me when it came to plotting stories. When I first started writing, I would just go with the flow and blurt out sentences as they came to me. This method works for some, but unfortunately not for me! This book gave me a basic blueprint for writing a well-rounded plot. It really made a difference in my writing.

Book that changed your life:

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. This was the first YA fantasy book that I ever read, and I was HOOKED. It was the beginning of my obsession with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, gods and monsters, zombies, magic, fallen angels, fairies, and anything that goes bump in the night. That obsession later expanded to include sci-fi, too. So, give me all the androids, spaceships, aliens, dying suns, and intergalactic wars!

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. It's such a funny book, and the first time I read it I was cackling.

Which book character you most relate to:

Destiny Ink. It wasn't intentional, but Destiny Ink is very much like me when I was a child. Like her, I've always loved to draw and would use it as a form of entertainment and self-soothing. I didn't have a pet, though, despite how many times I begged my parents for a guinea pig. At least now I can live vicariously through Destiny!

Fatal Glitch: Camp Zero, about an 11-year-old gamer who enters a Black Mirror-esque nightmare of her own making, is the first installment in a compelling middle-grade technological horror series by two-time Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly (Hello Universe; The First State of Being) and Stonewall and Printz Honor-winner Eliot Schrefer (The Darkness Outside Us; Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)).

Sofia Mendoza spends most of her time on her tablet, building worlds and slaying monsters in her favorite game, Sandbox. After Sofia's gymnast sister, Isabella, trips over Sofia's (purposefully?) outstretched foot and fractures her kneecap, Sofia's dad, thinking Sofia needs some "perspective," drops the girl off at Forestjaw, a remote summer camp. ("Stupid Isabella," Sofia thinks in response, "I mean, sure, her leg is in a brace--but it's her own fault.... If she hadn't been bragging about her latest competition, she would have been paying closer attention.")

Sofia is more than a little creeped out by the mechanical vulture perched upon camp head Monarch's shoulder, but she is aghast when the menacing woman demands Sofia hand over her electronics. The few shadowy cabins that make up the camp don't endear Sofia to Forestjaw, but her fear is replaced by elation when it's revealed that the camp is "sponsored" by the popular videogame Sandbox, and one of the campers will leave with one million credits to use in the game. Sofia is determined to be that camper--but first, she'll have to figure out how to play.

Camp Zero mirrors the darkly comic morality tales of R.L. Stine's iconic Goosebumps series, while keeping the reader's mortal terror at a likely lower simmer. Kelly and Schrefer replicate something like the creepily atmospheric style of The Twilight Zone, bolstered by Jeannette Arroyo's black-and-white full-page and spot illustrations of looming trees and silhouetted figures. At just under 150 pages, this is a quick-paced, accessible tale for readers who are horror-curious but not necessarily ready for anything that's explicitly frightening.

Sofia is an impressively difficult character to root for, as frustratingly lacking in empathy as she is self-awareness. For readers less experienced with unreliable or unlikable narrators, Sofia's inability to learn any lessons--and her necessarily consequential fate--may be a jarring experience. But for those who love to see a villain get their just deserts, the book's final scenes will prove to be a satisfying (if chilling) delight. --Mariel Fechik Deslaurier, librarian, freelance writer, music reviewer

Shelf Talker: In this creepy first installment in a series about uncanny, imagined dangers of technology, an entitled 11-year-old gamer learns the true cost of looking out only for herself.