Don Gorman

Don Gorman, publisher of Rocky Mountain Books and the national sales director for Heritage Group Distribution, has also been a bookseller, publisher sales representative and acquiring editor. He is president of the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia and has served on the boards of Pubwest, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. Here he offers observations on how the 25% tariff that the U.S. plans to impose on Canada will affect publishing and bookselling:

If the proposed 25% U.S. tariff on books goes through, Canadian-published titles will either become more expensive for American readers or harder to find in U.S. bookstores and libraries. Publishers will have two choices: raise prices to offset the cost--making our books less competitive--or absorb the tariff, which simply isn't sustainable in an industry where margins are already razor-thin.

On top of that, U.S. distributors like PGW (our distributor) will have no choice but to pass any additional costs associated with the tariffs back to publishers through chargebacks, increasing the financial strain even further. And it doesn't stop there--managing the accounting and administration that comes with these extra expenses will drive costs even higher.

With resources stretched so thin, a publisher's ability to effectively market and promote their books and authors in the U.S. will inevitably take a serious hit. That means fewer opportunities to introduce new Canadian voices to American readers, reduced visibility in bookstores, drops in advertising, and a tougher time competing in an already challenging market.

The bottom line? Fewer Canadian books in the U.S., making it harder for readers to find them and tougher for booksellers to stock them. This isn't just a publisher problem--it's a disruption that will ripple through the entire industry, impacting authors, distributors, booksellers, and readers alike.

We're all hoping that books will eventually be exempt from the tariff, but until that happens, the consequences for Canadian publishing in the U.S. will be significant.

The American Booksellers Association has approved the nominating committee's recommendations for a board candidate who will fill the position when the second term of Jenny Cohen of Waucoma Bookstore, Hood River, Ore., comes to an end. The nominated candidate is Paul Hanson of Village Books, Bellingham and Lynden, Wash.

In addition, these current board members are up for re-election:

Brein Lopez, Children's Book World, Los Angeles, Calif., who was appointed last year and is running for his first term.
Cynthia Compton, 4 Kids Books & Toys and MacArthur Books, Carmel, Ind., who is running for a second term.
Raquel Roque, Books & Books, Coral Gables, Fla., who is running for a second term.

Separately, there is a board appointment pending to replace previous director Danny Caine, formerly of Raven Book Store, Lawrence, Kan., who resigned when he took a full-time position at Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

With the candidate announcement, the petition process for other candidates has opened. Nominating petitions must be received by the ABA by February 21. (See details here.) A ballot for the board elections will be sent to ABA members via e-mail in March, at least 60 days before the Annual Membership Meeting; the filled ballots, which include space for write-in candidates, must be returned by April 23.

The new board of directors will be announced in Bookselling This Week on April 30. The virtual ABA Membership Meeting will be held on May 22, at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Anodyne Book Shop, Searsport, Maine, has relocated into a larger space and added a coffee shop. Bangor Daily News reported that the bookstore, which Elly Burnett opened in 2023 on E. Main St., moved late last year to 175 W. Main St.

The new location offers extra space and "has also allowed the store to expand its stock of books and its staff." More recently, the bookstore added coffee--made by Downshift Coffee in Belfast--tea, and other beverages and pastries to its offerings in a cafe-style space.

"I think people love it," said staff member Spencer Stephens. "There's a lot of mornings where we have a sizable group of people who come to linger over coffee and chitchat or read. As we get a better sense of what folks like, I would imagine that the products that we offer will shift and expand a little bit."

He also noted that the overall inventory has also been expanded, adding: "It's bright and airy, and we've got tons more floor space than we used to. We also have plenty more space where folks can sit down in a comfortable chair and read a book or read a magazine or linger over coffee."  

In a Facebook post announcing the coffee shop's debut, Anodyne Book Shop noted: "This adventure will lead us where it will. We are booksellers first and foremost, and all the rest is bonus. We've got a beautiful, welcoming space to sit and enjoy a great cup of coffee and read or work (free wifi!), or knit, or write, or chat with friends. The menu is simple, and we kinda like it that way. As Steinbeck wrote, 'and now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.' --East of Eden." 

Steve Piersanti

Praveen Madan

At Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Steve Piersanti has been named CEO, CFO, and publisher while Kristen Frantz has been named COO and senior v-p of sales & marketing, and is joining the company's board of directors. Piersanti is the company's founder and former CEO who most recently has been senior editor, a role he will continue. Frantz has been with for Berrett-Koehler for more than 30 years and was key in developing the company's sales and marketing strategies.

At the same time, Praveen Madan, who was named CEO and publisher in January 2024, is giving up those roles. The company said that during his tenure, "BK has strengthened its financial foundation, deepened its commitment to author partnerships, and advanced innovative publishing models that align with the company's mission of 'Connecting People and Ideas to Create a World That Works for All.' "

Madan commented: "I am honored to have had the opportunity to help stabilize Berrett-Koehler Publishers, a company I have learned so much from and deeply admire. I am profoundly grateful to the staff, the board, and all of BK's stakeholders for their unwavering support during this transition period. Under Steve and Kristen's capable leadership, I am confident BK has a bright future as a unique independent publisher dedicated to supporting thought leaders in shaping their messages and amplifying their voices to create meaningful change."

Piersanti said, "I am grateful that Praveen Madan has done so much to support and advance Berrett-Koehler over 12 years, first as a board member, then as chair of the board, then as CEO. And I'm excited that Kristen Frantz will be stepping up to the role of chief operating officer, which her experience and expertise greatly prepare her for and which will be a blessing to our company."

Frantz added, "After three decades with Berrett-Koehler, I've seen firsthand how our commitment to partnership and positive change has transformed both our authors and our industry. I'm excited to help lead BK into its next chapter, building on our strong foundation while exploring new ways to expand our impact and reach. I am thankful to Praveen Madan for his transformative leadership over the past year and to our staff and board for their hard work, and I look forward to collaborating closely with Steve Piersanti to build a bright future for BK."

John Majeska, retired longtime sales rep at Book Travelers West, died on January 24 at age 79 after a year-long battle with cancer. An obituary note from Imprint Group, which Book Travelers West merged with in 2023, said: "He will be remembered as the reliable sales rep who had the utmost respect for the freedoms of independent booksellers."

At a Workman Party in NYC, August 2019: (from l.) Book Travelers West's Kurtis Lowe, John Majeska, Kevin Peters, Phoebe Gaston.

Majeska's bookselling career began in 1971 at Pickwick's, then B. Dalton Bookseller, then the University of Pennsylvania as associate director of books. In 1976, he joined Baker & Taylor, selling trade books, and became a house rep for Scribner. In 1986, Tom Fritzinger of Book Travelers West hired Majeska to cover Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, where he sold Workman, Ten Speed Press, Watson-Guptill, Abrams, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, Running Press, Heyday, and many others. After 34 years with BTW, he retired at the end of 2019.

Imprint remembered that "John was loyal to his friends and associates, generous and big-hearted. He was always ready to remind us that challenges were not ours alone, and that together, it would all work out. He defended everyone's right to their own opinion; to sell and to buy without excessive pressure or favor. 'It's their store!' he would say.

"He was a dedicated reader of Japanese fiction in translation, including all of the work of Haruki Murakami, his favorite novel being Woman in the Dunes (1962) by Kōbō Abe.

"John was a motorcycle enthusiast dedicated to Ducatis. He lived in Crestline, and stayed in his boat moored at Marina del Rey when he visited accounts in L.A. He knew when his work began and ended while doing a job that can consume most waking hours of a publisher sales rep."

Craig McCroskey, a former rep colleague, said, "I don't recall ever having heard him irritable or unkind in our years together. And he never complained of the pains that were likely to have followed his various encounters with the medical profession. He had no elevated ideas about what being a peddler of the written word involved, nor did he sell our function short. He just said, 'It's my job to entertain them while they make up their minds.' "

Former BTW Rep Phoebe Gaston wrote: "He always showed up, meeting after meeting, year after year, the ever solid presence, often the voice of reason, leveling our anxieties with the practicality that 50 years of experience offers. He was also silly, often goofing off with Craig, laughing at photos of flat-headed cats, shaking his head at ridiculous moments, telling us the hilarious thing that Ari said or did recently. He was a helpful ear and so sweet to me when he heard that my dad had a motorcycle accident, I'll never forget that. He suffered plenty but remained stoic, and always positive when it came to the industry. Open to any challenge, whenever a new publisher presented themselves, he was already thinking of the right stores for their books. John was just a very good person and a great friend. I feel lucky to have known him."

Majeska is survived by his wife, Carol Majeska, longtime owner of McCabe & Company Booksellers, which closed in 2014, and their granddaughter, Ari.

River & Hill Books, Rome, Ga., shared photos of the bookshop's Black History Month sales floor display, noting: "February is Black History Month, and we have highlighted just a few of our favorite books, both adult and kids, by Black writers. Whether you're looking to read more non-fiction or immerse yourself in fiction, stop in this month and pick up a new read. If you are also participating in our 2025 Reading Challenge, these books could make good picks for our February prompt, a new-to-you author."

Buffalo Books & Coffee, Buffalo, Minn., offered a tuneful local biz partnership twist on the Blind Date with a Book option, posting on Facebook: "Double Date time on Division Street! Stop in for your favorite coffee or tea, and then pick up one of our Blind Date With a Book choices. Now pop across the street to our friends at Indie Earth and get a Mystery Record [Blind Date With A Record] to listen to while you read and sip."

The Department by Jacqueline Faber (Oceanview Publishing).

Today:
Drew Barrymore Show: Malcolm Gladwell, author of Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering (Little, Brown, $32, 9780316575805).

Live with Kelly and Mark: Brian Kelly, author of How to Win at Travel (Avid Reader Press, $30, 9781668068656).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Alton Brown, author of Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations (Gallery Books, $28.99, 9781668064214).

Also on CBS Mornings: Nicole Avant, author of Think You'll Be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude (HarperOne, $28.99, 9780063304413). She will also appear on the Sherri Shepherd Show.

Good Morning America: Frank Caprio, author of Compassion in the Court: Life-Changing Stories from America's Nicest Judge (BenBella Books, $26.95, 9781637746035).

The View: Bill Gates, author of Source Code: My Beginnings (Knopf, $30, 9780593801581). He will also appear on the Tonight Show.

MASTERPIECE on PBS has released the first trailer for the highly anticipated Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, based on the final novel in Hilary Mantel's award-winning trilogy. The series will air on MASTERPIECE Sunday nights from March 23 to April 20, as well as being available to stream online with the PBS App and by accessing PBS Passport as a station member.

Mark Rylance returns as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII, alongside Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey and Kate Phillips as Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour. Also reprising their roles from Wolf Hall series one are Lilit Lesser, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Joss Porter, James Larkin, Richard Dillane, Will Keen, and Hannah Steele. Joining the sequel's cast are Alex Jennings to play Stephen Gardiner, Harriet Walter as Lady Margaret Pole, and Timothy Spall as the Duke of Norfolk, among others.

The winner last night of the Grammy award in the Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording category was Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bringing Peace to a Changing World, read by the late author, Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster Audio). This was the former president's fourth Grammy win.

C.G. Esperanza

C.G. Esperanza is the award-winning illustrator of Soul Food Sunday, which received a Coretta Scott King Honor, and the author/illustrator of Boogie, Boogie, Y'all, which received a Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Honor. He lives in the Bronx, N.Y.

Last week, Esperanza won the 2025 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his art in My Daddy Is a Cowboy, written by Stephanie Seales (Abrams Books for Young Readers).

Congratulations! From a CSK honor to a CSK win and a Caldecott honor in less than five years. That's pretty exciting. How are you feeling?

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to chat! I feel like I will wake up at any minute and I will be back in my bed at the apartment I grew up in, late for my 8 a.m. figure-drawing class at FIT. Until I wake up, it is a wonderful feeling to have this much support and love!

What did you think when you read the text for this picture book for the first time?

With any book I consider working on, I ask myself: 1. How does this book challenge the status quo, and 2. Is it fun? This story was unique to me because author Stephanie Seales made me think about horses roaming down my street in the Bronx and how cool it would be to see a horse near a really dope graffiti tag and a bodega. Stephanie made a story that featured an Afro-Panamanian family, which to my knowledge had not been done before in a picture book. These factors definitely challenged the status quo and also gave me so many fun ideas.

How would you describe the story to young readers?

So, the way I described it to my after-school class at the Concourse House shelter in the Bronx was as follows: "Hey y'all! So how many of you have ridden a horse? What if we all got to ride horses from here all the way past the pizza shop and the sneaker stores on Fordham Road and to the Botanical Garden and then back? Well, if you think that would be fun, you will love this story about a kid who does that! Who wants to read it?!"

Did you get an idea of how you would illustrate the text right away? Or did it take some time to build your visual landscape?

I usually go through all my art books and go to some art gallery openings in Chelsea before beginning any project. I try to do something different in every book so that they are unique. I study fashion a lot and I take lots of pictures of my neighborhood and the people around me. Then I try to curate it all into the world I am building in collaboration with the author.

Your illustrations are so dynamic, and the book is constantly shifting perspective. How do you capture so much movement and energy in an image?

I watch a lot of movies. I am very inspired by Spike Lee films like Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, and Malcolm X. I also love Alejandro Jodorowsky films like Santa Sangre, El Topo, and The Holy Mountain. I've always wanted to direct a movie, so I work with real actors who act out my thumbnail sketches and give me fun expressions and movement that improve upon my imagination. I also shoot most things at an angle that doesn't feel too conventional or stiff.

I love the texture of the images, how the reader can see places where the oil on watercolor paper was layered, blotted, or scratched. What draws you to creating such tactile images?

To be honest, it was originally just me being a sloppy painter. I have no idea how other painters make their images without all the visible strokes and blots of paint. I guess I could sandpaper it all down. But after hearing how many people have come to enjoy seeing it, I keep it there because it feels raw and authentic. Like you're seeing the original up close. A bit of a difference from the polished flat look of digital. No shade to digital artists though! I added the scratches after seeing them in the paintings of my studio-mate Daryl Myntia Daniels; I wanted to make fun abstract details in spaces you might not normally focus on.

How did you develop the different backgrounds and settings for this book? Did you base your characters on people you know in real life?

The backgrounds--down to the graffiti--are all real places you can visit! I use Google maps and my phone camera while on long walks. I love being whimsical, but I need some gritty reality as a foundation. All or most of the people in my books are people I know. The girl in My Daddy Is a Cowboy is one of my amazing former art students named Aaliyah. Her performance in this book was a huge factor in the success of the images. My mother is the grandmother in my other book, Soul Food Sunday, and my nephew, Nolan, is the grandson. My other nephew, Eian, is the main character of Boogie, Boogie, Y'all. And some of my other students star in Kicks in the Sky.

Was there an image you particularly loved illustrating? Was there one that was surprisingly tough?

I really loved illustrating the image of daddy and daughter riding on Power in front of a graffiti piece. It was a last-minute idea I did really fast before the deadline, even though it wasn't in the approved sketches. I was so inspired I just had to make it and I hoped my amazing editor, Courtney Code, and wonderful designer, Heather Kelly, would dig it. And they did! It became a favorite in the book. All the horse and human images were tough because I didn't shoot my human references with my horse references, and I had to make it look like they were really riding and hugging those horses. My sense of scale and anatomy were tested. It was also my first time ever painting a horse!

Is there anything you're excited to be working on now?

I just finished the sequel to Soul Food Sunday, titled Fish Fry Friday, which will be coming to you very soon. This time Granny is teaching her grandson how to fish and then cook some Caribbean-style fried fillet. I had so much fun painting the fish! I am also working on the debut picture book by Ebony Mudd titled Junior Takes a Leap, about a young Black boy who is learning ballet. And a book celebrating Black tattoo culture, Orchard Beach in the Bronx, and my favorite anime titled Dragon Mama. Secretly, I am also working on a cool Bronx Manga (Bronxanga?).

Is there anything you'd like to answer that I didn't ask?

You asked some great questions! I would love to tell you about some amazing living artists who inspire me. There's Gina Sposto--they make some really outlandish art that I would love to see in a graphic novel or maybe even a picture book someday. And Mexican American Bronx artist Daisy Ruiz--she is an Ignatz Award-winning comic artist! Her comic, Gordita, is incredible and can be found in her shop. Vash is a muralist, animator, and much more. His work is so fun and would also make a fabulous picture book. Angel Garcia has such a fun, colorful style filled with symbolism you have to see to really understand. Lastly, Yesenia Moises is the author/illustrator of the amazing Stella's Stellar Hair and her new book, Sounds Like Joy, is coming May 6! --Siân Gaetano, children's/YA editor, Shelf Awareness

Poet and novelist Andrea Eames (The White Shadow) writes across genres and age groups, and A Harvest of Hearts is her first foray into cozy fantasy. Readers are sure to be hooked--snagged, even, like the victims of the sorceresses in this novel.

"They said that magic, real magic... could only be performed in exchange for a human heart," and the beautiful sorceresses that visit Foss Butcher's sleepy village on the outskirts of the kingdom come with the intention to steal bits of people's hearts in exchange for the magic that is supposed to keep the kingdom safe. Despite their beauty and glamour, they remind Foss too much of everything that she is not, and so she is more resistant to being "snagged" (having her heart stolen) and unsympathetic to those who find themselves in that position.

Foss mainly spends time working with her Da in his butcher shop, and trying not to dwell too much on how she might be cursed as a result of her mother's death in childbirth. But one day a sorcerer appears--the first time that anyone in her village has seen a male magic-worker--and suddenly Foss finds herself in a position that she never thought she'd be in when he accidentally snags her heart. Angrily, she follows him to the city in the hopes of getting him to restore it. To prevent the distance from him from destroying her, she becomes his housekeeper in his magical house. In the process, she befriends his talking cat and stumbles upon secrets about the kingdom she could have never dreamed of. As Foss, the sorcerer Sylvester, and Cornelius the cat untangle the twisted web of magic and misbegotten deeds in the kingdom, they have to decide what they will ultimately do with that information as they struggle to answer the questions: Is it possible to mend a broken heart? And how much change can hearts withstand?

Eames's earnest worldbuilding and engaging, sympathetic characters will charm readers and cocoon them for a little while. Foss's blunt honesty and rugged stubbornness bring a delightful frankness to the usual soft edges of the cozy fantasy genre. Eames's story has echoes of different fairy-tale retellings, notably "Beauty and the Beast," but in a wholly refreshing way that does not feel derivative. A Harvest of Hearts is a welcome addition to the fantasy landscape: comforting but with a bit of a bite. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Andrea Eames breaks into the cozy fantasy genre with an intriguing tale that readers will simply devour.

The bestselling Libro.fm audiobooks at independent bookstores during January:

Fiction
1. Onyx Storm Rebecca Yarros (Recorded Books)
2. James by Percival Everett (Penguin Random House Audio)
3. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Recorded Books)
4. Babel by R.F. Kuang (HarperAudio)
5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Recorded Books)
6. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Penguin Random House Audio)
7. The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Macmillan Audio)
8. The Favorites by Layne Fargo (Penguin Random House Audio)
9. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Simon & Schuster Audio)
10. All Fours by Miranda July (Penguin Random House Audio)

Nonfiction
1. How We Learn to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde (Penguin Random House Audio)
2. The House of My Mother by Shari Franke (Simon & Schuster Audio)
3. Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (Penguin Random House Audio)
4. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Simon & Schuster Audio)
5. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin Random House Audio)
6. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Tantor Media)
7. 1000 Words by Jami Attenberg (Simon & Schuster Audio)
8. The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (Simon & Schuster Audio)
9. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Penguin Random House Audio)
10. Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (Macmillan Audio)