BookExpo America plans to spotlight authors on two stages on the trade show floor and will identify authors on badges as "featured events authors" or "authors in attendance." The moves are intended, BEA said, to "highlight the exceptional lineup of authors" at the show.

The "fully appointed" stages will be at opposite ends of the show floor "to ensure substantial traffic flow but they will not inhibit or interfere with other show floor activity," BEA said. Two or three authors will appear on the stages at a time and be interviewed. Some themes for the author appearances are being developed and may include memoirs; New York City (2009 is the Big Apple's 400th birthday); Google and Facebook; the economic collapse; authors who are back with new novels after a long layoff; mystery novels; and crime writers.

The stage at the north end of the Javits Center will be called the Uptown Stage. The opposite stage will be the Downtown Stage. About 100 seats will be set up at the stages.

In a statement, v-p and show manager Lance Fensterman called the changes part of "our continuing redesign of BEA" as well as "a natural way to provide further expression for the rich pool of talent that attends our show. . . . These stages will provide access, not just to the authors themselves, but to the authors' ideas and thoughts."

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West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va., has agreed to seek authorization from students on financial aid before setting aside some of their aid money to purchase texts at the school bookstore, which is managed by Barnes & Noble College, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

The settlement was reached just before the state Supreme Court was to hear appeals of a case brought by the Book Exchange, a local bookstore, which had sued over the policy.

The bookstore payment, which was enacted in 2005, amounted to $500 per student; the University has some 8,800 students on financial aid. The Book Exchange, which has operated since 1934, estimated that it had lost $2 million in sales because of the policy. It had asked for a change in the policy and for compensation. Under the terms fo the settlement, the University admits no wrongdoing and will not pay the Book Exchange anything.

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More on the Oscars:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which won for best art direction, makeup and visual effects, is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Scribner has both a stand-alone edition of the story as well as the official movie tie-in edition.

The stand-alone edition is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture ($9.95, 9781416556053/1416556052). The official tie-in edition is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Story to Screenplay ($16, 9781439117002/1439117004), which includes the short story and the screenplay by Eric Roth, itself nominated for best adapted screenplay.

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Somewhere in the publicity pipeline, the title of a book by an author who will appear at the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association's spring meeting on Sunday, March 15, mentioned here yesterday, was altered. Jennie Nash's new book is The Only True Genius in the Family, not The Only True Genius in the House. (She told us she likes the erroneous title, but it's too late to change it.)

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USA Today featured several family-owned businesses that have been compelled by the bad economy to "shut doors on their dreams." Included was Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, which will close March 31 after 82 years. "We are just bleeding," said president Carol Grossmeyer.

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Writers reflect upon art: In the first of a series of talks by well-known authors about their favorite paintings, the Guardian presented Philip Pullman discussing Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

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Effective August 1, Encounter Books, New York, N.Y., will be sold and distributed by Perseus Distribution.

Founded in 1998, Encounter Books publishes some 25 nonfiction titles a year on a range of subjects, from history and biography to religion, education, public policy, science and culture. Authors include Brian Anderson, Peter Collier, Theodore Dalrymple, John Fund, Victor Davis Hanson, Gertrude Himmelfarb, David Horowitz, Leon Kass, William Kristol, Andrew C. McCarthy and Thomas Sowell.

Since 2005, the press has been headed by Roger Kimball, editor and publisher of the New Criterion.

The Amazon Kindle 2 has begun shipping. Today's New York Times called the many changes to the e-reader "fairly minor," but said, "fortunately, they're exactly what was needed to turn a very good reader into an even better one."

Will this and other e-readers replace the traditional book? The Times wrote: "The point everyone is missing is that in Technoland, nothing ever replaces anything. E-book readers won't replace books. The iPhone won't replace e-book readers. Everything just splinters. They will all thrive, serving their respective audiences.

"With those caveats, the new Kindle edges even closer to the ideal of an e-book reader. The reading experience is immersive, natural and pleasant; the book catalog, while not yet complete, is growing and delivered instantaneously; and apart from the clicky keyboard (an unnecessary appendage 99.9 percent of the time), the design feels right."

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Another major bookseller is getting into the e-act. On Thursday, Indigo, the Canadian chain, is unveiling Shortcovers, "an e-book reading and buying program that works on devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones, and in the coming months on other smartphone systems including Symbian and Windows, as well as on other gadgets such as the Palm Pre," the Wall Street Journal reported.

Among other things, the service will offer first chapters of books for free, and individual chapters will available for purchase.

Michael Serbinis, executive v-p of Shortcovers, told the paper, "We think the ability to use your existing device is definitely going to be a convenient aspect to the service, especially for a consumer that isn't an avid reader."

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Speaking of Amazon and the Kindle, Gawker has spliced together many moments featuring the inimitable Jeff Bezos laugh from his appearance last night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Chuckle here.

The third Book Buddies visit, the program sponsored by Bookazine and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, differed somewhat from its predecessors in that the host bookstore was not primarily seeking help and advice. Instead, WORD bookstore in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, N.Y., was more of a gathering place for some energized booksellers, who were introduced to the store by Christine Onorati, who opened WORD almost two years ago after owning a bookstore on Long Island for six years (Shelf Awareness, May 1, 2007).

Greenpoint has been traditionally a Polish neighborhood, so much so that many storefronts have signs in English and Polish, and there are two Polish-language bookstores. (WORD advertises itself locally as an "English store.") Sometimes people come in the store and begin speaking Polish with the staff.

But Greenpoint has also attracted "lots of people in their 20s and 30s," many of whom have young children--these are the bulk of WORD's customers. They like hip, edgy titles. One well-stocked section near the front is called "Pop Culture, Sex and Humor." There are also plenty of board books and picture books but few YA titles. Bookazine's Ron Rice, an authority on the subject, called WORD "a hip, cool place."

The store's decor is a comfortable blend of tasteful and friendly. The hardwood floor is beautiful; the colors of the walls and details are nicely coordinated. There is an ample supply of exposed brick. Scattered about the matching shelves are clean, elegant Shelfwiz shelf talkers--but all notes in them are handwritten. Margot Sage-EL, owner of Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, N.J., said that WORD had "done incredibly well with the space."

The store has a "book of the month" club, with a 10% discount. February's pick is Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock, now out in paperback. WORD also has a loyalty program offering $5 for every $100 spent, which it is currently promoting as its very own "bailout plan."

Since opening, the store has doubled the number of books in inventory as it learned more about the customers and their tastes. "We grew into the space," Onorati said. Still, "we can't be everything to everyone," she continued. "We're small, so selection is key." WORD carries "just enough hardcovers to face out every single one." The store does many special orders. The store on Long Island was larger, so "it was bad if we didn't have what they wanted," Onorati said, adding that customers at that store "couldn't be any more different" from the ones in Greenpoint.

Stationery is the store's major sideline. Onorati orders from "small, independent card companies," and sell lots of journals, too. "Moleskine is king."

The main floor has about 1,000 square feet of space. The basement, which is for events and book club meetings, has about 850 square feet. The renovated building had not been used for retail in 40 years, so Onorati did all the work--"flooring, walls, partition, the basement."

The basement features a small stage with theater lighting that was built by a local comedian who puts on shows in the space twice a month. It's his own show that he promotes, but "it's good PR," Onorati said, adding that she "loves having a dedicated space," and that authors "like having any space." Eventually she might stock books in the basement, too.

Manager Stephanie Anderson, who started earlier this month and is also a columnist for Shelf Awareness, will "work on the children's business," as part of her myriad duties, Onorati said, because so far, WORD "has not done much with schools."

Like the book selection, events have evolved at the store. "At first, we were not so picky," Onorati said. Now the store is "trying not to have single-author events," preferring to host two authors at a time or as a panel. She noted that in the past six months, attendance at events has declined somewhat, "but the fact we have events seems to help the reputation of the store."

Margot Sage-EL described a bit of a "malaise" about events and said her store focuses on local author events. "It's our responsibility," she said. "It's their night to shine."

WORD is on Facebook and recently began tweeting. Onorati noted that Facebook invitations to events seem to mean more than store newsletter invitations.

Among a few other topics that arose:

Clinton Book Shop, Clinton, N.J., uses plain old-fashioned Post-It notes for shelf talkers.

Some booksellers don't like to use the phrase special orders with customers. Anderson said she likes to say, "We're placing an order today" or "We've ordered it." Rita Maggio, owner of BookTowne, Manasquan, N.J., said she says, "It's not here now, but will be here tomorrow."

Bookazine's Ron Rice said that the Book Buddies group (the most recent participants pictured in the WORD event space above) is looking to set up more meetings soon and hopes they will become a kind of "mini Winter Institute. It's a grain of something that could be a bigger sense of community." He's also had discussions about having book buddy meetings in Southern Independent Booksellers Association territory.--John Mutter

Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Sam Zien, author of Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes (Wiley, $18.95, 9780470043738/0470043733).

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Tomorrow the Diane Rehm Show's Readers' Review focuses on Rabbit, Run by John Updike.

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Tomorrow on Oprah: Suze Orman, author of Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan (Spiegel & Grau, $9.99, 9780385530934/0385530935).

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Tomorrow on CNBC's Squawk Box: Felix Rohatyn, author of Bold Endeavors: How Our Government Built America, and Why It Must Rebuild Now (Simon & Schuster, $26, 9781416533122/1416533125).

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Tomorrow on the Tavis Smiley Show: Thomas E. Ricks, author of The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008 (Penguin Press, $27.95, 9781594201974/1594201978).

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Tomorrow night on the Late Show with David Letterman, in a repeat: Tony Dungy, author of Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance (Tyndale House, $24.99, 9781414326818/1414326815).

John Sayles will write an HBO series based upon Scar Tissue, the autobiography by Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Variety reported that the story "centers on the rocker's early years living in West Hollywood with his father. At that time, Kiedis' dad, known as Spider, sold drugs and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into showbiz."

"John writes from a real human place, and has already tapped into the relationship between young Anthony and his dad," said Marc Abrams of Catapult 360, which partnered with Kiedis to create the series. 

As we noted last week (Shelf Awareness, February 19, 2009), filming begins later this year on Pride and Predator, which combines the Jane Austen classic and an alien arrival in the 19th century.

A recent article in the Times of London calls the film part of a new genre: "monster lit." Among other prime examples is an upcoming book and developing film project also based on Pride and Prejudice called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith ($12.95, 9781594743344/1594743347). Quirk Books was originally going to publish the book in June but will now publish in April because of exceptional online and newspaper buzz and feverish--even bloodthirsty--Hollywood interest in obtaining movie rights. The new version of the novel includes most of the original Austen novel as well as revisions that the publisher said have livened up the "duller" parts.

Strangely all of the sizzling zombie buzz occurred without anyone seeing a copy of the book--the title and cover were enough to stir up interest.

The Times noted that Grahame-Smith, a TV comedy writer, and his Quirk editor "developed a diagram tracing connections between seminal period novels to cult movie genres, including robots, vampires and aliens." The co-author told the paper that "it quickly became obvious that Jane [Austen] had laid down the blueprint for a zombie novel. Why else in the original should a regiment arrive on Lizzie Bennet's doorstep when they should have been off fighting Napoleon? It was to protect the family from an invasion of brain-eaters, obviously."

Some other monster lit projects in the works, according to the Times: a version of Wuthering Heights in which Catherine returns as a ghost to terrorize Heathcliff; a Jane Eyre title that features more than an insane wife in the attic; and a Mill on the Floss "powered by human sacrifice."

And in an amusing post on the publisher's blog, Dot Lin, publicity manager at Tor/Forge Books, outlined several Austen monster-lit books on the way: "Other Austen monster-lit contenders include the just announced Mary Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey (Jane Austen with magic!) [to be published by Tor], Michael Thomas Ford's not yet published Jane Bites Back (an undead Austen with writer's block) [to be published by Ballantine], and Carrie Bebris' cozily paranormal Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries (Pride and Prescience, anyone?) [published by Forge]. As I write this, I'm sure there's a Wickham-bot caper that I missed."

The winners of the 13th annual Books for a Better Life Awards, honoring the best self-improvement books of 2008 and sponsored by the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, are:

• Audiobook: Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Macmillan Audio)
• Childcare/Parenting: The Trouble with Boys by Peg Tyre (Crown)
• First Book: The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan (Voice)
• Green: Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich (Storey Publishing)
• Inspirational Memoir: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
• Motivational: Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving, and Listening by Daniel Gottlieb (Sterling)
• Psychology: My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor (Viking)
• Relationships: September Songs by Maggie Scarf (Riverhead)
• Spiritual: The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology by Jack Kornfield (Bantam Dell)
• Wellness: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Penguin Press)

For the complete list of finalists, go to msnyc.org.

Also at the award ceremonies last night, Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., co-authors of the YOU series, and Bob Miller, president and founder of HarperStudio, were inducted into the Ardath Rodale Hall of Fame.

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, March 3:

Handle with Care: A Novel by Jodi Picoult (Atria, $27.95, 9780743296410/0743296419) follows a couple raising a loveable but seriously ill daughter.

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin's, $27.95, 9780312539511/0312539517) explores the possibility that George Mallory reached the summit of Mt. Everest during his fatal 1924 attempt.

Peaks and Valleys: Making Good and Bad Times Work for You--At Work and in Life by Spencer Johnson (Atria, $19.95, 9781439103258/1439103259) is a parable about an unhappy young man who uses an old man's wisdom to better himself.

Enough Already!: Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You by Peter Walsh (Free Press, $26, 9781416560180/1416560181) gives advice for balancing the demands of daily life.

Don't Look Twice: A Novel by Andrew Gross (Morrow, $25.99, 9780061143441/0061143448) takes place in Greenwich, Conn., after a shocking drive-by shooting.

The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell and Charlotte Mandell (Harper, $29.99, 9780061353451/0061353450) is the fictional memoir of a former Nazi officer who witnessed some of World War II's most disturbing events.

Fight For Your Money: How to Stop Getting Ripped Off and Save a Fortune by David Bach (Broadway, $26, 9780767929844/0767929845) sheds light on a variety of dubious avoidable expenses.

Now in paperback:

The Black Book of Hollywood Pregnancy Secrets by Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman (Plume, $15, 9780452290150/0452290155).

President Truman created the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in August 1946 to move the country's atomic energy program away from military control. Many scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project's top-secret experiments in nuclear fission were hoping that the AEC, once independent of military influence, would foster development of nuclear energy for something other than reducing cities to radioactive dust.

Although almost 20% of our electricity today is generated by nuclear reactors and more power plants will come on line soon, Todd Tucker shows that the military long held a firm grip over the industry. Grandiose plans for peaceful uses of nuclear energy had been heavily advertised to the tax-paying public from 1946 onward; but by 1961, only three reactors were producing electricity for the commercial grid. The Army and Air Force, meanwhile, had been expending millions of dollars for 15 years on such doomed projects as an atomic cannon and an airplane powered by an onboard nuclear reactor. The first practical application came from Hyman Rickover, a Navy maverick renowned for perfectionism. He saw that if a safe reactor could be designed to power a submarine, a new fleet could remain submerged for untold periods of time.

Tucker contrasts Rickover's success story in launching the USS Nautilus, our first nuclear submarine, with a far less exemplary operation, the Army's SL-1 reactor. Located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, SL-1 exploded on January 3, 1961, killing three men and destroying the long-held belief that reactors were inherently safe. An AEC report cited poor reactor design, poor maintenance and inadequate crew training. A rumor alleging that one crew member blew up the facility in revenge in connection with a love triangle was intended to smear the crew members and distract attention from the reactor's decrepit condition but served only to damage Army credibility in the affair. The tragic event at SL-1, Tucker states, essentially ended the Army nuclear reactor program and elevated Rickover to sole respected spokesman for the nuclear power industry. He did, after all, have an unblemished safety record with nuclear submarines for 30 years.

"The whole reactor game hangs on a much more slender thread than most people are aware. There are a lot of things that can go wrong and it requires eternal vigilance," Rickover once warned. Tucker forecasts huge growth in the number of nuclear reactors (78% of France's electrical power comes from nuclear energy, and vocal opponents in the U.S. are changing their opinions) so that the eternal vigilance that was Rickover's hallmark will be ever more important. Lest we forget, rare major accidents--Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986--remind us that radioactivity is forever, in Idaho Falls, Arlington National Cemetery or your food chain.--John McFarland

Shelf Talker: A fascinating, provocative and accessible history of nuclear energy development in our country from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to your local nuclear power plant--many skeptics will be surprised to find some of their prejudices crumbling.