Simultaneously this past weekend, attendees at BookExpo America could witness the end of time-honored parts of the show--some of the losses were welcomed, others lamented--and one could see the outline of a different kind of show that should be just as important to the industry, wherever the industry goes. As Peter Osnos of PublicAffairs put it, "This is a great event for learning all the important stuff about digital. BEA is important, as usual."

In addition to ye olde books and authors, change--both technological and economic--was the biggest topic of the show. Companies and individuals are trying to reinvent themselves and thrive in the new era of viral marketing, social networking and upended sales and distribution channels. As Jennifer Bigelow of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association commented: "Publishers are being creative. They're thinking outside the box."

On the show floor, mountains of galleys were swept away in the cost-conscious e-age and were missed by many. This perhaps contributed to a feeling that there were fewer big show books. But at the same time, the author events, which seemed to have increased in number, drew raves. It's easy to forget that not long ago author signings in booths were banned at these shows; now the lines of people forming on the floor to meet authors add to a sense of excitement in the aisles.

Educational panels and seminars were more focused, of consistent quality, explored the major issues of the day and often drew SRO audiences. The two stages on the show floor featuring author and panel discussions similarly drew large crowds. Nearby exhibitors told Shelf Awareness that the programs, which were not distracting, increased traffic for them.

Exhibitors' booths shrank (overall down 20%), but exhibitors we spoke with expressed satisfaction with the show. For example, Dominique Raccah of Sourcebooks called BEA "the best show of my career." Martha Fluke of Elsevier noted that traffic was steady and that more librarians seek out the company at BEA than seek it out at ALA, a trend that has occurred the past three years. At mid-morning on Friday, Doug Armato of the University of Minnesota Press (which highlighted its books with a sign saying "your mental stimulus plan") said, "Already this is better than Los Angeles."

Some of the slimmed-down booths were striking, most notably Random House's. The company that once took so much space its location was called Randomland had a booth called a kiosk by a few wags. Random's Stuart Applebaum said that the approach--having a floor booth "for authors and booksellers and librarians to meet" while business meetings took place in rooms downstairs, off the show floor--"worked out well."

Attendance was 29,923, up 1,500 from last year in Los Angeles, but down 6,189 or 17.1% from 36,112 two years ago in New York. Still, many felt that if there were fewer people, they mattered more. According to BEA's red-bowtied Lance Fensterman, ABA member bookstore attendance was equal to that in 2007, while media representation rose to 1,700 from 1,250. There were 7,066 book buyers.

We heard no regrets about the lack of some of the footloose self-promoters of the past, who were discouraged from entry by higher fees. Where, several people wondered, was the "toilet seat guy" (he who wore a toilet seat around his head in a successful bid for attention) and the "question mark guy?" (We never queried him about the meaning of his question mark. One rumor had it that he won a stimulus package and is in Bora Bora sipping mojitos.) At least "Elvis" was in the building. And Connie Bennett, the single author of Sugar Shock!, wore a sandwich board asking "Are You 'The One?' " She was seeking "a committed relationship" both with the right man and with a "compatible publisher" for her new title, The 21 Weight-Loss Habits of Highly Successful Losers & Slim People. The sandwich board added: "Will put out on first date!!"

In the category of There Will Always Be a BEA, Dr. Ruth was at the show. We imagined that if, as a few doomsayers predicted, BEA might end, Dr. Ruth would be the one to turn out the lights.

Many fewer parties led to a greater appreciation of those that were held--and led to some spontaneous socializing and the popularity of the BEAtweetup, for example.

Last but not least, we wish to observe a moment of silence for the last weekend on which BEA will be held. Beginning next year, the show will take place mid-week and consist of one day of educational sessions and two days of a trade show.

State of the Business

Several people noted encouraging trends. Linda Cannon of rep group Parson Weems said that in the last month and a half, "we're seeing backlist orders again. This is a very good sign."

---

Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates said that the group's bookselling school held just before BEA had 12 graduates, representing 11 possible stores. He said he fully expects four stores to open this year and another six in the next 12 months. Three of the students were "female attorneys changing careers" and one has been in college textbook publishing.

---

A green light for Greenlight. Jessica Stockton Bagnulo and Rebecca Fitting were beaming at show: they had just secured a bank loan on very good terms and signed a lease for their bookstore, Greenlight, in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, N.Y. They plan to open in the fall and were spending part of their time at BEA checking out fixtures. The storefront is on Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Lafayette subway stop.

BEA Moments:

Roberta Rubin, owner of the Bookstall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka, Ill., deserves credit for a most remarkable BEA journey: On Friday afternoon, she took a flight home from New York so that on Saturday morning, she could host an event for Larry King, whose new memoir is My Remarkable Journey (Weinstein Books). (To add to the excitement, King mentioned his visit and the store on his CNN show.) On Saturday afternoon, Rubin headed back to New York so that she could attend a Random House dinner.

---

Bookseller-turned-agent Andy Ross, who had been longtime owner of Cody's Books, Berkeley, Calif., noted that he had placed seven books in his first year. With a kind of shrug, he added that he had unintentionally created a niche for himself in scholarly and public policy and had become "the go-to guy for orthodox Jewish scholars."

---

For his part, former bookseller and publisher Roger Williams, who called Ross his mentor in agenting, said that he has received 28 submissions since opening his shop this month and already, sadly, sent his first rejection letter.

---

On her first extended visit to the U.S., Australian writer Kate Morton had already held events at two bookstores for The Forgotten Garden, her new book from Atria, and had become acquainted with the Sharpie, a signing tool that she liked so much she has purchased her own.--John Mutter

[More on the show this week and next!]

 

To reflect and emphasize what Kimberly Kuo, executive v-p of marketing, called "a new Baker & Taylor"--one that includes new leadership and a series of digital deals that have added and enhanced the wholesaler's e-book and POD offerings--B&T has launched a rebranding campaign that includes a new logo, new tagline and new corporate website. (See them all at baker-taylor.com.)

B&T's new logo shows "not just books on a shelf, but any content file," whether CD or DVD or e-book, "all the bundled digital and physical products and value-added services" the distributor offers, according to Kuo. The four "pillars" are based on the Greek foundations of wisdom, knowledge, philosophy and learning as well as Greek theater, which connected story, meaning, entertainment and culture.

The tagline "the future delivered" intends to highlight to suppliers and customers that "no matter what their strategy, B&T can deliver success," Kuo said. From books to the digital side, "no matter what format and device, we can deliver that content to you."

The core of the change is "four key deals" that the company worked on for the past seven to eight months that aim to make B&T "a premier provider of physical and digital media to multiple markets worldwide," said Bob Nelson, executive v-p of global business development. The company focused on partnerships rather than building its own systems because it needed to be "up and running quickly." The timing is "perfect" he said. The initiatives consist of:

* A partnership with R.R. Donnelley, which will provide print on demand services for B&T. Donnelley will establish and manage a Digital Print on Demand Center in B&T's Momence, Ill., distribution center and do POD at some of its digital print run facilities in the U.S. that are near other B&T DCs. Eventually the agreement may be expanded to include Donnelley sites worldwide.

Nelson lauded Donnelley for its printing and POD experience and having "the technological power to have the latest and greatest from an equipment perspective." The Momence POD unit should be in operation by September 1 and will allow B&T to list books for which it has content files as in stock. "We have the power of the leading printing company," Nelson added.

* The deal announced early last week (Shelf Awareness, May 27, 2009) for OverDrive to provide downloadable e-books, audiobooks, music, video and more for B&T customers. In the next few months, Baker & Taylor will begin offering its Digital Media Library, powered by OverDrive, for library customers worldwide and will make available to retailers digital media that their customers can download, transfer and play back on a variety of devices.

"OverDrive has a great reputation in public libraries and with some retailers," Nelson said, who noted that B&T is "not just reselling content, but hosting platforms for our customers."

* Its agreement with ebrary, which has provided B&T with "platforms and content to service the academic market," Nelson said.

* The partnership with Libra Digital, which helps B&T provide file conversions for publishers, asset management and distribution through a variety of e-channels and gives B&T a digital warehouse.

Congratulations to Swift Books, which has opened in the Prince of Orange Mall in Orangeburg, S.C., in the site of a former Waldenbooks (Shelf Awareness, April 4, 2009). Owned by Dean and Edie Swift (above with staff and their first customers), Swift Books has its grand opening this Wednesday, June 3, starting at 11 a.m. The store will give away prizes, and artist and author Jim Harrison (The Passing: Perspective of Rural America) will appear. Swift Books is located at 2390 Chestnut N.E., Suite D-4, Orangeburg, S.C. 29115; 803-533-4344; swiftbookstore.com.

 

Google is planning to introduce a program allowing publishers to sell e-book editions of new books on Google and will allow publishers some ability to set prices, the New York Times reported. The program is distinct from the Google Book Settlement.

In reaction, David Young, CEO of Hachette, told the Times, "Clearly any major company coming into the e-book space, providing that we are happy with the pricing structure, the selling price and the security of the technology, will be a welcome addition."

--

After two years without any form of fixed prices for books, the Swiss parliament voted last Wednesday in favor of a law that permits Swiss, German and Austrian publishers to set fixed prices for books for at least 18 months. The second chamber of the Swiss parliament will have to discuss the issue in fall. The Swiss Publishers and Booksellers Association has been lobbying with the German Börsenverein for a return to fixed prices on books.

On May 2, 2007, the Swiss government had declared fixed prices to be in violation of the country's antitrust laws.

Although the measure is expected to help smaller and independent booksellers, the law will also likely be welcomed by amazon.de, Amazon's Germany subsidiary, as well. Because international online book transactions are exempt from the proposed law, Internet booksellers will be able to continue to discount titles for Swiss customers. Amazon's sales in Switzerland are estimated at around $40 million.--Carlo Bernasconi, editor-in-chief, Schweizer Buchhandel.

---

Buffalo Street Books is the new name of Bookery II, Ithaca, N.Y., owned by Gary Weissbrot. Buffalo Books is still located at 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850, but has a new phone and e-mail address: 607-273-8246 and BuffaloStreetBooks@hotmail.com. (Thanks to NAIBA!)

---
Craig Morgan, owner of the Clear Creek Book Store, Golden, Colo., was interviewed by 9NEWS about his shop's dramatic comeback from near closure earlier this year (Shelf Awareness, April 2, 2009).

"We almost went out of business," he said. "I had a large rent and bills and loan payments and stuff and I didn't think I was going to be able to make it. So I put it out on our newsletter that we were probably going to close, barring a miracle. And people just responded like crazy, 'No we're not going to let you close.' . . . They really care. I think some people come in and buy books when they don't need them. I don't know if that's true, but it seems like it."

---

During the final week of Morningside Bookshop's existence, the New York Times reported that "there was no letup in the energetic schedule of events that have attracted neighbors for years," as the store neared its closing date yesterday.    "We love being here," owner Peter Soter said. "We don't want to go."

Robert Hornsby, a spokesman for Columbia University, the bookstore's landlord indicated that "the university had tried to help keep the shop open. But he cited documents showing that the store owed $158,000 in rent."

Despite efforts by people in the Morningside Heights neighborhood to forestall the ending, thus far "no deals have been reached. But a competitor, Chris Doeblin, owner of the neighborhood's only other mainstream independent shop, Book Culture, on 112th Street, asked Columbia if he could take over the lease and has enlisted a couple of dozen professors to write to university officials about his proposal." The Times added that "Hornsby said the university was awaiting Mr. Doeblin's 'business plan and financial statements' before a deal could be reached."

---

The Baltimore Jewish Times surveyed local libraries and bookstores about summer books and reading trends. At the Baltimore County Public Library, circulation is up 5.5% in the 10 months through April and computer usage has skyrocketed. At the Pikesville branch, popular books and categories include the Twilight series, zombie titles, thrillers, romances, job search and "re-training" titles, fix-it-yourself books and self-help--"whether it is managing debt or spirituality."

At breathe books in Baltimore, "sales are up in the economic downturn, with customers buying books on self-help, money and the 'law of attraction,' and positive messaging from spirits from 'other universes' that apparently foresaw this crisis and predict that everything will turn out all right," the Times wrote.

Sales of candles, gemstones, incense and New Age and guided meditation CDs have increased. Owner Susan L. Weis commented: "In the New Age world, there is no panic about the current situation."

The Pikesville Barnes & Noble has four tables of summer reads, including books that have sold well in the past and new titles by Steve Harvey, Michael Lewis, James Patterson, Charlaine Harris, David Baldacci and Jodi Picoult.

At Ivy Bookshop, popular titles include mysteries by Swedish, Italian and British authors, World War II books, cookbook narratives and personality biographies. There has been "a run" on books about the Wittgenstein family, whose bestknown member was philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Fiction specialist Shirley Fergenson noted that many customers come in with book lists culled from local NPR station, the New York Times and the New Yorker.

---

Memorial Day Weekend was a "solid holiday" for merchants in Petoskey, Mich., including McLean and Eakin Book Sellers, where manager Matt Norcross told the News-Review, "We were very happy overall with business performance during the weekend."

"Saturday turned out to be busier for the bookstore than the same period during the 2008 Memorial weekend," the paper wrote. "The pace turned out slower on Sunday, with Norcross believing that many people were outdoors enjoying the pleasant weather."

Norcross added that he anticipates the summer season won't be a record-breaker by any means but is not predicting doom and gloom. "I think it's going to be just fine."

---

Anne Laird, owner of the Town Book Store, Westfield, N.J., told MyCentralJersey.com that "almost everyone who comes in will always ask, 'How are you doing? How do you compete with Amazon, Barnes & Noble?' But we're definitely holding our own. We'll take the time to help you find the right book--we'll spend 30 minutes with you, if you need 30 minutes--and every book here has had a thought process behind why we have it.''

"It's almost like it was meant to be. It's a fun type of store to own," she said of her "dream job."

---

City of Asylum Pittsburgh, an organization that "provides homes and care for writers in exile, wants to create a cultural destination at three properties anchored by 1406 Monterey St. . . . the nearly 4,000 square feet would comprise a bookstore, a cafe, a public gathering space for readings, performances and other events, and apartments on the upper floors," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

---

China Daily reported that Surnamed Liu confessed to stealing 1,565 books during the past three years, but "said he felt his crime was just a bad habit." He told police he wasn't interested in reselling them: "I have no money but like reading very much, so I stole the books."

---

Robin Wheeler has joined Pelican Publishing Company as southeastern sales manager. Formerly she was community relations manager at the Barnes & Noble in Savannah, Ga., where, among other things, she helped the store raise funding for more than 1,000 new books for the local public school system.

 

Egmont USA is partnering with Laura Geringer Books, whose first list will launch with the company in fall 2010. The list includes Dangerous Neighbors, set in 1876 Philadelphia, by Beth Kephart. Geringer has worked with Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond on their follow-ups to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, as well as with William Joyce, among many others, and is a children's book author herself.

---

As of July 6, Brenda Bowen, who left HarperCollins in February, will become a children's book literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. Prior to founding the Bowen Press imprint at HarperCollins, she was v-p, editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Global Books at Disney, executive v-p and associate publisher at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and editorial director at Scholastic Press. On her blog, read an interview between Bowen ex-publisher (aka BBXP) and Bowen "girl agent" (aka BBGA). Here's one of the highlights:

BBXP: What exactly is your take on new media?

BBGA: Maybe I'll auction the first American cell-phone novel for teens. Who knows. I'll be open to great stories and book ideas wherever they come from.

---

Ellen Krieger, v-p and associate publisher of Aladdin books, will retire at the end of June after 15 years with Simon & Schuster. During that time, she oversaw the merging of Pocket Books's middle grade and teen (Aladdin and Pulse) imprints, launched Aladdin M!X, a brand aimed at tweens and helped transform Aladdin into a hardcover and softcover imprint. Before she joined S&S, Krieger was editorial director of the Flare and Camelot imprints at Avon Books for 10 years, and prior to that served as subsidiary rights manager for Harper Junior Books Group.

 

This morning on the Today Show: Michael Lewis, author of Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood (Norton, $23.95. 9780393069013/039306901X). He's on On Point tomorrow, too.

Also on Today: Paula Froelich, author of Mercury in Retrograde (Atria, $24, 9781416598930/1416598936).

---

Fox & Friends discusses President Ronald Reagan's Initial Actions Project (Threshold Editions, $9.99, 9781439165904/1439165904).

---

Tonight on the Colbert Report: Senator Byron L. Dorgan, author of Reckless!: How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (Thomas Dunne, $24.99, 9780312383039/0312383037).

---

Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Claire Shipman and Katty Kay, authors of Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success (HarperBusiness, $27.99, 9780061697180/0061697184). Kay is also on the Colbert Report tomorrow night.

---

Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Sarah Burningham, associate director of marketing at HarperStudio and author of Boylogy: A Teen Girl's Crash Course in All Things Boy (Chronicle, $12.99, 9780811864367/0811864367).

---

Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work (Penguin Press, $25.95, 9781594202230/1594202230).

---

Tomorrow night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: P. J. O'Rourke, author of Driving Like Crazy (Atlantic Monthly Press, $24, 9780802118837/0802118836).

 

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next picks:

Hardcover

The World in Half: A Novel by Cristina Henriquez (Riverhead, $25.95, 9781594488559/159448855X). "College-age Miraflores Reid grew up believing that her Panamanian father had not wanted her, but when her mother begins to suffer from dementia Miraflores secretly travels from Chicago to Panama to discover his story, and her own. The unfolding of the past--and its effect on her--is beautifully told in The World in Half."--Ellen Sandmeyer, Sandmeyer's Bookstore, Chicago, Ill.

Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska by Miranda Weiss (Harper, $24.99, 9780061710254/0061710253). "Miranda Weiss gives a wonderful feel for life in this wild coastal area--the water, the sea birds, the whales, the many kinds of fish, and the diverse characters inhabiting Homer. A richly rewarding read."--Reva Colliver, Windows on the World-Books & Art, Mariposa, Calif.

Paperback

The Worst Thing I've Done: A Novel by Ursula Hegi (Touchstone, $14, 9781416543763/1416543767). "This is a story of three adults who've been best friends from childhood--with an edge. This is a beautifully written novel, with soul."--Lisa Stefanacci, the Book Works, Del Mar, Calif.

For Ages 9-12

Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French (Amulet, $16.95, 9780810983540/0810983540). "When city boy Julian Carter-Li discovers that his uncle's corporation is planning to cut down an ancient redwood forest for lumber, he links up with Robin, whose conservation-minded family runs a small organic farm, to save the forest. The book is a rich source for discussion--a worthy choice for school or pleasure reading."--Vicky Uminowicz, Titcomb's Bookshop, East Sandwich, Mass.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Perhaps best-known as one of NPR's book critics, Alan Cheuse is a multitalented writer, his gift for lyrical travel writing amply displayed in this collection of 11 essays. Because several of these pieces appeared in publications not easily accessible to the casual reader, it's a gift to find them together in this volume.

It takes a skilled writer to transform the pedestrian town of Cheuse's birth--Perth Amboy, N.J.--into a subject worthy of close scrutiny. Yet he manages to summon up sharp and poignant reminiscences of his childhood there, early days spent along and on the water for which he confesses a lifelong obsession, best captured in the evocative, almost mystical, essay "Thirty-Five Passages Over Water."

Cheuse moves from Bruce Springsteen territory to more exotic locales like Bali and New Zealand, which is experiencing an influx of tourists captivated by the magnificent scenery of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He slips seamlessly from the role of travel writer to that of literary critic as he canvasses the literature of Southeast Asia, conversing knowledgeably about writers like Conrad, Maugham and Greene, alongside Java-born author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who's doubtless unknown to most Western readers.

The book's three longest pieces focus on the border region between the U.S. and Mexico. In "The Mexican Rabbi," Cheuse, a Jew by birth but not by practice, offers a perceptive look at the small, struggling Jewish community of Tijuana, one of whose leaders offered him an amount equal to the fee he was to receive for writing the piece to induce him to kill it. That essay is a companion to "Border Schooling," which explores the challenges of the bilingual education at the Colegio Inglés in Tijuana. The third piece of the triptych is "Port of Entry," Cheuse's extended account of a Saturday night he spent at the San Ysidro boarder crossing, offering gritty journalistic realism in place of the platitudes that infect the current debate on immigration.

Alan Cheuse is a pleasurable traveling companion not merely because of the keenness of his eye but also because of the richness of his vision and his evocative prose. "The best travel writing carries us along on a soul-journey," as he puts it, "the sort of trip that may or may not tell you about the best hotels and the good places to eat but certainly . . . dramatizes how the heart learns about itself in relation to the world, making the foreign familiar and the familiar slightly foreign." He more than meets that standard in this appealing volume.--Harvey Freedenberg

Shelf Talker: A novelist and literary critic offers a compact selection of idiosyncratic travel essays that take the reader on a trip from New Jersey to New Zealand and points in between.