Struggling under an involuntary Chapter 7 liquidation filing from a group of creditors, Washington, DC-area bookseller Olsson’s was granted a conversion to Chapter 11 status by a Federal Bankruptcy court of Maryland last Friday. Olsson’s listed assets of $929,428 and liabilities of $1,951,629. In a filing from three major publishers, Random House has an unsecured claim of more than $175,000, while Penguin’s claim is more than $171,500 and Hachette is owed just under $40,000. Principal owner John Olsson still expresses hope that the store group will “maintain operations while implementing a plan for successful restructuring.” Comptroller says all they need […]
Bookstores
Borders Live with Audio Downloads
The promised inclusion of downloadable audiobooks at Borders’ web site has gone live, with “an initial 15,000 titles” on offer. The company says that over a third of those titles are available in (DRM-free) MP3 files. Starting today and running through Saturday, you can download a free audio version of Jon Krakauer’s INTO THE WILD, and an additional 15 titles from top authors (including the topical TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer) will sold at the promotional discount price of $9.95 through July 22. As noted previously, Borders has partnered with OverDrive for both the inventory and the underlying technology for the […]
Author Solutions Partners Include Alibris
First announced in June with 10 partners, Author Solutions has signed another 13 sites to the program that makes their self-publishing platform available to other entities on a revenue-sharing basis. Interestingly, among the latest partners is online bookselling powerhouse Alibris, which creates all kinds of interesting possibilities. Author Solutions calls the program “a turnkey revenue producer for online communities, printers, retailers, and publishers. The platform has all of our publishing expertise ‘baked in.’ It can be skinned with our partners’ branding and we provide all necessary IT and back-end support.”Release
eBook Updates
Amazon announced a ramp-up in titles from Christian book publishers available for the Kindle, saying that Augsburg Fortress, Crossway Books & Bibles, David C. Cook, Gospel Light, Group Publishing, NavPress, Strang Communications, Thomas Nelson, Tyndale, Wm. B. Eerdmans and Zondervan “have committed to making the majority of their catalogs of books available to Kindle owners by the end of 2008.” VP of Kindle Ian Freed confirms last week’s new pseudo-stat: “Of the 135,000 books available on Amazon.com as a physical book and on Kindle, Kindle books already account for over 12 percent of units sold.”Amazon release Separately, UK chain Waterstone’s […]
BN Moves and Expands A Rare Book Department
Barnes & Noble’s small rare- and out-of-print-book department at their recently-closed Chelsea store in NYC will relocate at the chain’s store on Broadway and 66th Street, “where it will soon be moved from the third floor to a more prominent location on the second floor.” The NYT adds: “Barnes & Noble says it does not plan to replicate the effort in other stores, it is also not taking its commitment lightly: it is spending a significant sum on the department, installing custom display cases with locked glass doors.”NYT
Chicago's Afrocentric Books to Close
Desiree Sanders, 41, founder and president of Chicago’s Afrocentric Bookstore, says: “The last year has not been good for us as far as customers. It is with much regret that I complete the process of closing our doors after 18 years of service to the Black community. I know by closing I am leaving a void in the Black community but the economics to stay open just aren’t there anymore.”Chicago Reader In Philadelphia, Molly’s Bookstore is selling off inventory and will close. Owner Molly Russakoff says: “The whole nature of the business changed from a laid-back, sociable job to a […]