Hachette Book Group launched an indie home delivery initiative to provide extra margin to “any independent bookstore that offers local delivery of books to homes or businesses within their community done directly by a store staff member or other contracted local delivery service.” Between March 16 and May 15, bookstores will receive an additional discount of 5 percent off MSRP on any delivered HBG title once receipt of the credit request form is received with no minimum order to be eligible for the rebate. Abrams postponed the release of Jeff Kinney‘s ROWLEY JEFFERSON’S AWESOME FRIENDLY ADVENTURE, from April 7 to August […]
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People, Etc.: LBF Director to Leave, and More
Director of the London Book Fair Jacks Thomas will step down and leave Reed Exhibitions this summer after 7 years running the show. She had intended to announce her departure at this year’s LBF before the event was cancelled. At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Stephanie Fletcher has been promoted to senior editor. Jenny Xu has been promoted to associate editor. Liz Kossnar has joined Little, Brown Children’s as a senior editor. Awards The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, by Rick Atkinson has won the $50,000 New-York Historical Society Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize. The […]
Powell’s and McNally Jackson Have Substantial Layoffs
After closing their physical stores due to the spread of COVID-19, Powell’s Books reportedly announced temporary layoffs that dismissed roughly 85 percent of the 400 workers represented by ILWU Local 5, according to the union. Citing “the rapid, significant downturn in sales in the recent weeks and days,” human resources director Michelle Afroso wrote to employees that the store “needs to take to immediate steps to scale back the company.” She said, “If sales continue to decrease in the future, we will need to take further action. We will try to avoid additional layoffs by reducing the size of the […]
Status Reports: Barnes & Noble Watchful, Ingram Stands By, S&S and Cengage Work From Home
With most of the nation’s major library systems closing and a wave of independent booksellers closing to the public, at least, we checked in with Barnes & Noble to see how they are approaching the situation. “We have reduced store hours in all of our stores, and are prepared to close stores promptly along with guidance from local and national officials,” a spokesperson told PL. “We have also enhanced cleaning in all of our stores, and have alerted all employees who are not feeling well, or need to care for family members, to stay home.” As physical outlets for obtaining […]
Status Reports: Bookstore Closings, Support Efforts
Along with the significant shutdown of the nation’s public libraries, independent booksellers are joining the call for social distancing and closing on a temporary basis, at least to the public, with many stores continuing to process shipments and/or make deliveries. Powell’s Books is among the most prominent to close so far, at least through the end of March, shuttering all five retail locations while continuing to operate online. New York area stores announcing closures include Astoria Bookshop, Three Lives & Company, Inquiring Minds (New Paltz), and Words Bookstore (Maplewood, NJ). Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI was among the first […]
Briefs: A New Wilkerson Book, Elliott Bay Unionizes, and More
People Liz Van Doren has been promoted to vp, executive editorial director at Highlights for Children. Forthcoming Isabel Wilkerson‘s next book, CASTE: THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENT, will be published by Random House on August 20. Her first book since the 2010 Pulitzer-winning The Warmth of Other Suns, it’s about “the human impulse to create hierarchies runs across societies and cultures.” Bookselling Workers at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle have unionized, creating the newly formed Book Workers Union, which has been recognized by management. They write in their mission statement, “We organize because our people are what make Elliott […]