Employees at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco have unionized, joining the Industrial Workers of the World Local 660, KQED reports. Approximately 16 workers are eligible, and most have signed union-authorization cards. The store plans to recognize the union, with an official decision slated for tomorrow. “City Lights has always been actively engaged in the project of creating and evolving a fulfilling, equitable, and humane workplace. This is a key to our institutional philosophy, and it has informed our practice from the beginning,” City Lights executive director Elaine Katzenberger. “If unionization can provide us with new tools for helping us […]
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Bookstore Sales Fall At WH Smith
UK retail chain WH Smith released a preliminary trading update for the period ended January 20, reporting overall sales up 8 percent. The upswing is driven by the company’s travel stores, which grew 13 percent. High street bookstore sales, on the other hand, fell 4 percent from last year, as expected. “We maintained good stock availability and we exited Christmas with a clean stock position,” the company said in a release. “We are on track to deliver our targeted full year cost savings of £10m.” “The Group is trading well and is in its strongest ever position as a global […]
Buzz Editors and Authors Panel Available to Stream
In case you missed it, we had another terrific evening on Wednesday with five breakout spring/summer authors and their editors on our latest Buzz Books Editors and Authors Panel. Here are a sampling of attendees’ comments on the event: This has been an amazing evening — such wonderful discussion and books. All of these books sound incredible. Can’t wait to read them all. I love authors who search for the greatest story never told This seems so interesting—I’m hooked! Sounds super intriguing! I am so happy with what and who is being published here. Gives me hope. Thank you for this […]
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Authors Guild Foundation Announces $10 Million Campaign
The Authors Guild Foundation announced a $10 million “capacity building” campaign—the largest ever for the organization. The foundation has already received more than $5.6 million from prominent authors including David and Michelle Baldacci, Suzanne Collins and Charles “Cap” Pryor, John and Renee Grisham, James Patterson, and Doug and Christine Preston, who pledged to donate $1 million each. The organization says that $3 million will go “to increase services, legal and support staff, and advocacy initiatives,” and $7 million will fund an endowment “to support the Guild in perpetuity.” Other major donors so far include Judy Blume, who has designated her […]