Bookstores & Bookselling

SPD supported small publishers who don’t always qualify for commercial distribution.

How to be a good partner for an effective event.

While the functionality is welcome, it basically replaces what Ingram took away in January 2023 when it shut down Aerio.

Barnes & Noble ended 2023 with 609 stores, or an annual increase of 10 stores. CEO James Daunt’s goal for this year is 50 additional stores.

The initiative was announced by outgoing CEO Michael Pietsch as part of his annual letter to authors.

After Indigo’s recent board upheaval and sad earnings report, the CEO is returning to bookselling after a costly detour into lifestyle retail.

Fran Littlewood’s Amazing Grace Adams has two different ISBNs: one for a cover showing a full middle finger;, and one with a quote burst.

Big publishers find it hard to change long-held processes for bringing books to market.

Bookshop, the online retailer that competes against Amazon for print book sales, will begin beta testing ebook sales in November 2023.

The change is prompted by demands from some booksellers and online retailers that purchase through Ingram’s wholesale distribution network.

One of them said she was resigning because she had lost confidence in board leadership.

The ABA says it added 173 members last year and increased bookstore businesses by 9 percent to a grand total of 2,185.

CEO James Daunt discusses the necessarily slow journey to improve, store by store, after the chain was run by “numpties.”

According to Circana BookScan, 2023 print sales are down by 2 percent in the US versus last year—but running 15 percent ahead of 2019.

In a profile of James Daunt, it’s revealed that the chain now has returns down to 7 percent from its previous average of 30 percent.

Kobo Plus is so far available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, the UK, and the US.

Spotify users in Canada can now purchase audiobooks through the service.

After hosting a virtual US Book Show for two years, Publishers Weekly will now offer a hybrid event in May 2023.

When it first started many years ago, the membership program cost $25 per year. The cost is now $40 and comes with new perks.

Bookshop, launched in 2020 as a virtuous alternative to Amazon, has until now sold primarily print editions.

For now, 2023 is performing comparable to 2022 (roughly 1 percent down), according to NPD BookScan, which tracks print book sales.

According to the AAP, which consists of traditional publishers in various sectors, consumer sales dropped 6.2 percent in 2022 against 2021.

In March, the American Booksellers Association will stop pointing to its own IndieBound store for book purchases and instead link to Bookshop.

One author builds profitable direct sales using Shopify, ThriveCart, and BookFunnel.

BookBub, Open Road Media, and Ingram all offered presentations on selling books via email advertising.