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Let the DOJ Know Where You Stand
Your E.D. Urges You to State Your Case
 Dear PNBA Members,
I am writing to urge you to consider writing a personal letter to John Read in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to explain why you are opposed to the lawsuit against publishers for their use of the "Agency Model" for selling eBooks, and why you think that the real culprit in this instance is Amazon and its predatory pricing strategies, which are being used to push other booksellers out of the market.
Here is a detailed letter that was sent by ABA CEO Oren Teicher to all members of the American Booksellers Association, explaining the ABA's position on the issue and calling for as many booksellers as possible to send their thoughts to the Justice Department, in hopes that we can encourage a re-assessment of the issue and a withdrawal of the suit against our publisher allies.
As you will read in Oren's letter, we need as many booksellers as possible to send their personal thoughts to the Justice Department if we are going to gain any traction for our concerns. PLEASE write a letter, send it to John Read at the Justice Department (address posted in Teicher's letter), and copy me and copy ABA, whether you are an ABA member or not. Feel free to use any part of my language, but remember that the more personal your message, the more impact it is likely to have. We don't want all of the letters to sound the same.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this action, and let me know if you have any questions or problems with this issue or my approach.
Sincerely,
Thom
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NWBL Noteworthies 
* Northwest Book Lovers is getting a makeover. Get ready for a new look, more giveaways and regular features from the following highly qualified cast of contributors. Coming in June!
Jeffrey Shaffer, bookseller, Annie Bloom's Books, Portland
Lindsey McGuirk, bookseller and digital marketing and publishing coordinator, Village Books, Bellingham
Miriam Landis, bookseller/webmonkey, Island Books, Mercer Island
George Carroll, independent publishers' rep, Redsides Publishing Services
John W. Marshall and Christine Deavel, co-owners, Open Books: A Poem Emporium, Seattle
Angela Hanson, bookseller and YA specialist, Klindt's Books, The Dalles
Amanda MacNaughton, bookseller and events coordinator, Paulina Springs Books, Sisters and Redmond, OR
Brad Craft, bookseller and used book buyer, University Book Store, Seattle
Ren� Kirkpatrick, long-time bookseller
Recent Site Highlights
* Charles Finn explained why he's still paying the price for his early writing success (second grade), and his refreshing voice made us glad that he keeps going home to do it all over again.
* Brian Doyle's broadside ballad for Broadway Books (say it ten times, fast).
* Chloe Caldwell was quick to admit that her mom was cool enough to get there first and graciously thanked her for adding a dose of Sugar to her life.
* One hundred transactions in one hour left Third Street Books owner Sylla McClellan nearly speechless. "Wow!"
* Mercer Island is fertile ground, as Island Books seems to endlessly mine its stacks and its staff for inspiration.
* We've been receiving some terrific recommendations on our One Nightstand. Remember, anyone can drop a note about what you're reading or have read. That means you!
Send Us Your Favorite Handsells Did you know that NWBL regularly features new book recommendations from booksellers in Face Out and that we link all of the titles and book jackets back to the sales sites for the booksellers' stores or IndieBound? As we get more readers, we hope they'll be clicking on those links and buying their books from you. Tell us what you love, so we can send more customers to you.
 NWBL Now on Twitter!
Follow us.
Get Involved on Facebook
Keep up and join in.
Our fans receive news every time we post a new story or recommendation.
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Customers Say the Weirdest Things
Will You Watch My Kids While I Get a Bagel?
 North American booksellers are encouraged to submit their most irreverent customer conversations to Overlook Press for the chance to be included in Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores, to be published this fall. Participants must include their first and last names as well as the name of the store in which their conversation took place. Submissions must be received by June 7, the last day of BEA, and those selected for inclusion will be announced in July.
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 Best Books for Kids Drive
Page Ahead Helping You Get Set
More than 20 Washington stores have signed on to collect new books for children from low-income families across the state through Page Ahead's Best Books for Kids Book Drive, May 28 - June 8.
Participating stores can download promotional materials, including a web ad and display flyers. In the coming weeks the drive will be promoted in the Seattle Weekly, press releases to local media outlets, blogs, Facebook, donor emails and in Washington indies and around their communities.
Please feel free to contact Page Ahead's Susan Waller with any questions or suggestions.
Publisher's note: Review the program notes sent by Thom on May 15. The letter contains some great ideas for how to get the most out of the Page Ahead promotion in your store.
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 Larson Flying High
Best of the West
The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has announced the winners of its 2012 Crystal Kite Awards and Seattle's Kirby Larson is one of 15 international winners. Larson's The Friendship Doll, inspired by a photo of a 1920's Montana farm girl she came across while researching Hattie Big Sky, was honored for the American West division (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota).
The Crystal Kites are given annually to recognize great books from 15 regional SCBWI divisions around the world. The awards are chosen by other children's book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers.
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 Lit Grant Program Available
Help Out Your Town and Your Store
Booksellers: It's time again to be thinking about PNBA's Matching Literacy Grants program. Any time you donate retail books or cash to a non-profit, literacy-oriented group, you and your recipient may be eligible for a matching grant of up to $300 from PNBA. In 2011 the program was revised so that the grant money is offered in terms of "credit" for the recipient literacy group to spend only in your store, so your efforts are guaranteed to pay you back.
 "Parnassus Books has participated in PNBA's matching literacy grant program on several occasions over the years. In 2011, the process was slightly altered to insure that the recipient groups would return to our store to utilize their matching grant. The non-profit group I worked with in 2011 was delighted to be able to return to Parnassus Books and pick out another $300 worth of books. This process did take an additional step in that I had to send the receipt to PNBA after the sales transaction, but the value of having the money return to the store made the extra step more than worthwhile."
--Maggie Freitag, owner of Parnassus Books in Ketchikan and member of the PNBA Board of Directors |
Member Notes
We Need Your Store Blurbs!When NWBookLovers.org re-launches in June, we expect site traffic to increase and visits to your store profile to follow suit. If you have not provided a descriptive blurb and or photo of your store for the Find a Store page, this would be a good time to work something up and take advantage of the exposure. Have fun with it. It's your store--you know what there is to love! Book StoppageHood River's Book Stop is closing its doors this month after a seven year run. Owner Cynthia Christensen suffered an injury late last year that kept her away from the family-run store for several months. She says in a heartfelt letter to customers: "In light of what you have come to mean to everyone in my family, I regret to tell you that Book Stop will be closing its doors this month. Sadly, all the hard work of my family, and that of my new extended family during my recovery, could not make up for the absence of this passionate bookseller. My time away, compounded with the current economy, and the post-holiday lull was more than our financial and physical reserves could bear. . . ." 20 Years and Plenty of Spring in its StepOn May 26, Paulina Springs Books will mark its 20th anniversary in Sisters, OR with a reunion of former owners and employees, games, cake, discounts and a live soundtrack from The Anvil Blasters.  "Twenty years is not really that long in the grand scheme of things (although gas was $1.05 a gallon), but when you consider the size of Sisters and the decline of independent bookstores around the country, it is a testament to the loyalty of the Paulina Springs shoppers that we can still enjoy all that it provides to the community." --Owner and PNBA Board Treasurer, Brad Smith Idea ExchangeThe PNBA Spring Forum featured a session urging stores to share promotions, events and changes they have executed during the last twelve months that enhanced traffic and sales in their stores. Read the resulting compilation on the Bookseller Resources page at PNBA.org: One Great Idea That Worked in My Store.
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2012 Calendar
May 17 BPNW meeting, Seattle
May 31 NABP meeting, Lake Oswego
June 4-7 BEA 2012, NYC
Sept 30 Banned Books Week begins
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Classifieds
Now On NWBL
PNBA classified advertisement listings are now featured on the NW Book Lovers blog. NWBL greatly broadens the options and the audience for NW book-related postings. Current PNBA members are eligible for free classifieds. Contact Jamie for guidelines and scheduling.
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If you don't see photos or images in this version of our newsletter, try viewing it from our website. We post the newsletter to our website within a few days of emailing it. |
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