e-Newsletter June 10, 2016

In This Issue










Laura Ayrey Burnett
Executive Director
MPIBA

435.649.6079 office

435.649.6105 fax  

 


Association Information
Send publisher catalogs, author information,  
ARCs, and publicity  
to Laura:

3278 Big Spruce Way  
Park City, UT 84098

 

  

 

 




Kathy Keel
Project Manager
MPIBA
970.484.3939
970.484.0037 fax
800.752.0249 toll-free


Administration/Projects
Send project-related
questions (Fall Discovery Show, Winter Catalog, Reading the West Book Awards, Website)
plus bills, invoices,
and payments to:


MPIBA Administration
c/o Kathy Keel
208 E. Lincoln Avenue

Fort Collins, CO 80524

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Mark Your Calendar!


Fall Discovery Show (Trade Show) 2016
October 6-8, 2016
The Renaissance
Denver Hotel








Colophon Center to Foster the Book Publishing Industry in the West

Derek Lawrence 


Fred Ramey


Caleb J. Seeling
 The organizers of the new nonprofit Colophon Center
have announced plans to create a new foundation aimed at promoting book publishing in the West. The organization will be based in Denver and is the brainchild of three Colorado-based members of the publishing industry.

Derek Lawrence, owner of Corvus/ Imprint Group, Fred Ramey, co-owner and co-publisher of Unbridled Books, and Caleb J. Seeling, owner of Conundrum Press and Samizdat Creative,  
came up with the idea for Colophon at a PubWest happy hour two years ago.

"I started saying that Denver really needs to have something that supports the publishing world,"  
Lawrence recalled. He wanted to address the fact that, in Colorado, he was seeing "an ongoing loss of publishing jobs." 

Although the trio have not yet found a space to house their new organization, they hope to settle on something that will allow them to provide a co-working space for publishing companies and professionals; a library dedicated to regional literature; a gallery space; and an event space. Ideally they would like to see the Center do double duty as a teaching space, and work with public schools to host education programs about book publishing.
Citing a survey from the Leeds School of Business of the University of Colorado that shows employment in the publishing industry falling 40% in Colorado since 2001,
Lawrence said the main problem for publishing professionals in the state is a lack of mobility between jobs. "There was a time in the 90s where there were enough companies here that there was a lot of ability to move around and grow," he explained. "As we've seen that shrink, it's affected the whole ecosystem of book publishing [in Colorado]."

Despite the fact that Denver is currently one of America's fastest-growing cities, and that Colorado boasts one of the country's lowest unemployment rates, publishing opportunities are still sparse. The founders hope the Center will be able to address this issue in Colorado, and its surrounding Western regions.

The focus, they said, will be on making Denver
a center for publishing.


"We want to encourage companies to expand into Denver if they have regional offices," Lawrence said. "Last year we had Shambhala move back to Colorado from Boston, where they had been for many years. We'd like to see more of that."

Speaking to their real estate needs, Lawrence said he and his co-founders think that "there's a good chance the city will help us find a building large enough" to meet their needs. While the trio could easily find a small space, they're not interested in settling into something that doesn't suit their needs. According to Lawrence, they currently have 15 groups interested in taking office space, including agents, publishing companies and book designers.

Speaking to the programming Lawrence envisions the Center offering, he said there will be classes that "go over nuts and bolts types of issues that face all publishing companies."
Colophon Center, in Lawrence's thinking, will also work closely with local organizations, from the Denver Publishing Institute to local bookstores like the Tattered Cover.

"Our major bookstores here know what we're doing and are supportive of it,"  
Lawrence said. "They feel it's going to take the city to the next level in terms of publishing."  
   
Lawrence also believes the Center will benefit more than those who work in publishing, or want to get into the field.
 
"We have a fantastic community of book lovers
in Colorado, and people that would benefit from having a center [like this]."
 

-Anisse Gross in Publishers Weekly, June 8, 2016

Visit the Colophon Center's Facebook page here.

 

Fall Discovery Show 2016 Preliminary Schedule 
Sara Pennypacker, Jon Scieszka, and Judy Schachner
at the 2015 Children's Author & Illustrator Breakfast
 

The deadline for the online-only Advertiser Contract is July 1, so don't miss out on the opportunity to advertise in this year's Winter Catalog, reaching 307,000 consumers, 1,600 booksellers, and with 33,000 website visits and 3,838 Facebook hits.

 

News from Our Bookstores
Welcome New Bookstore!
Coyote Ridge Books
Coyote Ridge Books is Broomfield's only independent bookstore; they have recently moved to 1505 W. 1st Avenue in Broomfield, Colorado, behind Sill-Terhar Mazda, and east of Chipper's Lanes.

Coyote Ridge Books offers high-quality used and collectible books with personal, knowledgeable service; they also offer a liberal trade program for used books.

Click here to visit their website.
BookBar Celebrates
Third Anniversary
Congratulations to BookBar!  
4280 Tennyson Street in Denver, Colorado
http://bookbardenver.com

BookBar's Facebook Post:
It's nearly party time. Celebrate three years of bookselling and wine pouring with us today! We'll be sampling our new menu and raffling books every hour on the hour, tasting new wines at 6 pm. Don't miss our cake and champagne toast and the and the reveal of our new BookBar Blend red wine at 8 pm.

From 5280 [The Denver Magazine]: 
Denver's favorite indie bookstore and wine bar turns three on Saturday, and there's no better way to celebrate than new morsels and vinos - all free of charge. Sample the freshly fermented BookBar-Bonacquisti Wine Company blend, and nibble new garden-to-table hors d'oeuvres such as berry plates with lavender whipped cream and caprese bites.

For the novelist experience, BookBar recommends a menu-wine-book pairing: the "Sherlock" chicken croissant sandwich with the Portuguese Aveleda Vinho Verde and Mary Kubica's summer thriller, DON'T YOU CRY.

Tattered Cover Kicks Off
Youth One Book, One Denver
Now in its fifth year, the Youth One Book, One Denver summer reading program should grow to 7,000 participants this year. The program offers children ages 9-12 a shared reading experience along with fun and educational programming to help combat summer learning loss.

Join Denver Arts & Venues and author Jennifer Chambliss Bertman at the Tattered Cover on Colfax on June 11 from 1-3 p.m. as they launch the 2016 Youth One Book, One Denver program.

BOOK SCAVENGER from local author, Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (pictured above), was selected by more than 1,500 youth voters and is currently on the New York Times' bestseller list.

For more information about the Youth One Book, One Denver program, please click here.

 

MPIBA Unveils New Designs  
for "Read or Die" Stickers   

New member Absolutely Fiction Books in Lufkin, Texas (opening later this month) made some great suggestions to MPIBA for updating our popular Read or Die stickers that you can purchase to sell in your bookstore. See the new designs below.

Each box of 250 stickers, 4.25" x 5.5", is $150, postage paid. The stickers are custom-made, so please allow three weeks for delivery.




Read or Die Sticker #1 - One Big Book Skull





Read or Die Sticker #2 - Four Skulls, Book Skull





Read or Die Sticker #3 - Four Skulls, Coffee Cup





Read or Die Sticker #4 - Original, Four Skulls





Reading Is Sexy Sticker #5 - Original


 

J. Ryan Stradal
on Midwest Misconceptions 
J. Ryan Stradal's book KITCHENS OF THE GREAT MIDWEST,  
is coming out in paperback from Penguin Books on June 7

He created a video for Penguin Random House's Videracy YouTube Channel about misconceptions of the Midwest, where he discusses conceptions around "simple" Midwestern culture, and how it is often misinterpreted.

J. Ryan Stradal was a hit
at the MPIBA Spring Meeting in 2015.


The book was absolutely beloved by indie booksellers all over the country when it came out in hardcover last year; it became an IndieNext pick last summer and just won the 2016 Indies Choice Book Award for Adult Debut.

For more information about this book, please click here.