Angus & Robertson Whitcoulls, which earlier this year bought Borders's operations in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, has set up the first Espresso Book Machine in Australia, according to Bookseller and Publisher Online. The company aims to install 50 more such POD machines in Australia and New Zealand in the next year.
Besides titles in the public domain, A&R is offering some books under copyright by arrangement with publishers. A&R managing director Dave Fenlon told Bookseller and Publisher that the company wants to be able to offer some 100,000 titles on the Espresso Machines by 2010.
The Espresso Book Machine was first introduced last year in North America in a handful of stores. For an account of one store's experience with it, see Shelf Awareness (March 9, 2008).
Incidentally A&R plans to open two new Borders stores in Australia.
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The University of Mississippi, site of Friday's presidential debate
between John McCain and Barack Obama, "has come far from its past," NPR
observed in its profile of the city where "so much has changed since
the turbulent integration of the college by African-American student
James Meredith in 1962." Among the Oxford officials interviewed was
Mayor Richard Howorth, described as "the once and future bookseller
who's nearing the end of his two-term mayoral stint."
Howorth,
who opened Square Books in 1979, said that Oxford's role in hosting the
debate "means a lot of things. It's an affirmation to the university
and the community and the state that we've taken a place in the center
of the American political arena--with respectable qualifications.
Instead of having to be visited by the national and international media
because there is a race riot here."
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Bookstores coming and going in Virginia. On the same day that the Staunton News Leader ran an article
noting that the "Staunton Mall is looking with a hopeful eye toward the
future following the recent departure of longtime resident
Books-A-Million," the newspaper also featured a profile of Ron Ramsey, who recently opened Bookworks bookstore.
"It
largely came from watching the other bookstores close," Ramsey said of
his decision to become an indie bookseller. "I grew up going to the
Bookstack, and with Books-A-Million leaving, I just thought we need to
have a bookstore downtown. I'm trying to have something for everyone.
Some people ask if I'm trying to fill a niche, but being the only new
bookstore in town it would be a disservice to the community."
His best answer during the interview was to the question, "What was the last book you purchased?"
"I purchased about 3,000 of them," he replied.
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Chapter One Books, Raritan Borough, N.J., has opened in a new location. MyCentralJersey.com
reported that the used bookstore's "manager Tania Trovato, owner Rich
Salfenmoser and other helpers spent the past few weeks packing
thousands of used books from the West Main Street location in
Somerville to bring to the store's new home, at 3 Somerset St. here."
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The Concord Insider's
"Shopinator" called on Annie's Book Stop, Concord, N.H., and came away
impressed: "Are you seeing what we're seeing? A neat and organized used
bookstore? Unheard of! And totally awesome."
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AbeBooks.com has created an unusual category in the book world, one without a BISAC subject code: Wasilla Lit, that is, books by and about the Alaska town that is the hometown of Governor Sarah Palin, Republican nominee for Vice President.
AbeBooks wrote: "Forget about that Sarah Palin book banning controversy, this tiny town is a publishing powerhouse . . . well, perhaps not a powerhouse but it certainly leads the way in books about hunting. Aside from putting animals in the telescopic sights, 'Wasilla Lit' covers many parts of the book spectrum--there are publishers, a major cartoonist, and an optometrist who writes about his adventures. There's even an author from Wasilla writing about the post-modern meaning of modern life."
To see AbeBooks's top 10 Wasilla Lit titles, click here.
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Confluence: A Celebration of Reading and Writing,
which will be held October 14-19 in Moab, Utah, is celebrating the work
of Edward Abbey, who wrote extensively about the region in books like Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Gang.
The event will feature a number of writers who have been influenced by
Abbey's work and life, including Doug Peacock, Katie Lee, Amy Irvine
McHarg, Craig Childs and Jack Loeffler.
"It seems odd that Moab
should be able to attract such well known names for a literary
conference, but I think the unparalleled beauty of this place has
something to do with it. Perhaps it also says something about the
influence and popularity of Ed Abbey," said Laurie Collins, director of
Confluence.
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Congratulations to Frank Albanese, who has been promoted to senior v-p, supply chain, at HarperCollins, where he will be responsible for the adult and children's inventory management departments and lead the supply chain team. He continues to direct the consumer sales forecasting and planning and information services departments.
Albanese joined the company in 1994 and has been a leader in planning and forecasting at HarperCollins. He also built an internal reporting system that has helped the company meet sales and publishing goals.