Bookstore Chic

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Book News, In Brief

According to Publisher's Weekly, Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio announced that he is looking for ways to end the traditional returns practice, and predicted that it could be possible to find a solution “in a year or two.” Riggio said B&N has always been open to finding alternate ways to deal with unsold books, calling the current practice “insane” and “expensive.” While Riggio's right that shipping 1/3 too many books to bookstores is wasteful, a no-returns policy has a wide range of negative effects that must also be taken into account. When a similar scheme was implemented in comic book stores, it resulted in the bland, no risk stocking patterns that the majority of comics shops now adhere to. Do we really want to risk that in bookstores, as well?

Damn you, PW, for beating me to this one, too. Michael Chabon (The Yiddish Policeman's Union) sits down with Reuters for a three page interview on his writing and writing habits.

Ah, here's one that PW hasn't snaked me on. Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) tells The Guardian UK how to get furious - and survive.

Book News, In Brief

From Booktrade.info, yet another argument for print on demand: In 2005, there were approximately 1.5 billion books published and distributed to retail outlets. Out of these a staggering 465 million were returned as unsold...Interestingly this week Faber also announced that it was going to reprint its 'Classics' line using Print on Demand (POD) technology. Is this a dry run for the shape of things to come? POD is certainly a leaner and greener method of getting books into store.
What do y'all think? Personally, I'm a vegetarian, so I hate plants with a passion. Meat-based books, on the other hand...them thing's is just wrong.

National Geographic has compiled a list of the Top 50 Most Translated Authors. Strangely, a corporate entity ranks #1, while the Bible grabs the lucky 13th spot. Head over to Well-Mannered Frivolity for the whole shebang.

Everybody guessed that it was going to happen. It looks like they were right. Barnes & Noble has put together a team of executives and advisers to look into the possible acquisition of Borders.

Image: Nude With A Book by Chuck Mardosz

Disney Book News

Disney's corporate fat-cats will be thrilled to know that the Gargoyles comic has won the category of Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book at the Ursa Major Awards. They may not be so thrilled to know that the Ursa Major Awards are a furries-centric awards show held at an Ohio Holiday Inn. Huzzah!

P-p-p-p-p-p-lease, your honor! Roger Rabbit author Gary Wolf has lost his merchandising royalties case against Disney. Via BusinessStandard.com: The author of the book behind the Who framed Roger Rabbit movie lost an appeals court decision in a royalties dispute with Walt Disney, the second largest US media company. A California appeals court said yesterday that a trial judge erred in letting a jury interpret whether author Gary Wolf was entitled to part of the gross receipts of Disney units that sold Roger Rabbit merchandise.
Certainly sounds like the work of Judge Doom to me.

The looong delayed release of Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon seems to be over. According to Amazon.com (do your research on the net, but make sure to buy locally!), the book is scheduled to hit bookshelves on July 15. For a brief article on the book and its many delays, check out this Jim Hill article from Sept. '07.

Book-To-Film News

Behold, the first image from the feature film version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I have a feeling NAMBLA's gonna love this.

(Head on over to Twitch.com for a bigger photo...you sick perv.)

Glyph Comics Awards Announced!

From the official press release:
The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and commercial impact. By doing so, the goal is to encourage more diverse and high quality work across the board and to inspire new creators to add their voices to the field.

The winners of the 2008 Glyph Comics Awards were announced in a ceremony at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention on Friday, May 16. The winners are:

Story of the Year
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm; Percy Carey, writer, Ronald Wimberly, artist

Best Writer
James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Best Artist
Kyle Baker, Nat Turner: Revolution

Best Male Character
Emmet Wilson, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow; co-created by James Sturm, writer, and Rich Tommaso, artist

Best Female Character
Amanda Waller, Checkmate; Greg Rucka, writer, Joe Bennett & Jack Jadson, artists

Rising Star Award
Marguerite Abouet, Aya

Best Reprint Publication
Aya, Drawn & Quarterly; Chris Oliveros, publisher, Helge Dascher, translator

Best Cover
Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm; Ronald Wimberly, illustrator

Best Comic Strip
The K Chronicles; Keith Knight, story and art

Fan Award for Best Comic
Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four; Dwayne McDuffie, writer, Paul Pelletier & Rick Magyar, artists

Book News, In Brief

The Space Review laments the loss of their childhood hero, asking Where Are You Tom Swift? This tidbit of kids' lit nostalgia runs deep in me, too -- only my teen adventurers of choice were always Soup and Trixie Belden.

Spring ushers in more than just raging hormones and hay fever. It also brings with it a tidal wave of 'Beach Books' articles. The Star Herald delivers the first of the season (and it includes a list!).

NPR has an audio piece on first time authors using the net to push their books. Warning: Listening to it will cost you 5 minutes and 11 seconds that you should've spent re-writing that opening paragraph for the 100th time.

Would someone please write a virus to disable Amazon.com? I speak on behalf of every brick and mortar bookstore in the world when I say that you would be handsomely paid in free bookmarks and tepid, no-name coffee. To read the online behemoth's newest plans for worldwide domination through print on demand services, head on over to Forbes.com.