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Barefoot Books Reaches 20,000 Listeners (and Counting) With Weekly Podcast
May 13, 2010

While it may not evoke memories of your mom or dad tucking you into bed and reading your favorite bedtime story, Cambridge, Mass.-based Barefoot Books’ latest marketing initiative is a sign of the times in an evolving publishing industry: On March 31, the children's book publisher announced the launch of a weekly podcast series that features free story times from its collection of books. The podcasts offer adults and children the ability to listen to stories at home or on the go.

Amazon Kindle 2.5 Adds Social Networking
May 4, 2010

Amazon has started rolling out a software upgrade for its popular Kindle electronic readers, adding the ability for users to share e-book passages with friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.

The new social networking feature in version 2.5 adds another Web link to the standard Kindle and the larger Kindle DX, as Amazon finds itself in an increasingly competitive market, particularly with the introduction of the iPad. Apple's slate computer is designed for reading digital books, as well as watching online video, listening to music and Web browsing.

Hitting a Moving Target
April 1, 2010

Publishers are faced with strategy decisions like never before. As publishing options continue to grow and business models shift seemingly every few months with the introduction of new digital devices or growth of some external pressure, publishers must plan for the future while reacting to the present—a tough situation even without the need to deal with the effects of a down economy.

BookExpo America Organizers Introduce New York Book Week to Draw Attention to Authors, Books and Publishing
March 18, 2010

BookExpo America (BEA) organizers have today announced the official debut of New York Book Week (May 23-29, 2010), a concept which embraces all literary and book activity in New York City and which is designed to draw attention to authors, books and publishing.  The program, which was conceived as a way to expand on the presence of BEA in New York City by making even more authors available to the community, has grown to include a wide range of author events at various literary venues.

Fast Stats
February 1, 2010

517 Number of weeks that the four books from Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series collectively have been in the top 150 of USA Today's Best-Selling Books Database. (If the weeks ran consecutively, they would span 9.9 years.) The first book in the series, "Twilight," has appeared in the top 150 for 158 weeks; "New Moon" (book two) for 168 weeks; "Eclipse" (book three) for 121 weeks; and "Breaking Dawn" for 70 weeks.

Andrews McMeel's Strategy: Building 'Bench Depth'
February 1, 2010

With some of its better-known and wackier titles including "The Complete Far Side," "What the Duck: A W.T. Duck Collection," "Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong" and "Butter My Butt & Call Me a Biscuit: And Other Country Sayings, Say-So's, Hoots & Hollers," one might think that Andrews McMeel Publishing's (AMP) strategic advantage comes from its funny bone. But, while humor is one of the company's leading product categories, there is no doubt that it's serious about its approach to publishing.

Socially Active
February 1, 2010

Many publishers have launched or are launching social media efforts. But, as time will tell, an effective social media strategy requires more than simply setting up a Twitter account or a Facebook page and waiting for followers and fans to flock. When San Francisco-based Chronicle Books launched its social media strategy in March 2009, it did so with specific goals in mind. "The overriding strategy … was to build our community, build audience, raise our brand awareness of Chronicle Books online and start … driving traffic to our site," says Guinevere de la Mare, Chronicle's community manager, who works with the marketing team to spearhead and sustain social media efforts.

The Future of the Industry
February 1, 2010

What does it mean when a city of 230,000 loses its lone bookstore, as is happening to Laredo, Texas, in early 2010? With a world of books available to purchase online, is it merely a symbolic loss, or is there something more deep-rooted at work?

How a Self-Published Book Became a Best-seller
December 18, 2009

Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell, knew they had a winning idea when they transformed their family tradition into a book, “The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.” But when they submitted the book—about how Santa disperses helper elves to watch boys and girls during the holidays and report back to him nightly at the North Pole—to publishers, no one wanted to take a chance on the concept.