Association of American Publishers

One night recently, I woke suddenly, due to a horrifying dream about … do I dare admit it? … Twitter. The dream made no real sense; I was tweeting—or posting, for you non-Twitterers—quotes from various people in the book publishing industry, one quote after another, but I couldn’t post them fast enough. I have similar work/stress-related dreams quite frequently, but I was amazed that I had one about Twitter—tweeting is one of the simplest things I do. So why the tweet dreams?

Last night, in an event that slipped by relatively unnoticed compared to the usual media spotlight on Google happenings, Google Books Engineering Director Dan Clancy spoke at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., of Google's vision for the future of bookselling.

Audiobook publishers can hear the train coming and are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, says Anthony Goff, president of the Audio Publishers Association (APA), and publisher director of Hachette Audio and Digital Media. Goff believes that the recent, significant decline in audiobook sales—the Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported a 47.1-percent decrease in audiobook sales from March 2008 to March 2009—will likely result in audiobook publishers stepping aboard the train and steering ahead on the changing tracks.

Trade e-book sales were $12,100,000 for April, a 228.3% increase over April 2008 ($3,700,000).

Who hasn’t tried the excuse, “My dog ate my homework,” on a teacher? Success with that excuse now is nearly impossible, according to experts in educational book publishing. So much of what teachers currently do involves digital materials and tools that, short of a network failure or computer glitch, a student would be hard-pressed to come up with a similar excuse.

With no government bailout in sight to rescue their ailing industries, more than 1,200 book- and magazine-publishing executives convened at the 2009 Publishing Business Conference & Expo in New York City, March 23-25, in search of strategies to help them weather the worsening storm. And while much of the discussion centered around cost-cutting, the topic of innovation took center stage throughout the event, which featured nearly 60 educational sessions and more than 125 speakers.

From multimillion-dollar acquisitions to multimillion-dollar best-sellers, powerful women stand at every pivotal, decision-making point in the book publishing process. Book Business’ first annual “50 Top Women in Book Publishing” feature recognizes and honors some of these industry leaders who affect and transform how publishing companies do business, and what—and how—consumers read.

An article in The New York Times reported that the Justice Department has begun exploring possible antitrust implications of the Google Settlement.

The Association of American Publishers reported that book sales for the month of January 2009 increased by 3.6 percent to $785 million over January 2008.

As a congresswoman, Patricia S. Schroeder pressed presidents and legislators for welfare, women's rights and military-spending reform. Then, during her 12-year term as president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), she planted seeds for battles against copyright infringement and illiteracy. The next role she plans to grow into is retirement, usually the proving ground for gardeners and grandparents, in a way that may incorporate cultivation of a different sort.