People Magazine

Observed from 30,000 feet, the modern system for delivering manufactured goods appears little changed from what it was 30, 40, 50 years ago—trucks roll, trains rumble, ships ply the harbors and canals. Only a closer view reveals the logistical revolution made possible by rolling stock, just-in-time ordering and outsourced production. Similarly, the average consumer picking up the latest best-seller at their local bookstore is unaware of how book distribution models are changing. While the book they hold in their hands may adhere to the old “print-and-deliver” model, for instance, the one next to it may have been “deliver and print,” as in large distributors

Earlier this year, Richard Rhorer, marketing director at Henry Holt and Company, chose the online social-networking site MeetUp.com—on which visitors meet around a shared interest, first online and then in person—to help better connect the publisher with its readers. To help spread the word about an upcoming release, “What Was Lost,” he used the online tool to invite Web-savvy book lovers to come together at a Manhattan bar with the book’s author, Catherine O’Flynn. Attendees were mailed galleys of the book ahead of time, and about 50 people showed up for the event. “Getting 50 people to attend an event for an unknown author

Adult trade publishers with a “change is good” attitude are finding success in today’s market. From promoting literacy to experimenting with new marketing initiatives, such as social networking sites and author videos, and new distribution formats, such as e-books and digital downloads, industry leaders are now acting upon, not resisting, the significant turn the publishing world has been taking. Data indicates that while monthly sales fluctuate, overall, sales are still up, and many publishers are proactively striving to keep them that way. Last month, The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported that adult hardbound book sales totaled $2.8 billion in 2007, a 7.8-percent increase

The University of Chicago Press (UCP) has never had to regard itself as an afterthought. Founded in 1891 as one of the three original divisions of the university, the press has, from the beginning, been squarely in the center of the school’s mission to educate, advocate and innovate—a charge that continues to this day. In addition, it’s of more than passing interest to the press’s leadership that it is entirely self-supporting, even funding a few research grants at the school. “I’m unabashedly proud of the fact that our books are aimed at a shrinking audience and that we make money off them,” says Garrett

The Children’s Book Council (CBC), in association with the CBC Foundation, has launched the Children’s Choice Book Awards program. The program was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read, according to the CBC, a nonprofit association of U.S. publishers of children’s and young-adult trade books. This is the second national initiative the CBC has launched this year to promote reading among children. In early January, the organization, along with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, announced

When it comes to author negotiations, Florrie Kichler has it relatively easy. “As a publisher, I do the reissues of classic children’s book series,” Kichler says. “Most authors are dead.” Of course, even with writers who have shuffled off this mortal coil, there are still issues of rights and payments, and negotiations with families or estates. As the president of Indianapolis-based Patria Press and president of the PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, Kichler has an excellent vantage point on the challenges faced by publishers when negotiating contracts, whether with those living or dead. “I don’t offer advances, but I do offer a

A recent story from satirical news source The Onion (www.TheOnion.com), entitled “Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book,” read: Sitting in a quiet, downtown diner, local hospital administrator Philip Meyer looks as normal and well-adjusted as can be. Yet, there’s more to this 27-year-old than first meets the eye: Meyer has recently finished reading a book. Yes, the whole thing. “It was great,” said the peculiar Indiana native, who, despite owning a television set and having an active social life, read every single page of “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. … Meyer, who never once jumped ahead to see what would happen

Jon Scieszka is on a mission—a mission to get more kids reading. In January, Scieszka, a veteran author of several best-selling children’s titles, including “The Stinky Cheese Man” and “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,” was named the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Committed to a two-year term in his new role, Scieszka will travel the country and speak as an advocate of youth readership. The Library of Congress’ Center for the Book, the Children’s Book Council (CBC) and the CBC Foundation created the new Ambassador position. The initiative is financially supported by

According to one of the better-known accounts in the compendium of humankind’s greatest achievements, it was in the year 105 that a Chinese man named Ts’ai Lun invented paper, mashing up wood from a mulberry tree with fiber from bamboo. Thus was born a technology that would literally change the world, making possible artistic, scientific and religious revolutions, democratizing literacy and learning, and ushering humanity into the modern age. In recent times, paper production has played a role in changing the world in other ways. The book industry alone required 3 million to 4 million tons of paper over just the last three years,

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed children’s book author Jon Scieszka as the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The appointment was announced yesterday at the Mulberry Branch of the New York Public Library. The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature initiative was created by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council (CBC) and the CBC Foundation, and is financially supported by a variety of sponsors, including publishers Scholastic Inc., Macmillan, Candlewick Press, HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin and others. The new ambassador position, according to the organizations, is intended to raise national awareness of