Life on the road ain’t what it used to be, and the easy money’s long gone. Such is the tale of most independent sales reps — but, on the other hand, “it’s a hell of a lot better than being in house!” attests New England’s Nanci McCrackin, who’s not alone in her sentiment. West Coast [...]

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The old timers at the 59th Annual National Stationery Show, which took place May 15-18 at the Javits Center, grouse that the show ain’t what it used to be, and that traffic wasn’t great even on the “busy” days. Stationery’s role in our high-speed, email-driven world has undoubtedly dwindled, and on top of that, the [...]

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Sunshine and Noir

June 2003

BookExpo America Lands in LA, With Bouts of ‘Book Fair Fatigue’ By nearly all accounts, it’s a beastly time for a book convention. You’ve got the gangrenous economy. War-torn travel itineraries. SARS shut-downs. And cash-strapped rep groups (who’ve already splurged for sales conferences on the east coast). Throw in a liberal dose of what some [...]

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Book View, December 2002

December 2002

PEOPLE Simon & Schuster’s various imprints have been trimmed over the past few weeks: Rachel Klayman has been laid off from The Free Press, Jeff Neuman has left S&S (and may be reached at neudors@yahoo.com), and Rosemary Ahern (who arrived from Dutton less than two years ago), and Kim Kanner and an assistant have departed [...]

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Whirlwind at NEBA

October 2002

A gulf hurricane’s leading edge was the only unwelcome guest at the New England Booksellers Association’s annual meeting and trade show, which blew into Providence, Rhode Island on September 27. But the winds and heavy rains were blamed for the thinner stream of booksellers on the floor. Perhaps because of weather (or because of flat [...]

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As the great mother ship BookExpo America prepares to set down in New York City on May 1, and the wall-to-wall lineup of bashes, fests, and sundry galas has us all excruciatingly triple-booked, Publishing Trends checked in with a number of show veterans to see whether this year’s industry summit will be a whirlwind of [...]

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