Book Sales Up for August; Down for Year

Hi Everyone,

First, just a reminder that New York Editor Stacey Barney and bestselling author Bonnie Hearn Hill are each teaching a one-hour FREE class on Saturday October 25, with lots of hands-on critique. To sign up for the free classes go to www.authorlink.com/classroom/classroom.php. Also check out their full courses.

And now:

Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of August increased by a small 0.6 percent at $1.5 billion but were down by 1.4 percent for the year. Of course, that's to be expected with the economy the way it is.

Here's an interesting note, the outgoing president of the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, Carol Besse, is asking writers to ban Amazon.com. Read the story on our site at www.authorlink.com. We tried to get her to comment in more detail, but at press time we had not heard from her. We'll let you know if we learn more. Read all the news about publishing at www.authorlink.com.

Here are our headlines for October 9, 2008

Booksellers Asked to Encourage Authors to Ban Amazon.com

Nobel Literature Prize to be Announced by Webcast Oct. 9

New Sony Device Gives Readers "Feel" for Literature

Borders Extends E-Books Commitment, Carries Sony Reader

Publisher Atlas Postpones Spring List Due to Finances