Trade Secrets

The American Booksellers Association Indie Next List is drawn from bookseller-recommended favourite handsells. Every month the ABA gathers information from their members and produces this list of predictions of "the next big thing, the next great read, the next bestseller, the next undiscovered gem".

While release dates and publisher information may be different in NZ, the expert opinions are no less relevant...

THE SEPTEMBER 2010 INDIE NEXT LIST PREVIEW

Louise Crisp has been Penguin’s rep in the South Island for 16 years. And for Crisp and her bookshop customers, the relationship is one of mutual admiration.

Three booksellers nominated Crisp as their ‘favourite rep’. Kerry Messervy of Paper Plus Ferrymead: “A pleasure to have instore and gets problems sorted quickly.”

This week we've reinstated an old favourite column: Too Good to be Forgotten, giving booksellers an opportunity to share a favourite backlist title that they still treasure selling.

It may be ten years since the book was published, but if it still appeals to customers, it's worth remembering, and this is a great way to bring it back into the light.

If any booksellers are keen to share their old favourite sellers, please email your piece (as below) to theread@booksellers.co.nz

Fond memories welcome!

Books For Blokes

August has men’s titles to the fore, say Tauranga booksellers Chris and Warren Baskett of their picks of the August lists. Seven titles feature in their selection with three thrillers, a novel, the biography of Ray Avery and David McPhail’s memoir all having appeal to the masculine audience.

Looks like publishers haven’t forgotten Father’s Day on September 6.

Who knew Walker Books top-half-of-the North Island rep Simie Simpson was a chef in a previous life?

Our first nomination for a favourite rep turns out to have a surprising twist in a conventional book career path. 
 

Simie Simpson (pictured left) grew up and was educated in Blenheim. She went to Christchurch for university and started her a BA in Maori and English at Canterbury.

Four weeks back we ran The Booklover owner Tom Beran’s picks of July release titles in The Read.

He was delighted by an unexpected email reply:

The Read re-introduces Counter Intelligence as a once-a-month feature, looking at individual bookseller’s choices for the best of upcoming books.

Tom Beran of The Booklover at Takapuna agreed to kick off the new series. He’s viewed the July lists from publishers and has come up with his selection:

My July choices for The Read are five novels, some debuts, but only one non-fiction title I can get excited about.
 

We asked Andrew from Dymocks Ponsonby what the team have enjoyed selling over the Summer:

Ordinary Thunderstorms - William Boyd
(Bloomsbury, 9781408802472)

At Dymocks Ponsonby, we are really enjoying selling William Boyd's Ordinary Thunderstorms this Summer.

We asked Sarah from Time Out Bookstore in Mt Eden what the team are enjoying selling at the moment:

We asked Annemarie from Storytime in Whangarei what she is enjoying selling at the moment: