BTW News Briefs

Bellwether Prize Calls for Submissions

The Bellwether Prize for Fiction has begun soliciting submissions of unpublished novels promoting social change for its 2007 - 2008 competition. The deadline is October 5.

The prize, established by Barbara Kingsolver, includes a $25,000 cash payment and guaranteed publication by a major publisher. Applicants for the Bellwether Prize must be U.S. citizens who have some previous publication record, but who have not previously published a book that sold more than 10,000 copies. The submitted manuscript must be an original, previously unpublished novel, accompanied by a completed application form and a $25 processing fee. Submissions will be accepted from September 2 through October 5. Additional information and a downloadable application can be found at www.bellwetherprize.org.

Charles Simic Appointed Poet Laureate

On August 2, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the appointment of Charles Simic to be the Library's 15th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. Simic will begin his duties in the fall. He will open the Library's annual literary series on October 17 with a reading of his work and will be a featured speaker at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in the Poetry pavilion on Saturday, September 29, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Simic succeeds Donald Hall as Poet Laureate. The laureate generally serves a one- or two-year term. Simic is the author of 18 books of poetry. He is also an essayist, translator, editor, and professor emeritus of creative writing and literature at the University of New Hampshire, where he has taught for 34 years. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for his book of prose poems The World Doesn't End (1989). His 1996 collection Walking the Black Cat was a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry. In 2005 he won the Griffin Prize for Selected Poems: 1963 - 2003. Simic held a MacArthur Fellowship from 1984 to1989.

GLBA, SCIBA Announce Book Award Finalists

The Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA) and Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) each recently announced the finalists for their regional books awards to be presented at their respective fall trade shows.

The Great Lakes Book Awards will be presented Friday, September 28, at a luncheon during the GLBA Fall Trade Show in Schaumburg, Illinois. To be eligible for the awards, books needed to have a Great Lakes theme or setting and have been published between June 2006 and the end of May 2007. The winners will be announced in late August.

For a list of finalists, go to www.books-glba.org.

The winners of the SCIBA Book Awards in each of the five categories will be announced at the Authors Feast & Trade Show on October 20 in Los Angeles. SCIBA members have until August 10 to vote for their favorites.

For a list of finalists, go to www.scbabooks.org.

Harvard Book Store Makes "Best of Boston" List

Boston Magazine, which each year honors all things Boston in hundreds of categories, this year, named Harvard Book Store the recipient of the 2007 Best of Boston Award for Books.

The magazine noted: "Sticking it to the corporate chains is most satisfying when you can do so without, you know, sacrificing anything. Seventy-five years after Boston native Mark Kramer opened a bookstore in Harvard Square, the supersize word-maven haven is still family-owned (by Kramer's son, Frank) and still doing everything right, with a public library's worth of used tomes, and new releases to rival Barnes and Borders."

David Prichard Becomes COO of Ingram Book Group

Ingram Book Group Inc. recently announced the appointment of David "Skip" Prichard, former president and CEO of ProQuest Information and Learning, as Ingram's new chief operating officer. "Skip brings to Ingram a great wealth of experience and a solid record as a team-builder with a strong track record," said Jim Chandler, president and CEO of Ingram Book Group, in a statement.

As COO, which is a new position in Ingram Book Group, Prichard will report to Chandler and will be responsible for overseeing finance, information technology, and operations, but will be heavily involved in the development of new strategic directions for the group.

USPS Changes Regulations for Stamped Mail

On Monday, July 30, the United States Postal Service put into effect new regulations affecting packages and envelopes weighing more than 13 ounces that are mailed using only stamps as postage from a home or business, or any location other than the Post Office. Metered mailing is unaffected.

Under the new rule, customers can use one of several online postage applications or an Automated Postal Center, if they mail items that weigh more than 13 ounces in Postal Service collection boxes, Post Office lobby mail slots, or from their own mailboxes. The online postage applications include the Postal Service's Click-N-Ship service on usps.com and PC Postage from an authorized USPS vendor.

If a customer cannot use one of the online methods or the Automated Postal Center to prepare and affix postage, items weighing more than 13 ounces must brought to an employee at a Post Office retail service counter. Business customers who use postage meters may continue to use meter postage for packages of any weight and mailing method.

Previously, the rule applied to mail over 16 ounces. USPS said the change is part of ongoing security measures established in cooperation with other government agencies to keep the public, customers, employees and the U.S. Mail safe.

Voting for Quills Now Open

Publishers Weekly recently announced that voting for the 2007 Quills is open, and it called on booksellers and librarians to cast votes in 19 PW-nominated categories to determine the 2007 winners. Those interested in voting should visit PW's Nominating Board web page.