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Ithaca Kids' Book Fest 2010: 'The Wondrous, Mighty, Gorgeous Alphabet'
The theme of this year's Ithaca (New York) Kids' Book Fest was "Love Those Letters," and Tad Hills's How Rocket Learned to Read, the story of Rocket the dog and his encounter with "the wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet," offered the perfect vehicle for the festival's alphabet-related activities. A copy of the book was given to every pre-K, kindergarten and first grade child in the Ithaca school district.
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At PubWest: Publishers Told To Balance Print, Digital
PubWest returned to its roots earlier this month for its annual convention, holding the November 4–6 meeting in Santa Fe, N.Mex., where in 1978 a small group of Rocky Mountain publishers formed plans to create what is the country's largest regional publishing association.
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Rochester Children's Book Festival 2010: "Such a Happy Place to Be"
Now in its 14th year, the Rochester Children's Book Festival has grown from a small, church-basement event to an all-day celebration with five to six thousand visitors. Held this year on Saturday, November 6 at Monroe Community College, this year's festival featured presentations, readings, and book signings by 42 authors and illustrators, plus a craft area with projects designed especially for the festival's featured titles.
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Numbers, Mood Improved at Meeting of Religion Scholars
Some 4,900 professors and scholars of religion met October 29 to November 1 in Atlanta at the AAR annual meeting. This was the third conference held separately from the Society of Biblical Literature, with which AAR had long met jointly. (SBL meets November 19 to 22, also in Atlanta.) The mood and attendance was improved over last year's meeting in Montreal.
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Children's Authors Take Center Stage at SCIBA
The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association pulled out all the stops for children's books at its annual trade show and Authors Feast last weekend at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles. More than one-third of the 50 authors at the Authors Luncheon and Authors Feast were authors or illustrators of children’s books, and both of the afternoon kids' panels were packed.
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PSA Celebrates 100 Years of Supporting Poetry
To mark its 100th anniversary, the Poetry Society of America has been sponsoring a yearlong series of events, a program now drawing toward a close. On October 12, the PSA staged readings and a fund-raiser in New York that included former U.S. poets laureate Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Daniel Hoffman, Kay Ryan, and Charles Simic
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Children's Booksellers "Dance a Little Faster" at NCIBA Show
"We always have a great time at the show, and this year is no different," said Susan Kunhardt, children's book buyer at Book Passage in Corte Madera, Calif., of last weekend's Northern California Independent Booksellers Association annual trade show in Oakland.
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'PW' to Host Digital Cookbook Publishing Panel
Registration is now open for "When the Cookbook Shelf Moves Online," a November 9 panel discussion that's part of PW's Breakfast Series. Clarkson Potter's Doris Cooper, EatYourBooks.com's Jane Kelly, Cookstr's Will Schwalbe, and Harvard Common Press' Bruce Shaw will discuss the various ways publishers are using the Web and mobile applications to monetize their cookbook content. Book your spot here.
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Bouncing Back in Northern California
Much like in 2009, this year’s Northern California Independent Booksellers Association annual trade show held in Oakland October 14-16 picked up momentum as the event built. "The show does seem busier this year," said Antonia Squire of Kepler’s Books. "There's a more vibrant layout to the exhibit space, and we're giving orders to reps, who we always love to see."
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Bouchercon by the Bay
The annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention returned to San Francisco for the first time since 1985, drawing a crowd of nearly 1,400 pre-registered attendees this weekend. The event featured a tribute to bookstore manager, publisher and stalwart of the mystery community David Thompson who died on September 13; during Sunday's Anthony Awards brunch,the Bouchercon Standing Committee announced that the David Thompson Special Services Award had been created in his honor.
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PAP&RS Launches New Literary Organization in Los Angeles
PAP&RS, a Los Angeles-based book organization that hopes to unite local publishers, authors, publicists, book reps, critics, and booksellers under one community umbrella, held its inaugural event last night at the historic Culver Hotel in Culver City with George Slowik, Jr., president of Publishers Weekly, on hand from New York to give the keynote address to nearly 100 guests.
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GLiBA: Great Vibes at Great Lakes
"I know I'm biased, but [GLiBA's] children's programming just rocked this year," said Great Lakes independent Booksellers Association president Cynthia Compton, owner of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Indianapolis and Fishers, Ind. "I am continually encouraged by the amount of programming, conversation, and buzz that children's lit creates at our bookseller events."
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Fan Fun with Geoff Johns at NYCC
Of all the sights, sounds and events at this past weekend’s New York Comic Con at the Jacob Javits Center, the Friday panel featuring critically acclaimed, best-selling Green Lantern scribe Geoff Johns was of particular interest to the fans. The affable Johns, now also chief creative officer at DC Comics, dispensed with any trace of formality and sat down at the lecture hall’s onstage table.
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Kids' Comics Everywhere at New York Comic Con
While sales of graphic novels are down, comics for children and teens seem to be a bright spot, and they were attracting plenty of attention at New York Comic Con last weekend.
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Despite Sales Drops, Manga Makes News at New York Comic Con
The merging of New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival has turned the Anime Festival into an underground party. Programming for the NYAF and the NYAF Artists Alley was held on the lower level of the Javits Center and the area was jammed with young fans attending cosplay contests, concerts and other on-stage events.
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Fans Wild for New York Comic Con 2010
Roaring back after a 20 month hiatus, the New York Comic Con returned to the Javits Center with a new fall date but no drop in enthusiasm from fans or exhibitors. ReedPop group v-p Lance Fensterman said preliminary attendance figures for this year's show were around 95,000 visitors over the three days--allowing for the fact that not all passes had been counted yet--up 23% from the 77,000 that attended the show in 2009.
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Photo Mania: New York Comic Con 2010
PW Comics Week staked out the Jacob Javits Center this weekend to bring back lots of photos of the artists, events, crowds of fans and cool stuff at this year's New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival.
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New York Comic Con Returns to Javits Center With Big Crowds
After a switch from spring to fall, the 5th annual New York Comic Con returned to the Jacob Javits Convention Center in combination with a much-reduced New York Anime Festival, taking over the entire building--and they needed it. Although official figures have yet to be released, most veteran observers of the three-day show expect attendance will likely exceed 90,000 fans after drawing 77,000 in 2009
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NEIBA and NECBA: Slimmer but Still Vital
The 37th annual New England Booksellers Independent Booksellers Association conference, held in Providence, R.I., from September 30 to October 2, was like the YA version of a bestselling adult title. All the important elements were there; it's just that they had been slimmed down, along with the show's footprint, which fit on a single floor of the Rhode Island Convention Center for the first time.
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Children's Books and Authors Sparkle at MBA
For children's booksellers, the two highlights of this year's Midwest Booksellers Association's trade show, held in St. Paul, Minn., on October 1 and 2, were a panel of three children's booksellers pitching their favorite fall releases to a room of about 75 of their colleagues, and the annual children's book and author breakfast.