James Petterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program Returns for 2025 - BookWeb

It's called a Holiday Bonus.

Panzer found an announcement on the American Booksellers Association's (ABA) site about author James Patterson. As he did last year he'll be giving Holiday Bonuses to booksellers at independent bookstores. A bookseller's nomination form must be submitted by October 31 to be considered.

 

The announcement contains all the rules and a link to the nomination form.

 

Panzer says, "It's a short nomination form."

 

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea to drink while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus 

Shortlist announced for Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize - The Guardian

 When Panzer was sweeping the floor in the Panzermobile he found a folded up post under the carpet. Smoothing it out our fastidious kitty boy discovered it was a post from The Guardian site about Waterstones.

 

Another debut book prize?

According to Sarah Shaffi's post, Waterstones announced six finalists for their debut fiction prize. The books cover a wide range of genres, locations and times. Waterstones booksellers select the books to be considered for the prize. The post includes a synopsis of each book's plot and has author quotes.

 

Panzer says, "They look like interesting books."

 

Note: This is a very long post. Bring a big glass of iced tea, a sugar cookie (biscuit) and a brownie for this reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Waterstones Debut Fiction

Yes, there could be a book shortage this holiday season. But it is not as bad as you think - USA Today

Today Panzer made a stop at the USA Today site. There our traveling kitty pilot found a post about the Christmas book shortage of 2021. Panzer has been telling you about the supply chain problems businesses have been experiencing.

Maybe it won't be that bad.

According to the post by Mary Cadden, bookstore owners/CEOs and booksellers aren't worried about paper or labor shortages causing a book shortage this holiday season. Since publishers plan and publish their holiday books months in advance, bookstores only expect minimal inconvenience for their book buyers. A video about supply chain problems is included at the beginning of the post. Also included are several links to other posts and information about publishers and supply chain problems in general.

Panzer says, "This post has a different slant on the holiday book buying season."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a big cup of tea and a big muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links, bring extra tea and muffins.

To read the post tootle over to book shortage?

To read Panzer's previous post about the supply chain problems tootle over to supply chain problems

Goldsboro Books' 'Glass Bell Award' Announces Its 2021 Shortlist - Publishing Perspectives

Today, Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile's passenger-side window when he found a wadded up post caught in the weather stripping. Smoothing it out, he discovered it was a post from the Publishing Perspectives site about the Glass Bell Award.

 

According to Porter Anderson's post, the U.K.'s Goldsboro Books' has announced the shortlist for their Glass Bell Award. The short list consists of six books. The winner is chosen by the stores' booksellers. In addition to a cash prize, the winner will receive a glass bell. The winner will be announced on September 30. The post includes links to earlier information about the prize and information about other prizes.

 

I could find a use for a glass bell.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... A glass bell."

 

Note: This is a long-medium post. Bring a large glass of iced tea and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading. If you follow the links in the post, you decide what other treats you want to bring.

 

To read the post tootle over to Goldsboro Books

Wildfires Taking Toll on Booksellers, Publishers - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was shaken by crying and shouting coming from outside. Following all the noise took our big, brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. There with a little digging he discovered a post about the wildfires on the west coast of the US was the cause of the angst.

 

According to the post by Jason Boog, wildfires on the west coast of the US (which includes California, Oregon and Washington) are causing havoc. Booksellers' and publishers' sales already ravaged by Covid-19 now have to deal with the wildfires and their attendant side effects. Company employees have not only had to evacuate their homes, but in many cases those same homes have been destroyed by the fires. Bookstores are either closed because of the smoke and ash in the air or if open have limited customers. There are links included in the post to a photo of the sky over San Francisco, a Go Fund Me page, and a donations page for bookstores.

I don't even want to go out there.

Panzer says, "We can't go outside because the television said we have the worst air pollution in the world."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to booksellers and publishers

US Publishers, Authors, Booksellers Call Out Amazon's 'Concentrated Power' in Book Market - Publishing Perspectives

Today Panzer decided to make a stop at the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty found one about U.S. publishers, authors and booksellers groups complaining to the government about Amazon.

According to the post by Porter Anderson, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the American Booksellers Association sent a letter to the House of Representatives' Antitrust Subcommittee complaining about Amazon's book selling. According to the letter the three groups believe the way Amazon sells books, ebooks and advertising is unfair to them. In the letter they ask the government to force Amazon to do four things to level the playing field for the three groups' members. Here's a kitty paraphrase in simple terms as best as I can figure out in my opinion of the four things they want: 1) Amazon to stop using the information they've gathered about customers previous purchases to recommend new purchases; 2) Amazon to stop "forcing" the groups' members to buy advertising and then giving the advertisers better placement in customer searches; 3) Amazon not to stop book suppliers from offering rival distributors lower prices and better deals; and 4) Amazon to stop using loss-leaders. There's a link included in the post to the groups' letter to the subcommittee, so you can read it yourself.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty is so confused by all this; but, that's okay because nobody asked for my opinion anyway."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a quart of tea, three muffins and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Publishers, Authors and Booksellers vs Amazons

Industry Resource Lists: Publishers' Response Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic - Publishing Perspectives

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the quiet of the Catosphere, he decided to make a stop at the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about publishers response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

There's no place to get away.

According to Porter Anderson's post, to address the impact of Covid-19 on the publishing and bookselling industries the Publishers Association (PA) of British publishers and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) of American publishers have stepped forward. Both organizations have created pages on their site making information available to and about publishers and booksellers. The Publishers Association page even lists agencies and locations where publishers, booksellers and individuals can access funding for businesses impacted by Covid-19. The Association of American Publishers page lists the help publishers are making available to schools, teachers and students impacted by Covid-19. The post includes links to both organizations' pages.

Panzer says, "That virus thingy is really causing trouble everywhere."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea and six muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to publishers resource pages

Amazon Breaks Embargo of 'TheTestament' - Various Sources

Panzer was eating his lunch when his food bowl began shaking from all the screaming and shouting coming from the Catosphere. Getting into the Panzermobile, he discovered the noise was coming from different directions. Our busy kitty visited the Publishers Weekly site and The Guardian site and discovered both have posts about Amazon and The Testament embargo. Panzer told you yesterday about Amazon breaking the embargo on Margaret Atwood's new book.

According to the Publishers Weekly post by Claire Kirch, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) has been trying to convince the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Amazon for violating antitrust laws. The ABA now wants to use Amazon's shipment of Margaret Atwood's new novel before the embargo conclusion as new fuel in that argument.

It was an accident.

According to The Guardian's post by Alison Flood, Amazon shipped 800 pre-ordered copies of the novel to buyers by accident. The post includes a quote from Amazon which says "a technical error" caused the books to be shipped early. A quote from Atwood's publisher Penguin Random House says the error "has now been rectified."

Panzer says, "Looks like this kerfuffle* will be around for a while."

Note: These are large posts. Panzer hopes you still have that RV you borrowed for yesterday's posts, because you'll need it and its cooking and sleeping facilities for today's reading selections.

To read the Publishers Weekly post tootle over to ABA
To read The Guardian post tootle over to Amazon
To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to Booksellers

* Yes, it's a word. Google it. Tee hee hee

Book Publishers Are Whining About Amazon Giving the Buy Button to the Seller w/ the Lowest Price - The Digital Reader

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. There our traveling kitty pilot found a post about Amazon.

According to site owner Nate Hoffelder's post, a lot of book publishers are upset about Amazon's new practice of awarding a book's Buy Button to the seller with the lowest priced offer for the book. This is true even if the seller may not be the publisher of the book. Using a post from the Huffington Post site by book publisher Brooke Warner, Mr. Hoffelder addresses the issues brought up in the post for his responses. Several of his responses relate to the fact that the non-publisher sellers in question couldn't offer the books at a lower price if they hadn't already purchased the books themselves or been given them as review copies. Mr. Hoffelder addresses other issues in his post as well.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Panzer says, "I checked all my books and all my Buy Buttons are my own."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

The Douglas Preston vs. Amazon Dispute Continues

Be quiet! I need sleep!

Panzer is not a happy kitty. First, my bad boy hasn't been able to get any sleep because of all the noise in the Catosphere about the Amazon-Hachette dispute. Now, the Douglas Preston-Amazon dispute my sleepy kitty told you about is making noise again. This time Mr. Preston tells David Streitfeld at the New York Times website he's worried because his book sales at Amazon are down.

So ...

His letter to Amazon (that he's had all over the Catosphere for weeks) will finally appear in Sunday's New York Times newspaper in a full page ad. Some of the authors from Mr. Preston's Authors United group who signed the letter paid the $104,000 price tag for the ad.

Panzer says, "Can't you humans get it straight, Mr. Preston? You never ever bite the hand that feeds you (or sells your books)."

Be prepared. This is a very long post and the comments section is long too. You'll also find a link in the post to the letter from authors who support Amazon in the Amazon-Hachette dispute.
 
To read the latest from Douglas Preston about his Authors United group and his views on Amazon, tootle over to writers battle amazon

Do you truly own your e-books?

Will it never end?

Panzer found that the yowling about the DRM-free lawsuit by the independent booksellers continues in the Catosphere.

Today, he found an explanation for the booksellers' lawsuit by Laura Miller at Salon. As usual, Laura delves into the important part of the issue at hand instead of being waylaid by the minor issues. In her post she addresses why it might prove to be in the ereader owners best interests to support the lawsuit.

 For instance, she asks, "Do you own those ebooks on your ereader?"

The answer might surprise you.

If you haven't grown tired of this argument yet, tootle over to Do you truly own your e-books?