A huge focus of James Daunt’s keynote speech to the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) was how Barnes and Noble is bouncing back from the retail apocalypse. It also included a lot about mundane changes like new furniture to major overhauls of how books are even shelved!
One big change is that stores can now take responsibility for stocking their shelves — a real game changer and an advantage to authors who can get their books stocked at the local stores.
Individual stores will now decide which books they want to stock. Publishers used to buy a place on the shelves, but no longer have that option.
B&N has shifted from how it operated in the past, providing a much-needed opportunity boost for indie and small press publishers.
“It’s so smart of Barnes and Noble to position themselves as less of a big retailer and more as an indie bookstore,” said Miral Sattar of LearnSelfPublishingFast and author of the Self-Pub and Book Marketing newsletter. “There are lots of ways to get your print books into physical Barnes and Noble stores, but I always tell indie authors to distribute through IngramSpark for the print book distribution. In general, bookstores are more amenable to ordering copies from places that aren’t competitors (like Amazon).
“So if you want to get your physical book into a Barnes and Noble, distribute your paperback and hardback through IngramSpark, reach out to your local Barnes and Noble, make sure your book meets the Barnes and Noble requirements, and send your book to the small press department.”
Now that they have a chance to reach the shelves of Barnes & Noble, independent authors and small publishers can focus on forging relationships with local B&N branches. They at least now have a chance of competing against massive advertising campaigns and shelf space contracts from the Big Five.
Watercolor by Hermann Hesse
This is a full-cast performance featuring Robert Foxworth, Pamela Payton-Wright, Stuart Pankin, and Jerome Dempsey and cast. I use this full audio recording of The Crucible in my classroom and intend no copyright infringement. It’s for educational purposes only. It was produced by The Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center (under the direction of Jules Irving and Robert Symonds) and directed by John Berry.
ACT I:
ACT II:
ACT III:
ACT IV:
Be sure to check out my Crucible Study Notes on YouTube:
Tim Fasano, who died last November of cardiac arrest, penned a memoir of life at the margins of society.
Before his YouTube page became a sensation with over 1,300 videos of his search for Bigfoot, Tim Fasano wrote a popular blog called Tampa Taxi Shots. The blogging craze was at its height in 2006, and Mr. Fasano began documenting his view of life on the streets from behind the wheel of a United Cab.
Mr. Fasano often said there was more philosophy in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven than in a college lecture hall.
He often wrote about ne’er-do-wells and down-and-outs, strippers and prostitutes, nightclub patrons, and guys looking for a late-night date. He wrote of vacationers who thought they were long-routed, sick people headed to the emergency room in the wee hours, and the mentally ill. There was no shortage of surly drunks, bums with no money, and addicts who believed Mr. Fasano knew where to score drugs. Several newspapers wrote articles about his blog, and often Mr. Fasano appeared on local television — once for finding a suspicious package at the Tampa airport. News outlets from around the country published obituaries about him, including US News & World Report.
His short, concise posts were compelling and bewitching in their effort to find meaning in the hustle of cab driving. A student of philosophy at the University of South Florida, Mr. Fasano often said there was more philosophy in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven than in a college lecture hall. An amateur photographer, he filled his blog with photos of the road, billboards, and graffiti. He took dozens of photographs of his fellow drivers, many of whom have passed away.
We at Coyote Canyon Press had the pleasure of reading his manuscript a few years ago. Based on his blog entries but fleshed out significantly, his book focuses on the unglamorous lives of people on the margins, people whose stories are rarely told.
The Cabbie’s Tale will be published in the summer of 2020.
Today, I ventured to the Huntington Library, only to be confronted by an enormous red modernist metal sculpture—an eyesore that immediately assaulted my sensibilities. One can scarcely fathom the logistical gymnastics involved in its creation and installation. The grounds remain marred by ceaseless construction, a Sisyphean endeavor that appears destined to persist indefinitely.
My pilgrimage was prompted by an exhibition of the works of Celia Paul, a British painter previously relegated to the periphery of my artistic awareness. Paul’s oeuvre is an introspective exploration of self-portraits, familial bonds, and the relentless, indifferent sea. Her mother’s death seems to haunt these canvases, with Paul claiming to sense her mother’s spirit in the ocean’s depths. Her art is suffused with an ineffable melancholy, a somberness that permeates each brushstroke, evoking an almost palpable sense of sorrow and introspection.
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