US Indie bookstore numbers up for the sixth year in a row

In the US, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) has recorded an increase in independent bookstore members for the sixth year in a row, reports Publishers Weekly. Speaking at Book Expo America (BEA), ABA CEO Oren Teicher said the ABA added 48 members in the previous year, reaching a total of 1712 members—up from 1401 in 2009. The total number of member locations also grew to 2227 from 1651 in 2009. Teicher attributed indie bookseller growth to slowing ebook sales, which Nielsen senior VP Jonathan Stolper reported had dropped 6% in unit sales in 2014 compared to 2013; buy-local movements; and publishers ‘rethinking outmoded business practices’. Publishers Weekly reported that two of the ‘most talked about’ books at BEA were debut author Garth Risk Hallberg’s 900-page novel City on Fire (Knopf, October), with rights sold for nearly US$2m (A$2.6m) in 2013; and Jonathan Franzen’s Purity (HarperCollins, September). Also much remarked upon was the large presence at BEA of focus country China, which included an 800-aisle pavilion housing more than 500 publishers and authors. Next year’s BEA will run from 11-13 May in Chicago—the first time it will be held outside of New York City since 2008—less than one month after the London Book Fair wraps up on 14 April.

Category: International news