2011, announced
that in the four
years since its
launch, it has
sold more than
three million
e-books.
ABDO
Launches YA
Fiction List
The debut list of
EPIC Press, a new
Minneapolis-
based YA house,
will include 48
titles: eight series,
each containing
six related novels,
will be released
simultaneously
in both hardcover
and in digital for-
mats.
events. “But Jen was happy to take it on.
She really knows Book Soup and hired an
assistant promotions director at each
store. It’s worked out really well.”
With back-office operations in place
and the Sunset Strip undergoing a renais-
sance—a fashionable restaurant is open-
ing next door to Book Soup, and Guitar
Center is putting its showroom across the
street, where Tower Records once stood—
Book Soup is well positioned as it moves
into its fifth decade. And it has continued
to maintain Goldman’s vision of a space
dedicated to creative people in L.A.
“Glenn loved books. He defined us. So
many people stepped up to the plate to
make this work because they cared—and
after 40 years still care—about Book
Soup,” said Hill.
Hill acknowledged that sales were
generally flat the first few years after Vroman’s took over Book Soup, due to the
recession and other factors, but sales have
increased annually each of the last few
years, and profit has significantly
improved along the way. The store’s
fortunes have improved enough that
several people came forward this year to
nominate Book Soup for the PW
Bookstore of the Year Award. “There is something so simultaneously cozy and glamorous about this little oasis crammed with
my favorite novels signed by my favorite
authors, and with the most beautiful,
sexy fine art and design books on the
market,” novelist Francesca Lia Block
wrote. “And you never know what famous
and infamous film or literary celebrities
you might run into.” —Wendy Werris
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ MAY 18, 2015
Soup for almost seven years before leaving
for Vroman’s. “Glenn created this magical place, and it just could not go away.”
Hill and many devoted Book Soup
staffers worked hard to make the transition to Vroman’s ownership in late 2009
seamless. Many of the changes were confined to the back office. Accounting was
an obvious example, and Vroman’s CFO,
Clark Mason, who had previously worked
as Goldman’s bookkeeper, supervises the
accounting office for both stores. But
book buying was a little trickier. On
paper, combining the buying function
made financial sense, Hill said, but she
worried about what might get lost. In
the end, Sherri Gallentine, the longtime
head book buyer for Vroman’s, took over
buying for both stores. “During that first
year, the buying team at Vroman’s was
committed to making it work,” Hill
said. Gallentine spent a lot of time at
Book Soup during the transition and
now has an office there, where she works
one day a week. The Book Soup staff keep
her informed of titles doing well at their
store, such as David Lynch’s Distorted
Nudes, John Maloof’s Vivian Maier, and
Sebastião Salgado’s two-volume Genesis,
a collector’s edition that retails for
$4,000.
The promotions department was overhauled, too. Jennifer Ramos, who is the
promotional director at Vroman’s and
held a similar position at Book Soup, now
oversees both stores. “That was something
we did not want to do, because I felt it
would be too much for one person,” Hill
said. Each store hosts about 30 monthly
Feature: Fall Audio Announcements Issue
Issue: July 6 Deadline: June 4
Needed: Each publisher’s top 25 new adult audio
titles and top 25 new children’s audio titles scheduled for release between Aug. 1, 2015, and Jan.
31, 2016. For each title, please include the following: title, author, performer(s); format, price, ISBN,
a brief summary of the program contents, release
month, and any other distinguishing information.
Please prepare your submissions in a Word document (spreadsheets will not be accepted) and
email them to sesmaughan@gmail.com.
Call for
Information
President George Slowik Jr.
Publisher Cevin Bryerman
Editorial Director Jim Milliot
Reviews Director Louisa Ermelino
Children’s Book Editor Diane Roback
Managing Editor Daniel Berchenko
News Director Rachel Deahl
Senior News Editor Calvin Reid
News Editor Clare Swanson
Features Editor Carolyn Juris
Senior Editor Mark Rotella
Senior Reviews Editor Peter Cannon
Deputy Reviews Editor Gabe Habash
Reviews Editors Annie Coreno, Alex Crowley, Rose Fox,
Everett Jones, Seth Satterlee
Children’s Reviews Editor John A. Sellers
Comics Reviews Editor Heidi MacDonald
PW Select Editor Adam Boretz
Senior Writer Andrew R. Albanese
Senior Bookselling Editor Judith Rosen
Senior Religion Editor Lynn Garrett
Associate Editor, Children’s Books Natasha Gilmore
Assistant Editor, Children’s Books Matia Burnett
Contributing Editors John F. Baker, Gwenda Bond, Peter
Brantley, Michael Coffey, Natalie Danford, Dick Donahue,
Lucinda Dyer, James Grimmelmann, Brian Kenney, Sally
Lodge, Daisy Maryles, Marcia Z. Nelson, Diane Patrick,
Nancy Pearl, Karen Raugust, Sarah J. Robbins, Sonia Jaffe
Robbins, Wendy Smith, Sybil Steinberg, Wendy Werris
Art Director Clive Chiu
Layout & Production Assistant Matthew White
Copy Editor Ivan Anderson
V-P, Business Development Carl Pritzkat
Executive Editor Jonathan Segura
Director, Digital Operations Craig Morgan Teicher
Director, Events & Community Engagement Kat Meyer
Digital Business Manager Seth Dellon
Production/Manufacturing Publishing Experts
Circulation Director Next Steps Marketing
Web Engineering Mediapolis
IT Support Mark Johnson, ACS Int’l
V-P Operations Patrick Turner
Business Manager Esther Reid
Marketing/Licensing Director Christi Cassidy
Marketing Manager Bryan Kinney
Digital Media Coordinator Ryk Hsieh
Correspondents:
New England Judith Rosen 617-876-2469
Midwest Claire Kirch 218-310-1867
South Tiffany Razzano 516-906-2140
West Coast Anisse Gross 415-321-9381
Canada Laura Godfrey 416-738-7660
Asia Teri Tan ( ttan@publishersweekly.com)
HOW TO REACH US
71 W. 23rd St., Suite 1608, New York, N Y 10010
Phone: 212-377-5500; fax: 212-377-2733;
email: pw@pubservice.com
To subscribe, change an address, report delivery problems,
or inquire about back issues, call 800-278-2991 or
818-487-2069, or fax 818-487-4550.
For inquiries about reprints & permissions,
email
ccassidy@publishersweekly.com
ADVERTISING
Cevin Bryerman 212-377-5703
Tory Abel 760-701-2015
Ted Olczak 212-377-5709
Joseph Murray 212-377-5708
Classifieds/online inquiries: Cevin Bryerman 212-377-5703