Publishers Weekly - May 18, 2015

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
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Children’s Book Editor Diane Roback
Managing Editor Daniel Berchenko
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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
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Associate Editor, Children’s Books Natasha Gilmore
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Robbins, Wendy Smith, Sybil Steinberg, Wendy Werris
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Copy Editor Ivan Anderson
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Director, Digital Operations Craig Morgan Teicher
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