There’s a person for every book, and a book for every person. This beautiful belief is the last thing that the residents of the fictitious Broken Wheel, Iowa, put their faith in. With closed up storefronts and a dwindling population, this town is one step away from ceasing to exist. But when a Swedish tourist comes to town and opens a bookstore, everything changes. The townspeople are reluctant readers at first, but they soon learn that one little bookstore and the passionate bookseller who runs it have the power to revitalize their dying town. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a book that reminds us that each local bookstore is the cornerstone of their community—a place for adventure, knowledge, escape, inspiration, enlightenment,and to remember that you’re never truly alone. READERS, RECOMMEND YOUR BOOKSTORE!“Bookstores are the heart and soul of their community and have enormous impact on readers’ lives,” said Dominique Raccah, founder and CEO of Sourcebooks. “The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend inspired us to create a campaign that will not only give back to a few deserving bookstores, but hopefully highlight all the many wonderful bookstores that service communities across the country.” The Readers, Recommend Your Bookstore campaign encourages everyone to vote for their local bookstore here. Sourcebooks will award the bookstore that receives the most votes with a $3,000 prize; two additional bookstores will each receive a $637 prize. (The specific dollar figure of the second prize is a nod to the book, as 637 is the population of Bivald’s Broken Wheel, Iowa.) As part of the campaign, we’ll also give weekly prizes to those who submit nominations. The campaign began January 4 and runs until February 19, when the winning bookstores will be announced. There have already been nearly 7,000 votes, and the current front-runners are listed on the nomination website! So go nominate your local bookstore now! WHAT BOOKSELLERS ARE SAYING...Booksellers showed their love for The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by making it the #1 Indie Next Pick for January! Bess Bleyaert at McLean & Eakin (Petoskey, MI) called it“sheer perfection,” and Stephanie Crowe at Page & Palette (Fairhope, AL) noted that it is “a true testament that one person who cares can make a difference.” Leslie, from Read Between the Lynes (Woodstock, IL) even took her advanced reading copy to the great city of London! The Readers of Broken Wheel is on sale now, so stop by your local bookstore and pick up a copy today! DEBUT NOVEL BECOMES AN INDIE STORE FAVORITEWhat happens when Karen Schwettman, one of the “Foxes” (a.k.a. friends and cofounders of award-winning indie bookstore FoxTale Book Shoppe), falls in love with your book? You get invited to visit their store in Woodstock, Georgia, for a fabulous event—complete with a dazzling window display and a magical recreation of one of your chapters in the store. Scott Wilbanks, author of The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster, was absolutely blown away with the scene that met him when he stepped inside FoxTale for an event in August. (Below left: Scott Wilbanks, Below right: Scott (right) with Mike and Karen) The Foxes had set up an antique red door that serves as the time travel portal in the novel as part of the author signing table. Other elements featured in the book, such as a brass letter box, were prominently displayed in the store window. “If you ever get the chance, stop by the store and shoot the breeze with Karen. You’ll thank me. She’s pretty marvelous, folks,” says Scott. Wilbanks’s event was packed, and included old friends, enthusiastic fans, and new friends, including Karl Camp, who posted on Facebook: “My family and I had a wonderful time meeting Scott and Mike at the book signing event for The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster at Foxtale Book Shoppe in Woodstock. I just finished reading the book. Thank you, Scott. It is masterfully written. Please keep writing! Such literary gifts are exceedingly rare and always a jewel to discover.” The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster is also November’s FoxTalk Book Club pick! Thank you to FoxTale Book Shoppe for the amazing hospitality and for making an author’s dream come alive! It’s been an incredible couple of days... For the first time in the company’s history, Sourcebooks has four titles on the New York Times Bestseller List AND a USA Today Bestseller! It’s really extraordinary for any publisher, but for an independent publisher to have a set of books on the list by a number of different authors is rare (I actually couldn’t think of another example that weren't part of the same series...at least not four). The New York Times Bestseller List for Children’s Picture Books for the week ending March 26, 2011 will feature not one, not two, but THREE Sourcebooks Jabberwocky titles! Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi’s debut children’s book, Dream Big, Little Pig!, remains on the list for the second consecutive week at the #3 spot after debuting at #2 for the week ending March 19. 2011. Author Jennifer Fosberry’s My Name Is Not Isabella returns to the New York Times Bestseller List at the #9 spot, after previously landing at the #10 spot for the week ending January 9, 2011. Fosberry’s new book, My Name Is Not Alexander, debuts at #10 on the Children’s Picture Book list this week. OK, I have to say it’s kind of amazing for a Chicago independent publisher to have 30% of the top picture books. One of my bookseller friends told me (at an event this week) “Sourcebooks really seems to have a feel for children’s books.” That’s an amazing compliment! And yes, we seem to really be developing a feel for our readers in this area. And we're working hard to do that (but that's a different post). And then...Bestselling UK author Jill Mansell has matched her success overseas with a double bestseller in the U.S.: Miranda’s Big Mistake has reached #12 on the New York Times eBook Bestseller List and is #86 on the USA Today Bestseller List for the week ending March 26, 2011. Miranda’s Big Mistake is Mansell’s first bestseller in the United States, and the first New York Times eBook bestseller and USA Today fiction bestseller for Sourcebooks. What’s really amazing is that our team envisioned the possibility of having 3 books on the list and then worked hard to make it happen. Look at what happened! These are remarkable times in so many ways. I think there’s a lot to learn from Dreaming BIG! Dominique PS. I walked back into my office (after a trip to New York) and here’s what I saw Thanks, guys! Congratulations to all of our authors! And many thanks to all of our bookselling partners!!! What a great week!
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