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Presents a preview from `Publishers Weekly' of the 1992 convention exhibitors at the American Booksellers Association (ABA), which includes three sections of alphabetical listings: the main body of exhibitors, small press exhibitors, and international exhibitors arranged by country. Audio and video products on view at the show; Companies in the Audio/Video Plus section; Details.

Presents Publishers Weekly's (PW's) annual summer bookstore survey of sales. Regions where sales results varied widely; Heartening news from areas of the country that have been economically depressed; Bestselling titles; Books that haven't sold well; Projected favorites for the fall.

Offers comments from children's booksellers concerning overpublishing, unavailable paperback editions, and competition for the classroom market. Sifting through the lists of children's books; Underpublished areas; More.

States that, bigger and busier than any American Booksellers Association (ABA) show ever, New York became partytown--and helped boost the book industry. Bookseller comments; Children's and Audio/Video; The New York experience; Dinners and awards. INSET: Closing night banquet, by M.O.; The Bill of Rights, by M.M....

Presents `Publishers Weekly's' preview of the 1991 convention exhibitors. The preview includes five sections of alphabetical listings: the main body of exhibitors, small press exhibitors, international exhibitors (arranged by country, with separate listings for British exhibitors) and those showcasing untranslated titles in the `In Other Words: Books in Different Languages' section. Audio and Video products on view at the show are listed, by company; More.

Addresses the issue of competition for the corporate sale between booksellers and publishers, mainly focusing on the plight of the bookseller. Best and worst case scenarios; Response of publishers; Opposing points of view; Basic lack of trust; Triangle program implemented by Addison-Wesley to work with booksellers. INSET: Tricks of the trade, by M.O..

Presents the results of the `Publishers Weekly' post-Christmas survey, which suggests that booksellers are hanging on and now must address the consequences of a changing economic landscape. Showed that certain trends continue and mark basic changes in how books are distributed to retailers and, in turn, sold by retailers. Surprise bestsellers; Ups and downs of booksellers's sales; Holiday hits and misses; The year ahead; More.

Presents the results of a pre-Christmas business survey conducted during the first week of December, with findings based on interviews with 26 booksellers nationwide. Increased price resistance makes paperbacks acceptable for gift giving; Increasing interest in nonfiction, including self-help and how-to books; Renewed commitment to service; More cooperation and speedier delivery from publishers; Bestsellers and nonbestsellers; Recession-busting; More.

Reports on the Great Lakes Booksellers Association's (GBLA) first annual meeting, held in Lansing Mich., October 11-13, 1991. GBLA was formed at the first and only annual meeting of the Michigan Booksellers Association last year. Praise by publishers and other suppliers of the trade show; Membership meeting; Seminars; Children's book and author breakfast.

Follows Norman Mailer along the publicity trail and discusses the promotional strategies being employed for his new novel `Harlot's Ghost.' Response from Mailer fans; Reception at various media outlets; Comments from Mailer.

Offers a tale of two bookstores with different approaches to retailing and describes how they help define the Taos, N.M., literary scene. Literary figures associated with the locale; Profiles of bookseller Arthur Bachrach and his bookstore calledMoby Dickens; The Taos Book Shop; History of the Taos Book Shop; Marketing and public relations techniques.

Profiles Ken Gjemre, the founder and guiding spirit of Half Price Books, the forty-store company that sells used and remaindered books, records and magazines. Focus on the organization and its people; Gjemre's search to find a field that combined his various business and political interests; Growth of Half Price Books; New products and the expansion process; Future prospects.

Reports that at the National Association of College Stores annual meeting, there is much talk about how stores can not only hold their own, but prosper, in tough times. Featured speaker Caspa L. Harris; Importance of quality as a marketing strategy; Demographic considerations; Need for entrepreneurship; More. INSET: Breakfast with Giff, O'Brien and Walker..

Reports that The Nature Company has entered the publishing market in Japan and continues to expand in the US. Pro-nature line of merchandising items; Nature Company's research into the Asian market; Pricilla Wrubel; More.

Profiles Powell's Books for Kids in Beaverton, Ore., which works with schools and libraries to reach younger readers and to help them keep reading. Melinda Olson, has helped arrange five programs that give students forums to write book reviews for each other and reward reading; Roots of the store; Chapter One program; Greenway Elementary School in Beaverton; Horror books for children; Teen impact; Description of the store.

Reports that lawn brawls, boring ballrooms and quite a few classy bashes were the hallmarks of the after-hours party scene at the American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention in Anaheim, Calif. Assorted authors Tama Janowitz, Edna Buchanan and Mary Higgins Clark; The party thrown for Earvin `Magic' Johnson by Random House; More.

Reports that Peter Osnos, appointed publisher of Times Books in 1991 as part of the Random House imprint, has combined a strategy of focused acquisitions in nonfiction categories with moderate advances to compile a list of titles embracing many of the most substantial issues of the day. Background on Times Books; Serious journalism and current affairs emphasized at Times Books; Contracts with journalists from such publications as the `New York Times'; More.

Reports that Harper Perennial offered Marian Wright Edelman a quarter of a million dollars for her book `The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours.' Edelman's literary agent, Tim Seldes of Russell & Volkening; Sales helped by Edelman's appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show and a profile in `People'; More.

Reports that a Los Angeles Federal District court has rejected the National Endowment for the Arts' so-called decency standard, calling it a violation of the First and Fifth Amendments. The suit brought against the NEA by performance artists John Fleck, Karen Finley, Holly Hughes and Tim Miller in 1990; The NEA had no comment on the ruling; The ruling was a breakthrough for all the arts; More.

Reports that the book `What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS,' by basketball star Earvin `Magic' Johnson and William Novak, has been censored by K Mart, Walgreen's drugstores and HEB grocery stores. The material in question; Considered an important book by Times Books publisher Peter Osnos; The book has been sold to more than a dozen foreign countries; The University of California at Berkeley has purchased a copy for every member on the team; More.

Reports that sure-fire bestsellers aren't only kinds of books that Bantam's former president and publisher Linda Grey is hoping to score for her new imprint. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf's autobiography leading Grey's eponymous imprint's premiere list; Almost certain to secure some places on the bestseller list; Book-of-the-Month Club reportedly paid an undisclosed sum for the rights to sell Schwarzkopf's memoir, `It Doesn't Take a Hero'; More.

Reports that two bookstores based in South Central Los Angeles--The Aquarian Bookshop and the retail outlet for Pathfinder Press--were destroyed in the riot that began in that area of the city April 29. Description of the two stores; Comments from Rich Stuart of the Pathfinder Press; Comments from Gwen Feldman, president of the Southern California Booksellers Association; More.

Reports that a new company called Send A Book, which hopes to link bookstores into a gift-giving network like the one that currently exists for flowers, will be exhibiting at the American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention, aiming to sign up booksellers for an August launch. Background on the company's president Andrew Arcovio; The scheme of Send A Book; The sales staff at the company in Devon, Penn.; Bookseller reaction to the concept.

Announces the resignation of Peter Jovanovich as president and CEO of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) to accept an appointment as president and CEO of the joint Macmillan/McGraw-Hill school publishing company, effective June 1. A surprise move to both General Cinema and to the publishing industry; General Cinema's acquisition of HBJ in November 1991; Background on Jovanovich's publishing career; He succeeds former CEO Richard T. Morgan, who is retiring.

Announces that Great Tradition, the Lower Lake, Calif., distributor of books about religions and spiritual traditions, has been renamed Atrium Publishers Group. Purchased by Aslan Publishing last year; Atrium to act as a trade distributor, and continue to distribute religious and spiritual titles; Comments from Dawson Church, publisher of Aslan; More.

States that U.S. Games Systems, maker and distributor of playing and tarot decks, the author series and other products, sells to about 8,000 stores representing 95 percent of the company's business. Experimenting with sidelines; U.S. Games's 700products; Comments from U.S. Games president Stuart Kaplan; Nuremburg Toy Fair; Books written by Kaplan; Contact point for more information.

Announces that Wal-Mart Stores has accepted the bar codes on books standards, at the January 17 bimonthly meeting of the Book Industry Systems Advisory Committee (BISAC) of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). Bookland EAN bar codes; Reaffirmed commitment to X12; More.

States that the publisher has teamed publicists with regional sales managers, making the publicists responsible for specific territories. Formalized a connection with booksellers; Ballantine/Del Rey/Fawcett/Ivy Books; Ballantine program; Changesin structure and attitude; Prototype has California roots; More.

Reports that booksellers are preparing for this year's crucial Christmas season by making initial buys in small numbers, but quickly reordering popular titles and anticipated strong sellers from wholesalers. What this means for the wholesalers; Industry needs a healthy Christmas season; Comments from Harriet Pierce, retail marketing director for Baker & Taylor Books; Max Phelps, sales manager of Koen Book Distributors; More.

Reports on the opening of the Waterstone's bookstore in Boston, Massachusetts, the first United States store for the British retailer. Tim Waterstone, founder and head of Waterstone's; Sir Simon Hornby, chairman of Waterstone's parent company, W.H. Smith Group; Business has been above expectations; Hiring staff; Brief background of the company.

Reports on the Southeast Booksellers Association annual meeting and trade show held September 20-22, 1991. Book and Author breakfast; Speeches by Gloria Steinem and Alexandra Ripley; Winter Books Party; Advice to publishers.

Asserts that the Mid-South Booksellers Association Convention in Memphis was a small but important affair. Why the convention continues to be a crowd pleaser; Presence of a sense of professional alienation. INSET: `We blew it!,' by M.O..

Maintains that the explosion of book stores called `superstores' is strongest in the sunbelt and the northeast. Where the superstores are and will be; Pioneers in the field.

Reports that as it grows from a pilot program into a full-fledged sales reporting service, WordStock's TitleView has signed on three publishers and hopes to announce several more subscribers in the near future. Why the program is one of the few sources of reliable data about what's selling in a broad sample of independent stores; Use of scientific data collection; Details about the reporting information.

Presents comments by David McRedmond, Waterstone's project manager and coordinator of the first phase of the bookstore's expansion in the US. The first Waterstone's Booksellers in the US will open in late September or early October in Boston, MA.Background on the store; Plans the store has.

Offers an advanced look at regional bookseller associations and their upcoming conventions. Mid-South Booksellers Association's regional meeting; Upper Midwest Booksellers Association trade show; Northern California Booksellers Association yearly assembly; Seven other associations, the dates, and locales of their regional meetings.

Profiles executive Steve Riggio, vice-president and chief operating officer of Barnes & Noble, who is determined to help bring children with disabilities further into the mainstream. Riggio's experiences with his child Melissa, who has Down's Syndrome; Messages to publishers.

Reports that General Booksellers Conference of the National Association of College Stores focused on censorship. Speakers suggested that there were ever-changing new types of censorship to be wary of. Major budget cutbacks; The Banned Authors Dinner; More about the conference.

Presents an interview with Charles Cumello, who speaks for the first time publicly about his plans for Waldenbooks. Good news for the publishing industry; `Back to basics'; Cumello's background; More about the future of Waldenbooks.

Presents a series of photographs that feature prominent booksellers, celebrities, and the parties they attended while in New York for the annual American Booksellers Association convention.

Presents a series of photographs which feature various people and attractions at this year's American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention.

Reports that not since the days of the NCBA suit and alternate slates in the early '80s has an American Booksellers Association annual membership meeting been so tense and heated as it was this year. What caused the controversy were proposed bylaw changes that would have realigned significant aspects of the organization and given more power to the office of executive director. INSET: ABFFE gets to Carnegie Hall.;Keillor provides comic relief, by....

Announces that Harper Business, a division of Harper Collins, has acquired world rights to the next book by entrepreneur Harvey Mackay, who was wooed away from Morrow, publisher of his two previous bestsellers, with an advance reportedly in excess of $2 million. Mackay's new book `Shark Proof: Get the Job You Want, Keep the Job You Love--in Today's Frenzied Job Market'; Scheduled January publication; The success of Mackay's first book; More.

Reports that earlier this month, at the ABA convention in Anaheim, Calif., Stefano Eco, son of award-winning Italian novelist Umberto Eco, and Juan Garcia de Oteyza, whose father is Latin American author Juan Garcia Ponce, officially launched their small New York-based publishing firm, Marsilio Publishing. The full list of 17 titles; Some of the works offered; More information on the Italian publishing house.

Reports that after six years of collaborative ventures with two large publishing houses, Charles Harris, president and publisher of Amistad Press, an imprint specializing in works by and about African Americans, has launched Amistad as an independent publishing house, with an exclusive international distribution agreement with Penguin USA. Severed ties with Warner Books; Background on Amistad Press; Harris and his wife majority shareholders of Amistad Media Ltd.; More.

Reports that Australia's Deputy Chief Censor has banned the importation of the controversial guide to committing suicide, `Final Exit,' by Derek Humphry. Why the book has been judged illegal; Comments from Humphry's agent, Robert Ducas; Shipments of the books by the European distributor Worldwide Media; The issue of euthanasia for the Dutch.

Discusses the controversy that has developed around author Erich Segal's current bestseller `Acts of Faith' after three Catholic newspapers refused to accept advertising for the book. Why the `New World' in Chicago, `Catholic New York' and the `Tidings' in Los Angeles declined to run the ads; The controversy covered on the TV program `Entertainment Tonight'; More.

Reports that giant French publishing conglomerate Groupe de la Cite has announced plans to expand into the United States market with the establishment of Chambers Kingfisher Graham Publishers (CKG) in New York City. Details of the plans Groupe de la Cite has with CKG; Groupe de la Cite's report of virtually flat sales in 1991; Its partnership with Alsthom and CE Communications.

Discusses the reasons why wholesalers are skeptical that Bantam Doubleday Dell and Random House's recently implemented new terms of sales will have much effect in reducing the rate of returns. Description of the new terms; The position that wholesalers have been placed in; The new wholesaler rates.

Reports that Baker & Taylor Books and its sister Video and SoftKat (software) distribution divisions are now being operated under a newly formed parent company--Baker & Taylor Inc. Established following the official sale of the three divisions by W.R. Grace to the Carlyle Group; Mid-level management participated buyout; Three divisions will be overseen by Gerald G. Garbacz; Details.