Arizona Book Publishing Association

In this edition:

• Arizona Book Awards coming May 10
• April Program: Book Printing: Know Your Options
• ABPA Annual Meeting
• ABPA Author Event–May 8
• 2008 Publishing University: ABPA Members Can Register at a Discount
• Marketing Committee presents Discovering the Joy of Short Stories
• ABPA New Members
• Member News
• Conferences for Writers and Publishers

Arizona Book Awards: Award-Winning Author Jewell Parker Rhodes to act as Master of Ceremonies

The judges have completed their job, the awards are being engraved and tension is building for the awarding of the Glyphs at the Arizona Book Awards on Saturday, May 10.

Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes will act as Master of Ceremonies at the event at the Phoenix Country Club. As a former Arizona Book Award winner, she will present awards and also talk briefly about what it means to write and publish in Arizona.

Dr. Rhodes is professor of Creative Writing and American Literature and former Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Arizona State University. Her stories have been anthologized in Children of the Night: Best Short Stories by Black Writers and Ancestral House: The Black Short Story in the Americas and Europe.

Dr. Rhodes is a prolific writer whose short fiction has appeared in The Seattle Review, Feminist Studies, Peregrine, Haydens Ferry Review, and Shooting Star Review among others. Her work has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize. Among her numerous awards are the Yaddo Creative Writing Fellowship, the National Endowment of the Arts Award in Fiction, and two Distinguished Teaching Awards. She also was selected as the Creative Writing Delegate for the Modern Language Association.

The Arizona Book Publishing Association is honored to have such a renowned author and scholar participating in this event.

There were a substantial number of entries for this growing competition. Eligible works must have been published in 2007 by an Arizona author or publisher or must be primarily set in or about Arizona.

Following the awards ceremony, the winners will appear on the Arizona Book Publishing Association website at 2008 Glyph Winners.

April 30—Book Printing: Know Your Options

A Joint Meeting of ABPA and PubWest

April 30, 2008

Join us for two great speakers who will explore your options for printing your books in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
and ABPA’s Annual Meeting

Please note our NEW meeting location!
Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery
4573 E. Cactus Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Phone: (602) 996-0622
For the the exact location, visit

Program (includes dinner) 5:30 p.m-8:00 p.m.
Early Registration (by April 25): $25 members $35 non-members
Late Registration: $35 members $45 non-members
PubWest members are invited to register at the member rate for this meeting.
Advance payment is required for registration; no refunds after April 25, 2008.

Overseas Printing, Fact vs. Fiction–Chris Carpenter, Four Colour Imports, Ltd.

Have you ever considered printing overseas, yet the idea of letting your “baby” go to some foriegn land terrifies you? Don’t they put lead in the ink in China? Doesn’t it take 6 months to get a book printed?

How would you like to increase your company’s profit margins by 33-50%? What would it mean if you could increase the quality of your printing and save money at the same time? Why are so many publishers going overseas to print in today’s day in age?

Chris Carpenter will tackle these questions and concerns, separating the fact from the fiction, as he makes a brief yet thorough overview of overseas printing.

Throughout his work and education, Chris Carpenter has immersed himself in the world of books. After a few years in sales at a retail bookstore, Chris discovered the arts of marketing, printing, designing, and distributing books as he worked for two different publishing companies, Fons Vitae Publishing and Sarabande Books. In 2006, he was recruited by their printer, Four Colour Imports, Ltd., and he became the Western Territory Manager. Chris has worked with books from the manuscript stage through the manufacturing process all the way to the bookshelf in a retail store. He received his B.A. in English from Bellarmine University. He lives with his wife Alexandra and their son Christopher in Phoenix.

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POD—What can it do for your business?, Ryan McMurtry, Client Account Executive, Lightning Source, Inc.

Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology in which a copy of a book is not created until after an order is received. POD is used by publishers as a way of printing items for a fixed cost per copy, irrespective of the size of the order. While the unit price of each physical copy printed may be higher than with traditional offset printing, when setup costs, warehousing and fulfillment logistics are taken into account for many books, print on demand provides a lower per unit cost for smaller print runs than offset printing methods. In this session learn how POD can be incorporated into your business for financial success.

Lightning Source is the leader in demand-driven book manufacturing and distribution solutions to the publishing industry. LSI manufactures quality books for publishers, in any quantity, and ships them all over the world.

Launched in 1997, Lightning Source, a subsidiary of Ingram Industries Inc., prints more than one million books every month, with an average print run of 1.8 copies. Their digital library houses more than 400,000 titles. Partners with the leading book wholesalers and retailers in the book industry, LSI works with more than 4,300 publishers—large and small.

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Join us for this powerful program!

Prepayment is required for registration.
Please register http://azbookpub.com/events/april-30/ or
RSVP to the ABPA hotline (602) 274-6264 or
email info@azbookpub.com.

ABPA Annual Meeting is April 30

Members are currently electing a new board of directors to govern the Arizona Book Publishing Association in the coming year, May 2008–April 2009. For the first time, members can vote online via a link emailed to each member.

The slate for the 2008–2009 Board of Directors of the Arizona Book Publishing Association consists of the following candidates; we have seven vacancies. The first five will fill one-year terms, having served during the past year. The next two, new to the board, will fill two-year terms.

Candidates for 2008–2009 ABPA Board of Directors

Susan Budavari, Red Coyote Press
Doug Devoe, Sir Speedy Scottsdale
Bill Fessler, Primer Publishers
Karen Gray, Acacia Publishing
James Willinger, Wide World of Maps, Inc.
Penny Callmeyer, Color House Graphics, Inc.
Jessica Tribble, Poisoned Pen Press

If you did not complete your ballot online, you will be given the opportunity to vote at the April 30 Annual Meeting.

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ABPA Author Event–May 8

Barnes & Noble Presents APBA Author Event
May 8, 2008: 7:00 pm, Shea and 90th St.
10500 N 90th St
Scottsdale, AZ 85258-4526
(480) 391-0048

Please join us to support the ABPA Marketing Committee’s promotional partnership with this Barnes & Noble bookstore. Our program values your support, which helps to ensure its success. Invite your friends and plan to join us for an entertaining and enlightening evening.

Author Event: Discovering the Joy of Short Stories

Susan Budavari and Suzanne Flaig, editors; various contributing authors; Medium Of Murder, Map Of Murder, Medley Of Murder

Susan Budavari and Suzanne Flaig, editors of the award-winning series, are co-owners of Red Coyote Press, a Valley-based publisher specializing in mystery and suspense fiction. Red Coyote Press was established in part to support local authors and showcase their work. Three short story anthologies are currently in print: MEDLEY OF MURDER, a finalist for the 2005 ForeWord Book of the Year Award in Mystery Fiction; MAP OF MURDER, the winner of the 2007 Indie Excellence Award in Short Fiction; and MEDIUM OF MURDER, just published. Each book contains original stories by a host of contributing authors–both aspiring local authors, as well as acclaimed writers from around the country. A number of the contributing authors are members of the international mystery association, Sisters in Crime.

About the Book

In the latest installment of the series, MEDIUM OF MURDER, each story deals with some type of “medium”–whether it is an intermediary between the physical and spiritual world; mass media or forms of communication; materials or methods used in art or biology; or even the actual method by which the murder is perpetrated. In every scenario, the particular connection between the kind of medium and the murder determines the outcome of the story. The first in the series, MEDLEY OF MURDER, features Arizona authors and Arizona settings. In MAP OF MURDER, the location is the central theme, with the stops all different and the scenes contrasting. In all three anthologies, the stories offer a taste of the various mystery/suspense sub-genres, including cozy, hard-boiled, police procedural, thriller, romantic suspense, historical, psychological suspense, and even supernatural.

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Grow your book publishing company AND expand your personal network at Publishing University in Los Angeles

Let more than 200 book-industry experts at the 19th Annual Publishing University in LA, May 27-29 show you how—and enjoy an affiliate discount

• Should the book’s cover be red or blue?
• Will my book sell from my web site?
• How can I get booked on more radio shows?
• Is direct mail effective for selling books?

These are just a few of the questions that small publishing companies, independent publishers, and even established publishers ask themselves. Yet hiring a variety of expert consultants is often cost prohibitive.

What if publishers could get answers to these and hundreds of other questions they have in just a few days? Well, you can!

More than 200 seasoned industry professionals will be in Los Angeles, CA, at the pre-BEA 19th Publishing University May 27-29, sharing their knowledge, insight and tips with hundreds of individuals from self-published authors to publishing house executives. This year’s University—which offers more than 80 sessions during the three full days—is aimed at guiding new and expanding publishers from start-up to “grown-up”—and beyond. Attendees also glean helpful information and new ideas from fellow attendees. The Publishing University is presented by PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, celebrating 25 years as the largest trade association for independent publishers in the world.

In addition to eight separate educational “tracks” including Sales, Marketing, Editorial, Publicity and Finance, an Advanced track dedicated to more experienced publishers, the 2008 Publishing University features:

• Dominique Raccah, president and CEO of Sourcebooks, one of the fastest-growing independent publishers in the industry sharing her insights and experiences as she built—and continues to build—her successful company.
• David Steinberg, CEO of Perseus Book Group, named by Publishers Weekly as the 2007 Publisher of the Year, and Johnny Temple, Publisher of Akashic Books, whose success has been built on “out of the mainstream” urban and political fiction, in a panel discussion on the future of independent publishing.
• Sara Nelson, Editor of Publishers Weekly, the key book industry trade magazine, speaking exclusively to the Advanced track Publishing University attendees from her unique perspective as both a participant in, and observer of, the book industry.

Past attendees say it best:

“I learned so much at Publishing University and was so impressed with the workshops and the facilitators. Everyone was helpful and accessible. It was an experience that has propelled me to another level with my publishing company.” — Deborah Bellis, President, Reflections Publishing, Inc., Inglewood, CA

“Now I know why colleagues told me it is so worth the money! I gathered more information and made more contacts than I could have in probably three years of work on my own.” —Pamela Waterman, The Discovery Box Publishing, Mesa, AZ

“I made great connections, I learned a boatload, and most importantly, I learned the areas where I really need to improve our capabilities. Small publishers face a huge amount of hurdles in the marketplace. The Publishing University gives you a vital leg up.” —John DiCocco, BallMarker Press, LLC, Belmont, MA

As a member of ABPA, you can use the special discount code (available from your executive director) when registering and save $50. For details on Publishing University, visit The Independent Book Publishers Association’s website or contact Terry Nathan, Executive Director, The Independent Book Publishers Association at 310-372-2732. Register today and join us for three days of knowledge and networking at the 2008 Publishing University.

ABPA New Members

Welcome to these new ABPA members!

Publisher Members

East West Rejuvenation Center
Victoria Mogilner
480-663-8208

Humor Horizons
David Jacobson
520-982-6868
http://www.humorhorizons.com
djacobson@umcaz.edu

OPA Author Services
Paul McNeese
480-275-5270
http://www.opaauthorservices.com
pmcneese@yahoo.com

SomeplacElse
B.L. Lindstrom
480-699-0313
http://www.SomeplacElse.tv
bl@someplacelse.tv

Sweet People Publishing
Debra Santos
866-824-9843
drsantos@cox.net

Turnapaige & Reed Moore
Judy and Max Aguiar
602-690-8192
http://www.turnapaige.com
reedmoore@turnapaige.com

Associate Members

Book Edge Images
Len Deehan and Lorena Garcia
480-964-4807
http://www.adlmalls.com
ceo@adlmalls.com

Marcia Fine
480-831-0894
http://www.marciafine.com
marciafine@aol.com

Marilyn Kobrzycki
602-748-7826
supernursemd@gmail.com

Member News

Proposed law would hold publishers accountable for crimes committed

According to an article in PW Daily, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) criticized a new law in Indiana that requires bookstores to register with the government if they sell what are considered “sexually explicit materials.” Signed by Governor Mitch Daniels, the new law requires the booksellers to register with the Secretary of State and provide a statement detailing the types of books to be sold.

Though the article said it was the only law of its kind currently on the books, a similar law was recently proposed in Arizona. H.B. 2660 would have allowed lawsuits against people or businesses that produce and/or sell books that incite someone to commit a crime.

According to an article in the Arizona Republic, Christopher Finan, president of ABFFE in New York, described the bill as too broad, too vague and unconstitutional. “We will not feel safe about selling books and magazines. This will have a chilling effect on the sale of materials protected by the First Amendment.”

Commenting on where such a law could lead, ABPA president Bill Fessler used this example. “Take my Arizona Wildflowers book. What if the lovely description of the Jojoba plant and flowers incites someone to go out in the desert and illegally remove a plant to take to his backyard? This illegal act on his part could be used against Primer Publishers. And, according to the bill as it is currently written, also liable would be Changing Hands Bookstore (where he bought the book), The Printed Page (which did the design work), and Sir Speedy Scottsdale (where the book was printed), since none of these ‘gatekeepers’ did anything to prevent the book from being made available to this individual.”

Rep. Warde Nichols-R of Gilbert introduced the bill, which passed in the House but was defeated in the Senate.

The Grand Canyon Adventure Game and Condors in Canyon Country Win National Awards!

The Association of Partners for Public Lands honored the Grand Canyon Association’s Grand Canyon Adventure Game with the top prize — the APPL Excellence Award–at their annual conference in Denver. In addition, the game won its category Theme Related Items.

Sophie Osborn’s Condors in Canyon Country received “Honorable Mention” in the category of Publications – General Interest.

The Mom’s Choice Awards®

The Mom’s Choice Awards® is now accepting entries for an annual awards competition that recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media products and services. Products and services bearing the MCA seal help parents, caregivers, educators and retailers select quality materials and products for children and families. For complete details, please visit www.momschoiceawards.com.

Great Potential Press announces award winners

The following three books have won Mom’s Choice Awards in the following categories:

• Raisin’ Brains: Surviving My Smart Family—Adult Book, Humor category
• A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children—Family/Parenting Books, Special & Exceptional Needs category
• Infinity & Zebra Stripes: Life with Gifted Children—Family/Parenting Books, Special & Exceptional Needs category

Exhibiting at Book Expo America

Five Star has a booth at BEA, and though space is limited, you may be able to contract with Five Star to exhibit your book. Contact Linda Radke.

Conferences for Writers and Publishers

2008 AZ Creative Media & Print Expo, Thursday, May 15, Hotel Valley Ho, “Retro Meets Techno—Daddy-Oh!” annual event that combines seminars with exhibits, presented by PIAZ and Southwest Graphics Magazine. http://www.azcmpe.org/

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Arizona, “Welcome to Our House” Annual Conference, May 17, 2008, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM, Chaparral Suites Resort and Conference Center, Scottsdale, Arizona, Featuring Alexandra Penfold, Assistant Editor at Simon and Schuster and others. http://www.scbwi-az.org/

PMA, the Independent Publishers Association, 2008 Publishing University, May 27-29, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles, http://www.pma-online.org

Society of Southwest Authors, September 27-28, 2008, Wrangling with Writing, http://www.ssa-az.org/conference.htm

Advertise in the ABPA Newsletter and Website

Advertising rates are published for placing ads in both Southwest Signature and on the ABPA website. Associate members, this is a powerful way to reach publishers with advertising about your services for publishers and writers. Publishers, please invite your vendors to visit http://www.azbookpub.com and click on Advertising Opportunities. They’ll appreciate hearing about this opportunity.

About Southwest Signature

Southwest Signature is the monthly e-newsletter of the Arizona Book Publishing Association, a non-profit professional association. Entire contents copyright 2008 Arizona Book Publishing Association unless otherwise noted. Permission is granted to forward this e-newsletter but only in its entirety. For information, email info@azbookpub.com or call (602) 274-6264.

We welcome submissions and reserve editing rights. Email your Southwest Signature submissions to gwen@azbookpub.com.