The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 #89, 26 February 2007

BookThink Update
5 March 2007>>>

Update Announcements

BookThink's Author Profiles An Interview with J.C. Hallman Picture, if you will, a tiny, impoverished republic (formerly part of the Soviet Union) on the steppes of Southwestern Asia - Kalmykia. Poor agricultural management under Soviet rule has led to inevitable desertification: Once arable land is gradually degrading into desert sand. Add one dictator, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a former chess prodigy whose campaign platform for president included a promise of cell phones for all shepherds, not to mention an assertion that he had been previously abducted by aliens. Intrigued? There's more. Ilyumzhinov is the duly elected president of FIDE (The World Chess Federation). In 1998, with a mind to make chess the national religion of Kalmykia, he completed the construction of a multi-million-dollar complex near the capital city of Elista to host competition - Chess City (or City Chess). Finally, add to this mix two travelers - an itinerant writer and an eccentric African-American chessmaster - and what do you have? A book, of course! Catherine Petruccione interviews the author of The Chess Artist, J.C. Hallman, in today's issue.

BookThink's Top 10 on eBay January 2007 Pamela Palmer's monthly Top 10 on eBay appears today. Some familiar faces again, but you might not be seeing them for long. Pam explains: "In February, eBay announced testing that may lead to books from UK sellers losing their automatic placement in eBay's US search. UK sellers are advised to list directly on the US site to ensure exposure. Will they - or will this tilt dominance of the Fiction Top 10 away from the UK?"

Gold Edition #36 Bookselling on the Cutting Edge Part II: Personally, I Could Care Less about Britney Spears, but She's on My Watch List Anyway Issue #36 of the Gold Edition - Bookselling on the Cutting Edge - Part II: Personally, I Could Care Less about Britney Spears, but She's on My Watch List Anyway- is now available for purchase. Purchase now.

50/50 Issue #22
Chess Books and Related Items
Now Available
Issue #22 of 50/50 is now available for purchase;
its focus is "Chess Books and Related Items."
Subscribe today here.

From the Editor Important announcements for BookThinker readers.

Taking Bookselling To The Top Part IVb: How to Succeed in Bookselling without Really Trying No more catching up to do. The final installment - Part IVb of "Taking Bookselling to the Top: How to Succeed in Bookselling without Really Trying" - is finished at last - a paltry 19 months after Part I appeared in the BookThinker. My apologies again for the disruptive nature of this series, and my warm thanks go to BookThink forum moderator Gail Rogers for her timely reminders to get this thing wrapped up.

Previous BookThinker update-

BookThink Update
19 February 2007>>>

Update Announcements

BookThink's Author Profiles An Interview with Sue Grafton Blockbuster mystery novelist Sue Grafton's next alphabet title, T is for Trespass, is scheduled for release on December 4, 2007 - just in time for Christmas. Sue was most gracious to take time out from her busy writing schedule to discuss this and other, never-dull topics with BookThink's Catherine Petruccione.

A Bookseller's Guide to Sue Grafton Easy as ABC Up next is my whack at a guide to buying and selling Sue Grafton. Given the plentitude of both titles and print runs, not to mention Grafton's huge, enthusiastic fan base, opportunities for profit are plentiful. This is bread-and-butter bookselling at its best, and once you know what to look for, easy to accomplish.