I'm Back...Yes It's True!

Hi all! I never thought I would say this but it is actually nice to be back at work and thinking about work. It is amazing when you are the boss, how much stuff can back up and wait for my thoughts, over a 1 week period. So I have brought in 3 large circular files to help with the process of making decisions.

Almost all my colleagues and staff have stopped by or called to offer assistance this morning, further slowing down the process, but I truly appreciate all the kinds words and offers of help - you guys are the best. Thanks for allowing me to steer the ship.

Now on to what has been on the backlogs (ie desk at home)....

First up Terrill Lankford is up for an award for Earthquake Weather. The Southern California Booksellers Association has nominated his book, but you read the official announcement below:

Southern California Booksellers Association
301 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 501
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 793-8435

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2004 Contact: Jennifer Bigelow
1.626.793.8435
jbigelow@scbabooks.com

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION
ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR 2004 BOOK AWARDS

Pasadena, CA -- The SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION has just released the finalists in four categories for its 2004 SCBA BOOK AWARDS. The author or illustrator must reside within the SCBA geographic region that extends from Morro Bay to the Mexican border. The titles should reflect a Southern California experience or culture and must have been published between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004. Due to the strength of the Southern California Mystery writers the SCBA has added the
fourth category of Mystery.

The finalists for the 2004 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION BOOK AWARD are as follows: Fiction – Jamesland by Michelle Huneven, Knopf; Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin, Hyperion; King of Foxes by Raymond Feist, EOS; Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens by John Rechy, Grove Press; and Signal Hill by Alan Rifkin, City Lights Books.

The finalists in the Mystery Category are: Last Lullaby by Denise Hamilton, Scribner; Earthquake Weather by Terrill Lee Lankford, Ballantine; Dirty Laundry by Paula Woods, One World; Birds of a
Feather by Jacqueline Winspear, SOHO; and While I Disappear: a John Ray Horn Novel by Edward
Wright, Putnam.

In the Nonfiction Category, the finalists are: The King of California: J. G. Boswell and the Making of the Secret American Empire by Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman, Public Affairs; The Huntington Library, Art Galleries and Botanical Gardens by Peggy Park Bernal, Huntington Library Press; Nudie – The Rodeo
Tailor by Jamie Lee Nude and Mary Lynn Cabrall, Gibbs Smith; Homicide Special by Miles Corwin, Henry Holt & Company; and True Notebooks by Mark Salzman, Knopf .

Children’s book finalists are: Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block, Joanna Cotler Books; Up! Up! Up! It’s Apple Picking Time by Jody Fickes Shapiro, Holiday House; The Golden Hour by Maiya Williams, Amulet Books; Escaping Tornado Season by Julie Williams, HarperTempest; and Dragon: Hound of Honor by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton, HarperCollins.

Winners will be announced at the Annual 2004 Authors Feast & Fall Seminars held by the SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION on Saturday, November 6 at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA. The SCBA is a trade organization of independent booksellers and others committed to the bookselling industry, promoting cooperation throughout the Southern California region.

The mission of the SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION is to foster community amongst its core members, provide opportunities for peer interaction and learning, maintain the notion of Southern California as a viable and important part of the national bookselling landscape, and to advocate on the behalf of its core members.