Barnes & Noble: From Thug to Love

In Guest Contributors by Edward Nawotka

Editorial by Edward Nawotka For a long time Barnes & Noble, the United States’ largest bookstore chain, was the bully of bookselling. B&N was the bookseller whose massive expansion into superstores in the ’80s and ’90s was seen as the catalyst for the closure of numerous independent booksellers across the country. They were the booksellers who absorbed much beloved small …

Has Publishing’s Digital Obsession Undermined Fundamental Business Practices?

In Discussion by Hannah Johnson

By Edward Nawotka In today’s lead article, Shelia Bounford of NBN International encourages publishers to pay more attention to customer service. Bounford believes publishers need to reverse a nearly 100-year trend of moving away from their customers, a distancing that came as retail removed the direct connection to the book-buying public. It seems like a simple concept — cater to …