Recommended Illustrator & Designer

Maggie Cousins is an illustrator and graphic designer with over 20 years experience. She has illustrated several children's books for members of GNYIPA as well as non members. Her work is simple, colorful and playful, because all final illustrations are digital, meaning they can be reproduced in print as well as e-book.  She has also designed and created book covers for members and non-members. Maggie can also design and create logos and has done so for many private clients. To see more of Maggie's work and find out more about her please visit her website http://maggiecousins.com.

Contact information:

Maggie Cousins

646-573-2430

info@maggiecousins.com

www.maggiecousins.com

Parent Palace Gift Guide Recommends Trevens' Book

The popular website Parent Palace had a great review of Francine Trevens' latest children's book, Dan is Not Scary.
The book is listed on their Holiday Gift Guide. See the review at

http://parentpalace.com/2012/12/dan-is-not-scary-by-melissa-digenova/

Trevens' Latest Gets Rave Review

GNYIPA Author Francine Trevens' book series Read-to-me Fantasy Stories received a great review in Jenn's Review Blog. 

Jennifer is a stay-at-home mom offering insightful book reviews with the family in mind. 

See http://momzunas.blogspot.com/2012/12/read-to-me-fantasy-stories-1-review.html to read for yourself.

GNYIPA Author Trevens a Finalist

TnT Classic Books’ anthology of 27 plays by 14 award winning authors, Short Plays to Long Remember (978-1-886586-14-7), compiled and edited by Francine L. Trevens, is an Award-Winning Finalist in the “Performing Arts: Film, Theater, Dance, Music” category of The 2012 USA Best Book Awards, sponsored by USA Book News. It will be listed live on USABookNews.com for an additional ten months. It was also a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards when it was first released.

This and other books by Francine can be purchased with PayPal at www.writerfrancinetrevens.co

Tntclassics@aol.com

Publishers of PIXIE TALES

Named one of 25 best books of 2011 By Free Book Reviews

Special Speaker at the November Meeting

The Greater New York Independent Publishers Association meets this Wednesday, November 14th at 6:30p.

We will have a special speaker this week, Eric M. Kampmann, CEO of Midpoint Trade Books, Inc. 

He will talk about changes in the book publishing world and distribution.

Hope to see you then. If you know others who may be interested in coming, please email GNYIP@gmail.com.

Eric Kampmann is President of Midpoint Trade Books, one of the leading sales and distribution companies for independent book publishers. Midpoint has built its reputation on innovative and powerful sales strategies that are designed to help publishers and authors compete successfully in the general book marketplace.

 

In addition, Eric is the president and owner of two publishing companies: Beaufort Books and Moyer Bell. Beaufort gained national attention in 2007 when it published on behalf of the Goldman family the controversial national bestseller, If I Did It.

 

Kampmann entered book publishing through an entry level sales position at the Viking Press in 1970 followed by senior sales management positions at St Martin’s Press and Simon & Schuster.

 

In 1981, he joined the entrepreneurial ranks by opening Kampmann & Company, a distribution company for independent publisher. He linked up with NBN in 1989 before opening Midpoint Trade Books in 1996.

 

Midpoint is unique because it was founded in the middle of the bookselling revolution, enabling it to take advantage of the significant changes in bookselling and publishing.

 

Midpoint views itself as an innovator in every aspect of distribution. It prides itself in being long on leadership and short on bureaucracy. As a result, Midpoint’s publishers compete successfully in a very tough environment.

 

Eric has taught courses on book publishing at Harvard, Columbia, NYU as well as numerous publishing and writers conferences.

 

Eric is the author of four books: The Book Publishers Handbook (2007), Tree of Life (2003), Trail Thoughts (2008) Signposts (2010),Awakenings (2012) and The Insiders Guide to Successful Publishing (2012) 

November Meeting Rescheduled

Due to the storm aftermath, November's meeting is rescheduled from November 7 to Wednesday, November 14.

We will confirm later a time and place.

Nautilus Book Awards Announced

 `

2013 Nautilus Book Awards –Now Open for Submissions
Accepting books in 29 categories including  Fiction, Health & Wellness, Environment

& Sustainability, Self-Help, Memoir, 5 categories for Children & Young Adults

– and -  MORE.      You may have a Nautilus Award winner!
Enter and See. For more information including a list of categories plus
Guidelines & Entry Form – Enter Here. For more information or
questions, contact marilyn@nautilusbookawards.com

 

Latest From Francine Trevens

Francine Trevens, of TnT Classic Books, is working on the second part of her memoir of childhood during the Great Depression and Second World War. It seems there has been little peace ever since. “Remembering our Parents – stories and sayings from mom and dad,” to be released in September, has a section from Francine about her dad and his reaction to the sale of her first poem. Selection was taken directly from her memoir. It is the third book in the last two years which has contributions from Francine. The first was “Living the Life of My Dreams” compiled by Caryn FitzGerald, and published as an ebook in 2011, and published more recently in paper. And the third piece of prose from Francine to be published appears in “Imperfect Weddings are Best” by Dr. Sherry L. Meinberg, published by Create Space earlier this year. Francine's contribution is the piece "My Leftovers."

And another Prize for a Pleasant Dreams Book: Written by Francine L.Trevens and illustrated by Maggie Cousins, Gremlins, Genies and Trolls, Oh My! won honorable mention in 2012 Global E Book Awards.

Contact Francine through tntclassics@aol.com.

Publishers of PIXIE TALES, named one of 25 best books of 2011 by Free Book Reviews.

Norman Beim Wins Honorable Mention

Norman Beim's play, The Wrath Of God (now retitled THE RAFFERTYS), won Honorable Mention in The Second Annual Ohio State New Play Contest.

And reviews have been coming in:  

Gate Theatre, Dublin: "Engaging...the characters are well drawn and the piece has an admirable forward momentum which drives the action from beginning to end..."

Westport Country Playhouse: "A solid family drama with plenty of conflict."

Goodman Theatre, Chicago: "The character of Tim was especially riveting. The conflict is wonderfully illustrated and compelling."

Go to www.normanbeim.com for ordering information.

Publishing Market Shows Steady Title Growth in 2011 Fueled Largely by Self-Publishing Sector

From marketwatch.com 

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Bowker, the global leader in bibliographic information, released its annual report on U. S. print book publishing for 2011, compiled from its Books In Print® database. Based on preliminary figures from U.S. publishers, Bowker is projecting that traditional print book output grew six percent in 2011, from 328,259 titles in 2010 to a projected 347,178 in 2011, driven almost exclusively by a strong self-publishing market. This is the most significant expansion in more than four years for America's traditional publishing sector, but removing self-publishing from the equation would show that the market is relatively flat from 2010.

"Transformation of our industry has brought on a time of rich innovation in the publishing models we now have today. What was once relegated to the outskirts of our industry--and even took on demeaning names like 'vanity press' is now not only a viable alternative but what is driving the title growth of our industry today," said Kelly Gallagher, Vice-President, Bowker Market Research. "From that standpoint, self-publishing is a true legitimate power to be reckoned with. Coupled with the explosive growth of e-books and digital content - these two forces are moving the industry in dramatic ways."

Genres that contributed to the robust growth in the Traditional sector include Education, with a hefty 20 percent increase, Music and Philosophy & Psychology (both up 14 percent), Religion (up 12 percent), and Juveniles, Biography, and Business, which all increased by 11 percent. Publishing mainstay Fiction - the largest genre - turned around a multi-year decline with a notable 13 percent increase.

Conversely, "Unclassified" books, which comprise mostly Reprint/POD houses specializing in public domain works marketed almost exclusively on the web, ended a years-long streak of triple digit growth, declining 69 percent in 2011 from 2010. The Reprint/POD sector accounts for the largest ISBN output - more than 1.1 million in 2011 alone -- and as a result, drove an overall decline in print book output of 63 percent. Audiobooks and e-books are excluded.

"It's important to look at these numbers in the context of the last several years," said Mr. Gallagher. "The last few years of Reprint/POD output has shown explosive growth that was simply not sustainable. Despite this year's decline, the output from this sector is still up about 15 percent over 2009. It continues to be a vibrant sector of the market."

Overall, publishing output is dominated by a handful of large Reprint/POD houses. In fact the top three - Bibliobazaar, General Books and VDM Verlag -- accounted for over 72% of the total yearly output in 2011. The largest POD publisher was Bibliobazaar with 773,857 ISBNs.

Publisher ISBNs
BiblioBazaar 773,857
General Books LLC 249,871
VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K. 68,509
CreateSpace 57,512
International Business Publications, USA 14,294
Kessinger Publishing, LLC 13,395
AuthorHouse 10,644
Literary Licensing, LLC 9,721
Xlibris Corporation 8,152

Bowker, an affiliated business of ProQuest, has produced the venerable Books In Print bibliographic database, a go-to resource for the entire book business, for more than 50 years. Numbers for its annual output report are gathered as a result of the company's maintenance of this essential work and reported through PubTrack Production Trends Analysis. Books In Print is the only bibliographic database with nearly 17 million U.S. book, e-book, audiobook and video titles. It is widely regarded throughout the publishing industry as the most authoritative and comprehensive source of bibliographic data available worldwide, and has been a trusted source of information in North America for more than 50 years. If changes in industry estimates occur, they will be reflected in a later published report.

Read the full statistics report here: http://www.bowker.com/assets/downloads/products/isbn_output_2002-2011.pdf

Norman Beim's New Book Now an eBook

Norman Beim’s new book, Touring With Stalin, is now available as an ebook, as well as in print. The ebook and paperback are both available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Or order from  www.normanbeim.com.

Norman Beim

Touring With Stalin is a Tale of Two Worlds: the story of a company of actors touring cross country in 1951-52 in a production of Darkness At Noon, and the story of Stalin, a fascinating and bloody tale.

Norman is a life-time member of the Dramatist Guild, and a prize-winned playwright, veteran actor and director. His plays continue to be produced in theatres around the country.

"All About ISBNs" Rescheduled for 6 June Meeting

Postponed from last month's meeting, Ralph Coviello of Bowker will give everyone the inside track on the importance of ISBNs.


As an author or small publisher, it is sometimes difficult to understand the vocabulary of the book industry. This presentation will cover some basics that you need to know to get started such as What is an ISBN? Further, it will discuss how to obtain one and how to use it to make your title more discoverable. 

Ralph Coviello, a twenty year veteran of the publishing industry, will be presenting this important issue to us at the May meeting.  Coviello's current role at Bowker focuses on educating publishers about ebook metadata in order to improve the discoverability of their titles. Ralph also has experience in many other facets of publishing, including print production and distribution, and is always looking to learn more.  He has written blog and newsletter articles, and has been a radio reporter. Coviello has a BA in History from Syracuse University and an MBA from Centenary College in New Jersey. Still, the great American novel eludes him.

New Book From Charles Caruso

The Mystery of Things: Random Selections From a Novel by GNYIPA author Charles Caruso has been published and is available from Amazon.com. Contact Charles at ccarusoc@aol.com. (ISNB-13 978-0615601663)

GNYIPA Author Wins Independent Publisher Award

King of Angels, A Novel About the Genesis of Identity and Belief (Belhue Press) by Perry Brass, has just been named a 2012 Bronze Ippy Award Winner in Young Adult Fiction from Independent Publisher. King of Angels was the only LGBT-themed book among the winning titles, as well as the only book that can be read both as an adult level fiction book and a coming-of-age novel suitable for older teens.

Amos Lassen in Amose Lassen Reviews said about King of Angels: “I laughed and I cried but most of all I thought and I remembered how it was growing up in one of the most turbulent periods of American history when communities tried to come together. Accepting ourselves is part of it all and Perry Brass helps us with that in his brilliant new book. Now back to read it all over again.” Reviews by Amos Lassen, March 26, 2012 (reviewsbyamoslassen.com).

King of Angels is set in Savannah, Georgia (setting of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) in 1963, the turbulent year of John Kennedy's assassination. It is the coming-of-age story of Benjamin Rothberg, son of a mixed marriage between a New York Jewish father and a beautiful "WASP" mother from an old Savannah family. Benjamin is sent to a Catholic military school in Savannah where he meets his closest friends, experiences the most horrifying bullying, and is befriended by a progressive monk who finds in Benjamin his own truth and salvation.

For more information: belhuepress@earthlink.net. For more information about the 2012 IPPY Awards: http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1534

From Perry Brass: King of Angels, Up and Running

King of Angels is up and running—

 

            God, is it running! Getting people to know about a book in the brave new Online world is difficult—I'm dancing fast as I can, and still can’t seem to get my rumba right. A new page is up for King of Angels on my website, it’s up on Amazon, with the new, just constructed Kindle edition, it’s getting some wonderful responses and reviews, and I’ll be doing an interview about it on Thursday, June 21 at 9 PM, EST, on Nate Klarfeld’s BlogTalk Radio show Stonewall Live in Books. Nate who lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, loves books and I’m looking forward to talking with him about King of Angels. He’s also Jewish from Kansas, so he’s a hybrid like I am (a Southern Jew), and has told me how much he can relate to King of Angels.

 

“Oy—so much of this book rang true for me . . . I have always wanted to write about it but Perry Brass has beaten me to it and has done so in eloquent and beautiful prose . . . I laughed and I cried but most of all I thought and I remembered how it was growing up in one of the most turbulent periods of American history when communities tried to come together.” Amos Lassen Reviews (March 26, 2012)

 

Here’s a link to Nate’s show.

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stonewalllive/2012/06/22/perry-brass-author-of-king-of-angels-thurs-june-21-9pm-est

 

And also a link to the Amazon page.

 

And to the TLA Video Page.

 

            King of Angels is a coming-of-age story set in Savannah, Georgia in 1963, the year of John Kennedy’s assassination. It's about 12-year-old Benjamin Rothberg, his intense, caring Jewish father, his wise and wonderful WASP-beauty mother, and of course his younger sister Liz. It’s about Benjy being sent to Holy Nativity Military School, a Catholic school run by strict monks where he loses his heart and finds his real soul. It's about courage under fire in a difficult time. I hope you’ll explore it and tell me your feelings about  it.

Latest from Francine Trevens

Trevens has a blurb on the back cover of Norman Beim’s “Touring With Stalin.”

An anecdote about Treven's dad will appear in a forthcoming book, “Remembering our Parents” by Stuart Gustafson.

Sherry L. Meinberg sent Trevens a copy of her book, “Imperfect Weddings” which begins with an anecdote from her own wedding.

 

All this and more on her most recent blog at

http://stagesandpages-francine.blogspot.com/

This Month's Meeting: An Introduction to ISBNs

As an author or small publisher, it is sometimes difficult to understand the vocabulary of the book industry. This presentation will cover some basics that you need to know to get started such as What is an ISBN? Further, it will discuss how to obtain one and how to use it to make your title more discoverable. 

Ralph Coviello, a twenty year veteran of the publishing industry, will be presenting this important issue to us at the May meeting.  Coviello's current role at Bowker focuses on educating publishers about ebook metadata in order to improve the discoverability of their titles. Ralph also has experience in many other facets of publishing, including print production and distribution, and is always looking to learn more.  He has written blog and newsletter articles, and has been a radio reporter. Coviello has a BA in History from Syracuse University and an MBA from Centenary College in New Jersey. Still, the great American novel eludes him.

Recent Highlights from Francine L. Trevens

Francine L. Trevens, prolific author, publisher, and founding member of GNYIPA, has been honored with being a judge for second year in a row of Global ebook awards in three categories.

Francine was also interviewed on blogtalkradio.com. Listen to it at

www.blogtalkradio.com/.../the-literary-showcase-march-10-20...

And she has an upcoming blogtalkradio interview on May 22 at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. EDT) on conscious discussions at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions. She will discuss fighting illiteracy and getting kids hooked on books early in life.

Francine can be reached at tntclassics@aol.com. TNT is publisher of PIXIE TALES named one of the 25 best books of 2011 by Free Book Reviews.

Norman Beim's New Book Available Now!

Norman Beim’s new book, Touring With Stalin, is now in print. The official publication date is June 15th. Copies can be purchased directly thru the website: www.normanbeim.com.

Touring With Stalin is a Tale of Two Worlds: the story of a company of actors touring cross country in 1951-52 in a production of Darkness At Noon, and the story of Stalin, a fascinating and bloody tale.

The Latest from GNYIPA Author Perry Brass

Although March was a not great for Caesar, it's quite a month for me, with lots of things brewing.

First of all, my next book, King of Angels, a novel set in Savannah, GA, in 1963, the year of Kennedy's assassination, will be out by the end of the month—and the real work begins, trying to get the world to smile at it for a moment, and hopefully get lots of good people to read it. I hope they will. But, several other events and projects I'm proud of will be happening as well. First off—

On Sunday, March 18, there will be the premiere of the choreographic version of The Restless Yearning Towards To My Self, a poem of mine set to music by Paula Kimper (who's also working on a new opera about the great black feminist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth, called Sojourner). Premiere The Restless Yearning Towards My Self for baritone and dancer, with chamber ensemble: Sunday, March 18, 3 PM, at St. Marks in the Bowery, 10th Street and Second Avenue, as part of Downtown Music Productions "Women's Musical Journey," under the artistic direction of Mimi Stern-Wolfe. Suggested donation: $15, $10 for seniors and students.       

A week later, on Saturday, March 24, I will be at the Rainbow Book Fair, the largest LGBT book fair in the US, at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center, 208 West 13th Street, where I'll be joined by about a hundred + publishers, writers, and poets, running the gamut from totally serious to wild (and Wilde) and very crazy. I love this Fair, and am proud to be a coordinator of it. It puts the zing back into reading—last year we got about 1500 people there, so I wanna see lots of my friends there, too. This year, to spread out the joy and the crowds, the fair will be on all three floors of the Center, but I will be showing Belhue Press books and talking to you in Room 301, on the the third floor.

The Rainbow Book Fair is completely free—with tons of readings, panels, and great face time with fabulous authors—and open to the public. For more information, please go to Rainbowbookfair.org. 

But, the night before the fair, Friday, March 23, I'll taking part in a Rainbow Book Fair Kick Off reading, at 7:30 pm, Room C198, Concourse Level, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10016. This reading will be sponsored by Assaracus Magazine, a magazine of gay male poetry published in Little Rock, Ark. by Bryan Borland. There will be 27 readers there, some of them coming in from places like Los Vegas and L.A. and it's going to be a wonderful, charming fun-filled event. After all, how could anything sponsored by a magazine called Assaracus be anything but? This reading is also completely free and open to the public. 

New Books and Website from Norman Beim

GNYIPA member and playwright Norman Beim has unveiled a  magnificent new website:

normanbeim.com

Beim has also just published two new books: Zygielbaum's Journey, a novel based on fact. And Bitter & Sweet, Three New Musicals (with music by Mark Barkan).

Both books are available on his website or through Amazon.

Publishing Expert to Speak March 7: Look Before You Leap: Evaluating Your Marketing Plans

Marion Gropen, noted publishing expert, to speak at the next GNYIPA meeting, March 7 at 6:30pm.

Most publishers have trouble projecting their sales from any given marketing opportunity, and even more problems finding their most profitable choices. And there are thousands of choices being flogged by hundreds of marketing consultants all over the web.

Marion Gropen won't tell you how to market your books. She does show you how to tell which opportunities will work out well for you, and more importantly, which ones won't. She'll show you simple ways to estimate your sales, your costs and your profits before you commit. There will be lots of examples, and you'll be encouraged to ask enormous numbers of questions, enabling her to tailor this talk to your needs and interests.

About Marion Gropen: Marion Gropen has been in the business of book publishing for more than 20 years. She combines the practicality and innovation required by the small press world with the sophisticated and powerful techniques used by larger publishers and taught in business schools, giving her students and clients the best of both. She has offered advice and solutions By-The-Question to small presses for the last 8 years, has been teaching financial techniques to publishers for longer than she'll admit, and offers a brief ebook, The Profitable Publisher, explaining the most critical ones.


GNYIPA meetings are typically the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at CUNY, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY (between 34th and 35th Streets), room 8301. Please RSVP to heidirussellpublicist@gmail.com so we can anticipate headcount.