Dearest Magical Independent Booksellers,

Here it is the middle of August and summer is almost over and what a summer it's been! 

I just want to congratulate all of you on your Muggle Magic, and how we as a passionate, knowledgeable, creative, supportive and collaborative group transformed the 7th and last Harry potter release from what many of us experienced with the 6th.  The tone and spirit of the listserv was totally different this time.  It all goes back to "Where the Magic Began" and "Where would Harry Shop?" and that's with us. 

We are the passionate big mouths of this industry, and we put books on the map, on the radar, off the back burner, and into the fire.  We are the enchantment behind the success of soooooo many children's books.  So let the Muggle Magic continue!  There are so many books that we have created the magic with, and so many books to go on beyond of phenomenon Harry Potter.  I doubt-and I think many of you will agree-that we'll see another series of books come close.  But in so many ways that is freeing us to do what we do best-find the jewels that our competition can't and put them into the right hands!

So keep up that listserv, order those ABC Best Books for Children Catalogs, and encourage anyone you know in this wonderful universe of ours to join ABC.  Our membership is growing and with our fearless leader Kristen McLean we are headed in new and wonderful directions. We also have some new totally amazing board members who will do incredible to work with to further the goals of ABC.  But most of all have a great remainder of 2007! Let's make this a year to remember! I am always in total awe of all of you, you guys so rock!

Books make everything better!

Becky Anderson
Anderson's Bookshops
Naperville, Illinois
ABC President

The ABC Catalog

It's catalog season, and now is the time to order yours!

Store members are entitled to 5,000 catalogs free, plus the cost of shipping. Get even more bang by customizing your catalogs with your store name and imprint.

ABC members are constantly finding great ways to use these catalogs including inserts in local papers, book fairs, school give-aways, holiday bag stuffers, and more. This is a major benefit of store membership in ABC, and worth many times the cost of joining.

Remember, this 20 page, full-color Best Books for Children catalog is vetted, and not branded for the holiday so it can be used well into next year. It is packed with the best titles from 2007, as well as backlist favorites and award winners and it really drives sales. This year's cover will feature the original Ian Falconer Olivia artwork from the spring poster which will give it plenty of visual punch.

Hard copies of the order forms are in the mail, and you can download an electronic copy here, including pricing information, and directions for submitting your imprint.

Order forms are due August 25th, so don't delay!

Download the 2007 catalog order form