The worm has (re)turned

The general election has even reached the world of children's books. Inspired by the recent Howard vs Rudd TV debate and the infamous Channel Nine worm controversy, Kate Colley at Bloomin' Books in Sydney decided to have her own worm-themed window display. I have to say, I never knew there were so many vermicular tomes around. I expect Kate had to cast around a fair bit to find them all.

A pair of Crocs

Experienced Frankfurt attendess will always tell you that stout footwear is essential for walking the book fair's endless aisles. Two attendees at the Australian aisle party last week were clearly taking this advice very seriously indeed, if this picture is anything to go by. The shoes in question are, I'm advised by my youthful nephew, called Crocs. According to their manufacturer, they are 'a lightweight, comfortable, slip-resistant, fashionable and functional shoe.' Let's not forget colourful too. No doubt we can expect to see more Crocs at Frankfurt in years to come. In the meantime, why not guess which Melbourne-based independent these particular Crocs were representing. A bottle of passable red to the first correct answer pulled out of the hat.

Trump this

Clearly Donald Trump doesn't believe that free publicity is the best publicity. The New York Times has revealed that the snaking queue at a recent signing of his new book at a Barnes & Noble store in New York only existed because people were paid a total of US$30,000 to stand in it. According to an ad placed the previous day, the first 100 people were promised US$100, the next $200 received US$50, and the budget stretched to a further US$10 for the next 1000 people.

Apparently, quite a few Trump 'fans' ran off once they'd received their cash, foregoing the oportunity to meet the great man and buy his book. Time is money, after all.

Books for APEC leaders

It seems sometimes only a book will do. The lost business caused by the recent APEC meeting clearly made quite a few of Sydney's CBD booksellers grumpy, but ironically the APEC leaders seemed intent on promoting books. Kevin Rudd gave George W Bush a copy of David Day's John Curtin: A Life, while Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made Kinokuniya's day by buying up most of their nonfiction section including, encouragingly, Helen Caldicott's Nuclear Power is not the Answer. After their hilarious celebrity catalogue, no doubt the entreprenuerial Steve Jones and his team are even now working on a 'recommend reads for APEC leaders' catalogue for next year's meeting, to be held in Darkest Peru.

Controversy proves a hit

Due to international publicity surrounding a certain Sydney book distributor in August, I hear hits to their website jumped from 1,000 to 11,000 in just a few days. The inundation of public interest - which flowed on to their publisher clients' websites as well - overwhelmed their servers, forcing them to spend extra money on upgrading their site. As far as I know, there are no plans to recoup the unforeseen costs by invoicing a certain national bookselling chain ...

Anyone for tennis?

David Cohen has a special attachment to ISBN 978-1-876044-55-8. After processing many thousands of ISBN numbers as a worker in the ISBN Agency, Cohen was recently finally able to allocate one to a book of his own - a comic novel entitled Fear of Tennis (Black Pepper). Rarely have 13 digits held such fascination, I'm sure. The novel, launched at Readings Carlton last month, examines that particularly Australian phenomennon: the impossibility of avoiding sport. I should have known it was only a matter of time before the ISBN Agency decided to cut out the middle man and produce books itself.

A dangerous precedent

That Dangerous Book for Boys really started something, didn't it? Scarcely a week seems to go past without some copy-cat appearing, making it the Eats, Shoots and Leaves of recent times. I note some hopeful US agent recently even posted a proposal for The Dangerous Book for Dogs on the Publishers Marketplace website. Perhaps someone could wake me when the danger's over.