Rob Price of Price World Publishing in Columbus, OH (photo below), is one of IBPA’s new board members, and possibly the association’s record-holder for youngest start in publishing. He was a freshman at the University of Madison in Wisconsin when he first printed and sold a single-sheet of workout program instructions from his dorm room. …

Under the Sea for Good Scarletta Press author Ellen Prager spent four minutes on the Today show in May discussing her YA novel, The Shark Whisperer. To make her appearance dramatic, she used tanks lent by an aquarium and set up on the Today show plaza so she could show examples of the sea creatures …

As Angela Bole (photo below-right) is celebrating her first anniversary as IBPA’s executive director, we’re turning this column’s spotlight on her, to learn what impresses her about independent book publishing. Her greatest concern for IBPA members: “Small publishers who jump into partnerships without first understanding all their options,” says Bole, who came to IBPA from …

Sweet! A Sourcebooks title, Year of No Sugar: A Memoir, by Eve O. Schaub, was launched in a whirlwind of publicity and appearances in April. Prepub press included a review in Library Journal, and stories in the Denver Post (which said her experience and her arguments “make a convincing case for closely inspecting package labels”), …

Patti Grasso (photo below) is one of those people who has come full circle, both personally and professionally. As the IBPA executive assistant explains, “When I stand on the sidewalk outside IBPA’s office, I can see the house I lived in as an infant.” And, she goes on, communicating information has been a lifelong passion …

Terry Nathan (photo right) is the only IBPA staff member I’ve worked closely with over the years (Independent editor Judith Appelbaum is self-employed, as I am). But until a few years ago, Terry and I had never even heard each other’s voices. We had celebrated the births of his children, the graduations of mine, his induction as a …

Closeup: Alan Gadney Along with profiling IBPA board members and staff, I’ve recently had the opportunity to talk to original members of our organization who remain active. Among the founders of the Publishers Association of Southern California (which became PMA, the Publishers Marketing Association, before becoming IBPA) was Alan Gadney, who now runs One-on-One Book …

Spotlight November 2013 by Linda Carlson Closeup: John Mutter A delightful conversation with John Mutter—IBPA board member and co-founder of the Shelf Awareness publishing newsletters—recently touched on espresso, comfortable chairs, e-publishing, and many other things that go into selling books these days. It was delightful in part because Mutter’s fun to talk with, and also …

Spotlight October 2013 by Linda Carlson Closeup: Kelly Gallagher IBPA board member Kelly Gallagher has been vice president, content acquisition, at Ingram Content Group for the past year. This means he and his sales team are working with publishers, author services companies, and self-publishers—even corporations that publish such material as training guides. It’s a long …

Spotlight September 2013 by Linda Carlson   Closeup: Deltina Hay Who’s who on the IBPA board? To help you get to know the people behind the names you often see at IBPA events and in its publications, Spotlight continues its brief profiles of board members and officers. This month, we feature Deltina Hay, recently elected …