Since this is the time of year when struggling stores tend to close and several well-known stores are shutting their doors, it's easy to have the impression that indies are collapsing. Bookselling This Week provides some nice perspective on the issue. During 2006, according to ABA figures, some 94 stores opened, up from the 90 new stores that appeared in 2005. (The story includes a list of the 94.)

In other good news, BTW surveyed independent booksellers about the holiday season and found that the latter part of 2006 "shone brightly" for most of them.

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Deborah Sloan, formerly director of marketing, promotion, advertising and publicity for Candlewick Press, Abbeville Press and Trafalgar Square, has created Deborah Sloan and Company, a marketing and promotion firm for books and their creators that aims to increase clients' visibility and increase book sales. It will work with authors, illustrators, publishers and booksellers.

Sloan will offer the services of "creative professionals in publishing, marketing, copywriting and design."

For more information, go to www.deborahsloanandcompany.com.