Books about ways we can improve our environment make up a small but important part of New World Library’s list. As an acquisitions editor, I’m always looking for positive environmental book ideas. In the San Francisco Bay Area, and other North American cities, it’s becoming more and more obvious that a quiet revolution is taking hold.

The women of New World Library got together and held a clothing swap this week. Everyone took advice from our book Clutter Busting by Brooks Palmer and let go of clothes, shoes, and accessories we no longer wanted — the lightly-worn too-big, too-small, unflattering, no-longer-appealing stuff, and even a few brand-new items we either received as gifts or bought on a whim and later realized just didn’t work. According to Palmer, “Clothing represents different emotional periods of your life. If you keep a lot of things you don’t wear, your clothes closet has become a photo from your past.” So we took those words to heart and did some clutter busting of our own.

I love a good road trip — especially when it affords me a chance to spend a weekend connecting with book lovers (and spending time with my family after the show). My recent trip to staff the New World Library booth at the LA Times Festival of Books was, in a word, fabulous! What’s not to love about a beautiful weekend on the UCLA campus connecting directly with our readers?

As a result of the extraordinary air travel restrictions due to the spreading cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption in Iceland, New World Library’s Associate Publisher, Munro Magruder, and I were unable to make it to the London Book Fair this year. We officially pulled the plug on our plans last Friday after our evening flight was cancelled and all direct flights from San Francisco to London were showing zero availability for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

For the first time in the Bay Area, the Green Festival opened its doors April 10 and 11 for a springtime show in honor of Earth Day’s 40th anniversary. Our employees from several departments work at our Green Festival booth, where we offer a large selection of our books for 50 percent off the cover price. It’s a nice way for us to get up close and personal with the people who love our books. We were excited to meet all of you and thank you for your great conversations and, as always, for your patronage. If you didn’t get a chance to see us this time, you’ll have another opportunity at the fall Green Festival on November 5, 6, and 7.

As Hollywood prepares for the annual Academy Awards gala this weekend, we’d like to share some recent New World Library–related honors:

Author Marc Lesser. Marc’s wonderful book Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less was recently named a finalist in the motivational category of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s prestigious Books for a Better Life Awards.

New World Library. Fast Company has named New World Library the world’s 8th most innovative media company in Fast Company’s annual Most Innovative Companies issue, which is on news stands now. To create this year’s “Most Innovative Companies” issue, Fast Company’s editorial team analyzed information on thousands of businesses across the globe. As an environmentally aware company that makes every attempt to embody the ideals presented in our publications, it is a great honor for us to be recognized by Fast Company in this way.