The Foreign Service Journal, March 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2013 63 2012 AFSA ANNUAL REPORT AFSA NEWS Foreign Service Books: Growth in 2012 Foreign Service Books, the AFSA book publishing division, expanded in 2012 as a major new book project got under way. Former Foreign Service Officer Harry Kopp, the author of Career Diplo- macy , has delved into the AFSA archives and is writing a history of the American Foreign Service Association, to be published in 2014. Two more book projects are in the planning stages. Inside a U.S. Embassy con- tinues to be the anchor pub- lication for Foreign Service Books, and the book did well in 2012. Since publication of the all-new edition in April 2011, AFSA has sold more BY SHAWN DORMAN, FOREIGN SERVICE BOOKS EDITOR/PUBLISHER than 20,000 hard copies and more than 1,000 digital copies, bringing the total for the three editions to over 100,000 copies. Successful sales led to a second print run in October. In 2012, the State Department purchased another 5,000 copies of the book for outreach and recruitment. In April, Inside a U.S. Embassy received the gold medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards in the “current events-foreign affairs” category. The book also won the bronze medal from the Axiom Business Book Awards in the “career” category. These two awards illustrate the way that the AFSA book continues to serve the dual purpose of being an introduction to the Foreign Service and diplo- macy, as well as a career guide for those who might consider joining. FSBooks was repre- sented in 2012 at Book Expo America in New York City in June, the world’s largest international event in the publishing world. AFSA’s participation at the expo was sponsored by our distributor, Potomac/Books Interna- tional. Inside a U.S. Embassy was on display and FSBooks Editor/Publisher Shawn Dor- man attended as an exhibitor. Inside a U.S. Embassy continues to be one of AFSA’s most successful outreach tools. The book can be found in more than 250 libraries Inside a U.S. Embassy receives a gold medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Pictured here, Editor Shawn Dorman and an “IPPY” representative at the awards ceremony in New York City in June 2012. Inside a U.S. Embassy on display at the Potomac Books/Books International booth at Book Expo America in June 2012. worldwide, including librar- ies in Australia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Bah- rain, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Rabat, Poland, Morocco, Netherlands and Canada, as well as nearly every state. The book has been adopted for more than 50 courses in the U.S. and overseas, and is required reading for a num- ber of courses designed for military personnel. It is even available on the M.V Explorer, Semester at Sea’s shipboard campus, a college program administered by the Institute for Shipboard Education and academically sponsored by the University of Virginia. n