Archives for December 2007

Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up   FICTION Debut Miriam Gershow’s THE LOCAL NEWS, about a bookish teenage girl, who […]

Court Won’t Rule on Libel Tourism In the “libel tourism” case brought by author Rachel Ehrenfeld — who was hoping to be declared safe in the US from a default libel judgment in the UK — the NY Court of Appeals unanimously found that New York law has no jurisdiction over Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz until he tries to impose the judgment on her here. The ruling states, “However pernicious the effect of this practice may be, our duty here is to determine whether defendant’s New York contacts establish a proper basis for jurisdiction.” Sun AP Bertelsmann Won’t Buy […]

Scholastic Will Sell Direct-to-Home Business Scholastic exceeded analysts’ diminished expectations for the company in their fiscal second quarter, though that hardly makes it a great performance. With the Harry Potter 7 tailwind still at their back, net profits were flat at $75.6 million, on sales for the quarter of $746 million, up close to $11 million (or 1.5 percent) from a year ago. And those results are attributable to the weak dollar as much as anything, as the international segment yielded $28.5 million in extra revenue though it grew only 2 percent in local currencies, producing extra profit of $4.5 […]

Steroid Informants Look for Deals The NY Post reports on book proposals related to the baseball steroid scandal. Former Mets employee-turned-informant Kirk Radomski “was getting ready to pitch a book last week” through agent Scott Waxman — but “those meetings were abruptly canceled and no new sit-downs have been scheduled, said one publishing source. Waxman said he could not comment on anything – or even confirm if he is representing Radomski.” Yankees coach Brian McNamee, the former Yankees coach who says he gave steroid injections to pitcher Roger Clemens, “also hasn’t found a publisher.” NYP Lynne Spears Book “Delayed Indefinitely” […]

CEO Resigns at Quebcor with Liquidity Problems Pressing Printing company Quebcor World’s problems continue to grow. CEO Wes Lucas announced his resignation yesterday as the company is “facing growing concerns about its financial liquidity,” according to Reuters. A deal to sell their European business fell through, as did a refinancing attempt last month. The stock has fallen over 90 percent this year, and “observers have raised questions about the company’s ability to remain solvent and, with its share price plunging, speculation emerged that it could be sold in its entirety.” In the meantime, CFO Jacques Mallette takes over as president […]

2007: The Way We Whined The LAT looks at the year in publishing and concludes that “even by the standards of the book world, 2007 saw more hand-wringing than usual… amid store closings, declines in sales, profits, book review sections — even literacy.” Among the views quoted: Washington Post Book World editor Marie Arana: “It’s one of those years — they come along every once in a while — where everyone worries and pulls their hair.” NYTBR senior editor Dwight Garner: “There was a lot of excitement about books by major writers — Roth and DeLillo and Martin Amis and […]