Borders’ New Concept Borders unveiled their first new concept store in Ann Arbor. The biggest change is their Digital Center, outfitted with computer workstations and a promise “we’ll show you how” with the help of knowledgeable staff. Borders wants customers to buy music for download (to non-Apple players) and custom-burned CDs; print out digital photos and create their own photo books; self-publish through a “personal publishing” program in conjunction with Lulu.com; research their family history through “genealogy services” from Ancestry.com; and buy Sony Readers and download e-books. Certain particularly strong categories have been “designated as special destinations” and given a […]
Archives for February 2008
Lunch for Wednesday, February 13
Oprah Offers Free Download On today’s Oprah Winfrey Show, the host announced that a free downloadable version of Suze Orman’s bestselling book WOMEN & MONEY (published a year ago by Spiegel & Grau) is available at Oprah.com today and tomorrow through 5 pm Pacific time only. The PDF file is offered in both English and Spanish versions, and the site includes this message: “This book is copyrighted. You may view and download the file, but you may not copy the file or share or forward it to any other person.” Orman was featured on today’s show, helping out a family […]
Lunch for Tuesday, February 12
Tolkien Estate and Harper Sue New Line Cinema over Film Payment The Tolkien Trust, Tolkien’s heirs and Harper UK sued New Line Cinema in a Los Angeles court yesterday, alleging that they have not received any of the $6 billion in proceeds from the Lord of the Rings films. “The court action seeks, among other things, in excess of $150 million in compensatory damages from New Line, as well as punitive damages, and a declaration from the court that the plaintiffs have a right to terminate any further rights to the Tolkien works, including The Hobbit.” UK attorney Steven Maier […]
Lunch for Monday, February 11
enitiatives Abound The O’Reilly TOC conference begins in New York, swept in with the coldest winds yet this year and a wave of press releases announcing various electronic experiments. Perhaps the most interesting launch is the one without a press release at all so far: Tor Books is accepting e-mail sign-ups for a program that promises “free digital books from bestselling and award-winning SF and fantasy authors.… Once you register, you’ll receive our newsletter and a link to download a digital book. And you’ll receive a link to another new book every week. “The first week’s free book is Mistborn, […]
Lunch Weekly for Monday, February 11
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 Tanya Egan Gibson’s A BOOK FOR CARLEY, pitched as sharing the […]
Lunch for Friday, February 8
Good Quarter in US and UK Puts Lagardere Up Nicely for Year Lagardere’s book publishing unit reported full year sales of 2.13 billion euros, putting the group well ahead of Random House in total size going by Bertelsmann’s previous full year report, up 8.6 percent overall though a more modest 4.7 percent gain on a “like-for-like” basis — reflecting the incorporation of the former Time Warner Book Group for all four quarters for the first time. Per Lagardere’s standard practice, this preliminary report only tabulates sales, not income (which will appear in the fuller report issued the middle of March). […]