Last Straw for Cody’s After taking brief refuge in a new smaller Berkeley location in March, Cody’s Books has now closed for good — surprising customers on Friday with a locked door and a sign reading “Cody’s Books is Closed — Thank You.” The staff was told that morning, and had no prior warning. Owner Hiroshi Kagawa of the Japanese company IBC Publishing said later in a statement “unfortunately, my current business is not strong enough or rich enough to support Cody’s.” He added, “Cody’s is my treasure and more than that, Cody’s is a real friend of [the] Berkeley […]
Archives for June 2008
Lunch Weekly for Monday, June 23
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 Bull’s Head Bookshop manager Erica Eisdorfer’s THE WET NURSE’S TALE, following […]
Lunch for Friday, June 20
Haber Leaves Rodale; Modern Times Imprint to Close Leigh Haber has resigned from her position as vp/editorial director of Modern Times, the non-fiction imprint she founded last year while at Rodale. Her last day in the office was yesterday, and Rodale will close Modern Times after publishing the remaining titles on its list. “It’s been a great four and a half years at Rodale, with eight NYT bestsellers and the creation of a new imprint,” Haber said in an email yesterday. “While I will hugely miss the authors and books I leave behind, I felt that it was time to […]
Lunch for Thursday, June 19
Amazon’s Clout Helps Debut Novel The Wall Street Journal looks at how David Wroblewski’s debut novel THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE (Ecco) benefited from being championed by Amazon.com. The 566-page literary novel has already gone into its seventh printing — a reported total of 90,000 copies — a week after its publication. Driving that unexpectedly heavy demand has been strong reviews and promotional support from Amazon.com, which chose the book as one of the best books of June, kept it on its home page for two weeks at a 40% discount before the book hit stores, and posted an essay […]
Lunch for Wednesday, June 18
Please Note With the head chef off the grid, deals may be a bit slower than usual to post at Publishersmarketplace.com. Please be patient with time lags — the Lunch team is not ignoring your deals. Also, for those who missed Monday’s note, announcements, news and other items can be sent to marketplacetips@gmail.com through the rest of the week. CSS to Sell PFD CSS Stellar has agreed to sell literary agency Peters, Fraser & Dunlop to PDH, a newly formed company backed by a consortium of investors led by Andrew Neil. The deal, conditional upon approval by CSS shareholders at […]
Lunch for Tuesday, June 17
$2 Million More in Grants for The Big Read The National Endowment of the Arts announced that 208 libraries, muncipalities and other organizations devoted to arts, science and culture in 46 states have been awarded more than $2 million in grants to host Big Read Celebrations between September 2008 and June 2009. The Big Read also launches in Mexico this fall with the anthology SUN, STONE AND SHADOWS: 20 GREAT MEXICAN SHORT STORIES. NEA Release Oprah Speaks, Gives Away Books at Graduation Ceremony At Stanford University’s commencement address on Sunday, Oprah Winfrey advised the nearly 4,700 graduates to trust their […]