The wholesaler, which had credit insurance cover pulled by Euler Hermes earlier this month, has laid off “just under” 60 people, or 2 percent of overall staff. Included in the cuts are two executives for entertainment and music purchasing, LJ reports. CEO Thomas Morgan says “We have taken a fresh look at our organizational structure and made some adjustments…. We are continuing to pursue retail business that meets our financial objectives and are moving forward with a number of new retail accounts.” He notes, “During challenging economic times, it is our desire to cut all non-employee expenses first, but we […]
Archives for December 2008
What Oprah Will Promote In January
Starting Monday January 5 Oprah Winfrey will “get back on the wagon” with a variety of her lifestyle experts. Lunch already reported the featured Suze Orman appearance and free ebook giveaway; an Amazon page now highlights the author books and authors. They include Bob Greene’s Bob Greene’s The Best Life Diet Cookbook; Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz’s You: Being Beautiful; Michael Bernard Beckwith’s Spiritual Liberation; Elizabeth Lesser’s Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow; and and Laura Berman’s Real Sex For Real Women. The week of new broadcasts will be followed by a week of related webcasts.
Amazon Organizes By Author
Hot on the heels of the pre-beta introduction of FiledBy Author, Amazon has launched the beta version of their new construct for finally organizing book data and discussions around authors. Called Author Stores (which seems like a misnomer at the moment, since they are not “stores” controlled by authors at all), the site describes the feature as “new corners of our bookstore dedicated to offering customers a new way to browse and shop favorite authors, discover new books, and more. Today each Author Store includes a bibliography, and can include a biography, author photo, and discussion board. But stay tuned–we’ll […]
Lerner Pulls Angel Girl
Lerner Publishing Group, also duped into publishing Herman Rosenblat’s fake Holocaust love story in the children’s book ANGEL GIRL (released this September), is recalling the book. The company is “issuing refunds on all returned books” and “no longer offering the book for sale.” They say in a statement they were “shocked and disappointed to learn that the widely publicized” story was fabricated. Author Laurie Friedman, who had interviewed the Rosenblats to retell their story for children, says “throughout the development of this book, the Rosenblats reviewed my manuscript and assured me of the authenticity of the details of their story. […]
Tales of Two Bushes
Former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal recounting his four years of annual contests with George W. Bush to see who could read the most books. “We recommended volumes to each other (for example, he encouraged me to read a Mao biography; I suggested a book on Reconstruction’s unhappy end). We discussed the books and wrote thank-you notes to some authors.” In this year’s contest, “as of today, his total is 40 volumes to my 64. His reading this year included a heavy dose of history — including David Halberstam’s […]
Barnes' Best
BN.com has posted a variety of top ten lists for 2008 (fiction debuts; haunting historicals; stories on the edge; luminous lives in fiction; history; sumptuous books; our modern world; and life stories). Among their Number One selections: Child 44 by Tom Rob SmithPeople of the Book by Geraldine BrooksA Most Wanted Man by John Le CarreUnaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa LahiriThe Forever War by Dexter FilkinsThe Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane MayerMy Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte TaylorThe Hunger Games […]