So one of my wonkier habits is scrolling through the lengthy SEC filings of major public companies in the book industry, exacerbated by recent annual reports from Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Books-a-Million. (The detailed filings often share interesting tidbits we don’t get to in the basic earnings releases and ensuing conference calls.) Among the things we’ve learned in the past couple of weeks: Borders sold just over $2 billion worth of books last, out of total revenue of $3.242 billion, or a little under 62 percent of sales. Books-a-Million, on the other hand, says that 83 percent of their […]
Archives for April 2009
Internet Archive Say GBS Settlement Gives Google Unfair Use of Orphan Works
Among many actual (and potential) objectors to the Google Book Search settlement, the Internet Archive has requested a pre-motion conference with the judge to get permission to intervene in the case. Their letter hits on one of the most contentious issues raised by the settlement, that it essentially gives Google a uniquely-protected monopoly over unclaimed orphan works of uncertain copyright status: “it effectively limits the liability for the identified uses of orphan works of one party alone, Google.” As they note later, anyone else “would not be able to use orphan works broadly without being exposed to claims of infringement…and […]
Random's "More Selective" Acquisitions
NPR’s story on blockbuster book deals from earlier this week was pretty standard fare, but we did take note of the moment when Random House Publishing Group spokesperson Carol Schneider said, “we’re acquring fewer books.” Asked for more information, she told us, “There are no specific numbers or formula involved here–we’re simply being more selective in all categories–literary, commercial, blockbuster.”NPR
UK Hardcovers Fall Hard, But US Market Shows Resilience
The Bookseller reports on Nielsen BookScan UK data that shows “a slump across hardcover sales,” as unit sales for the top 5,000 hardcovers fell 14.3 percent for the first quarter of 2009. And the top 400 hardcover fiction title sales fell 17.2 percent in units in that period. In the US, however, a big rise in juvenile hardcovers helped the total market for hardcovers rise by almost 3 percent in the first thirteen weeks. Despite dire selected reports, for the outlets covered in the US by Nielsen BookScan, total unit sales for the first quarter declined only 2.1 percent, at […]
Bloomsbury UK to Offer Their Own Online Library
While much of the industry is transfixed by the looming court decision on the Google Book Search settlement (and the complexities thereof), Bloomsbury UK is moving forward with a electronic lending library of its own. Working with Exact Editions and launching on May 5, the Bloomsbury Library Online will “allow readers to read collections of bestselling books at local library terminals or with the use of a library card on home computers and internet enabled devices.” The publisher is selling the service as an annual subscription to libraries, priced according to the “size of population served.” Bloomsbury Executive Director Richard […]
GUERNSEY Tops Indie Choice Awards
The ABA has announced the 2009 Indie Choice Award winners: Best Indie Buzz Book (Fiction)The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (The Dial Press) Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction)The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead) Best Author DiscoveryThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (Ecco) Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (Fiction)The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins) Best New Picture BookBats at the Library, by Brian Lies (Houghton Mifflin) Most Engaging AuthorSherman Alexie ABA