Scholastic reported a 14 percent increase in sales from continuing operations for their fiscal first quarter, at $315.6 million, with an improved net loss of $23 million (compared to a loss of $49.1 million a year ago.) The company says revenues were boosted by “higher sales of educational technology to schools and of children’s books in retail channels during the quarter.” CEO Dick Robinson cites “the arrival of Federal stimulus funds in local districts” as one factor in boosting education sales. In their children’s book publishing and distribution division, sales rose almost $15 million, to $76.2 million, though they had […]
Archives for September 2009
Distribution News
Microsoft Press announced a “strategic relationship” with O’Reilly Media under which O’Reilly will distribute Microsoft’s titles in the North America (with more territories to come) and they will jointly develop new titles for the Microsoft line. Tim O’Reilly says on the company’s Radar blog, “that they chose to work with us is a testament to three advantages we bring to the business: O’Reilly is more than a book publisher. We are an advocate, a connector, and a community builder…. O’Reilly plays a unique role in the technology ecosystem…. O’Reilly has been a pioneer in the new world of ebooks.” In […]
People
Boston Globe books editor for the past seven years Jim Concannon is leaving the paper to work as news editor at Harvard’s public affairs office.Phoenix In the UK, publishing director at Chatto & Windus for the past 12 years Alison Samuel announced that she will retire at the end of the year. Editorial director Clara Farmer will move up to publishing director in January. Samuel says in the announcement: “I wanted to go out on a high. How could I possibly better the last 18 months in which Rose Tremain won the Orange Prize, Alice Munro was awarded the Man […]
Over 2 Million Units for Dan Brown, and More Numbers from Publishing's Big Week
Yesterday Random House announced sales of “more than two million” units of Dan Brown’s THE LOST SYMBOL in all editions (including audio and ebook) throughout the world in the first week on sale, through Monday. They call it “the biggest one-week sale in Random House history for a single title.” Per yesterday’s Lunch, Nielsen BookScan UK reports through The Bookseller that over a quarter of those units–at least 551,000 copies–were sold in the UK. Doubleday’s Suzanne Herz indicated to the AP that “around 5 percent, or 100,000 copies” were sold as ebooks, and the WSJ confirms that sales within the […]
Best Buy Will Sell eReaders, Including New iRex, Chainwide
IRex is providing additional details about their marketing of their new digital reader in the US this fall–which will be sold through Best Buy, where the NYT reports that the chain “is training thousands of its employees in how to talk about and demonstrate devices like the Sony Reader and iRex, and adding a new area to its 1,048 stores to showcase the devices.” Up until now, the retailer has sold ereaders online and only “in limited tests in stores.” Best Buy scp for entertainment says “we feel that this is a technology that is beginning to emerge and that […]
People: Coyne's New Agency, and More
Former Endeavor agent (and Rugged Land publisher before that) Shawn Coyne has established his own firm, Genre Management, “a boutique agency with a select number of clients.” Coyne says that all of his signed clients from the former Endeavor have followed him to his new agency, including golf commentator and personality David Feherty, and his new clients include Alexis Stewart and her partner Jennifer Hutt Koppelman (for a humorous women’s advice books), and Valerie Mendes (director Sam Mendes’ mother and acclaimed YA Novelist in the UK doing her first adult novel). Today’s deals at PM also record his sale of […]