Experimentation is how you learn but sometimes the lessons are tough ones. Long-form narrative may not belong on Twitter and after this week’s tweeting of a short story by Rick Moody through Electric Literature, we may not have to think about it for a while. Encouraged by the start-up quarterly whose “mission is to use […]
Archives for November 2009
Pearson CFO Thinks Borders US Is Solid; Layoffs at Borders UK; Dubai's Stake In HMH Parent
A number of British publishing officials have said their financial vulnerability to the failure of Borders UK is quite limited, with Pearson cfo Robin Freestone telling a London media summit “our exposure is very, very low to that Borders UK situation.” Freestone is worried about certain unspecified retailers in other parts of the world, but […]
Hachette Book Group Announces New Environmental Policy
HBG has promised to increase their use of recycled paper tenfold, to 30 percent by 2012 and will use at least 20 percent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper by the same time target as part of a broad company enviromental policy. CEO David Young says, “We’re very pleased to establish Hachette Book Group’s new […]
Bookselling: Borders UK In Bankruptcy; Another Gay and Lesbian Store to Close; Update On Elliott Bay
As expected, Borders UK filed for “administration” (the UK equivalent of bankruptcy) last week, with the firm MCR overseeing the process after another company, BDO, pulled out at the last minute citing an unspecified conflict. Stores started offering discounts immediately thereafter to help sell off existing merchandise while employees and publishers wait to see if […]
Kindle Sales Close to Half of Physical Sales?
Amazon spokesperson Cinthia Portugal updated a restated version of the company’s claim of acceleration in Kindle sales for a column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, telling the paper that “for every 100 books we sell in physical, we sell 48 Kindle books. This is up from 35 books for every 100 in May.”PG In a more […]
People
Former Houghton Mifflin Harcourt director of field sales Paul Von Drasek has joined Capstone Publishers, which publishes children’s books for the educational market. He will lead the company’s planned expansion into the retail market. At Thomas Nelson, Russ Schwartz has been promoted to director, Christian independent retail sales, taking over from the recently-promoted Tom Knight. […]