Running in this Sunday’s New York Times Book Review, the list comprises: * Only a Witch Can Fly, by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo (Feiwel & Friends);* Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Richard Jackson/Atheneum);* The Odd Egg, written and illustrated by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster);* A Penguin Story, written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins);* The Lion & the Mouse, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown);* The Snow Day, written and illustrated by Komako Sakai (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic);* Tales from Outer Suburbia, written and illustrated by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic);* […]
Archives for November 2009
Even with Ambitious Comp, Lagardere Publishing Still Growing
Lagardere’s publishing unit reported another sales increase for their fiscal third quarter, up 4.5 percent at 684.6 million euros, even though the period is compared against the beginning of the big Stephenie Meyer breakout in July 2008. The company also had to contend with a weakened dollar and a still-weak pound, yet at HBG US, “the pace of sales growth remained very strong through the summer at over 15 percent despite a tough comparative.” Looking forward the company does concede that publishing “faces a particularly challenging fourth-quarter comparative, as the success of the Stephenie Meyer saga drove like-for-like sales growth […]
More Reports, from Courier, Quarto and Canongate
In other corporate earnings reports, Courier finished a tough year down 10 percent in sales in the fourth quarter. Their publishing unit–comprising Dover, the recession-struck Creative Homeowner, and Research & Education Association–dropped another 28 percent in sales for the quarter, at $11.9 million, though much of gap is due to Creative Homeowner discontinuing its distribution operation earlier in the year. The group had operating income of $928,000 for the period, down from $1.3 million a year ago. For the full year, the publishing group’s sales were $46.8 million, down 24 percent from $61.9. The company says Dover and REA were […]
Harper Back in Black As Sales Slide Diminishes
Sales continued to fall at HarperCollins for the fifth consecutive quarter though the declines have mitigated considerably, this time sliding $5 million to $310 million for their fiscal first quarter. More importantly, operating income improved considerably, breaking a string of two straight losses, at $20 million–compared to income of just $3 million this time a year ago. The company cites “higher sales at the children’s and general books divisions, as well as reduced operating expenses from restructuring efforts in the prior year” as the major contributing factors. (Harper’s results loosely mirrored parent company News Corp., where overall sales fell more […]
Dan Weiss Joins SMP As Publisher at Large
Former SparkNotes publisher and packager Dan Weiss is the latest seasoned executive to join Macmillan, taking the new position of publisher-at-large for St. Martin’s, reporting to paperback publisher Matthew Shear. Weiss will develop and acquire both fiction and nonfiction properties targeted at the audience of “twentysomethings, Gen Yers, and older young adult readers–those emerging adults who are navigating career, love and family in a 24/7 connected world.” Those books will be published through St. Martin’s as well as other Macmillan imprints as appropriate. Shear says “his projects will appeal to a generation that loves the mix of low and high […]
Palin Supports Busing
Perhaps taking a cue from her former running mate, Sarah Palin will use a bus for at least part of her book tour, the AP reports, promising to include stops in cities that are not traditional book circuit stops. The wire service says her visits will include a Barnes & Noble store in Grand Rapids, MI and a visit to Fort Bragg army base. Starting November 18, Harper spokesperson Tina Andreadis says the tour will run at least through December 6.