Sales at Scholastic in their second quarter nudged up 1 percent to $660 million, as operating income fell $2.4 million to $105.6 million. Earnings would have been up sharply, except the company took $40 million in mostly non-cash writedowns. There was a $36.3 million charge from their “decision to consolidate supplemental non-fiction and library publishing activities into the children’s book segment” and another $3.8 million charge “related to assets received in connection with the dissolution of a joint venture in the United Kingdom.” Trade book sales fell 4.5 percent, at $49.6 million for the quarter. Their school book clubs showed […]
Archives for December 2009
Sony Finally Figures Out How to Add Newspaper Subscriptions to their Reader
Sony announced that their Reader has partnered with News Corp. to sell subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post (an exclusive), along with summaries from the WSJ and its Marketwatch service. They say their delayed new Reader Daily Edition “will offer a more intuitive newspaper-reading experience to go with features like a touch screen.” It has not been revealed if Sony is giving newspapers more than the 30 percent share of revenue provided by Amazon, but Rupert Murdoch “indicated that a partnership with Sony would include other favorable terms, like sharing the names of subscribers, which […]
New Macmillan eBook Policy Mixes Enhanced Editions and Frontlist Delays
Macmillan ceo John Sargent reported a new ebook policy for the house yesterday, blending enhanced, premium price e-versions with a delay of “several months” on other titles: “Our goal is to give the consumer what they want, when they want it, at a fair price. In 2010 we will publish our bestsellers in several ways. Some bestsellers will be enhanced with additional content and priced to reflect their increased value to the consumer. These will be published at the same time as the hardcover and will be available for three months as special editions. We will publish other bestsellers, without […]
Edelweiss Pairs with NetGalley
In other digital announcements, the Edelweiss digital catalogs will now give publishers the option of providing selected retailers, reviewers and others access to electronic galleys from NetGalley. The first electronic galleys will be available through the program in the second quarter of 2010.
Lovely Bones Will Aim At Teens; Film Hopes for The Help and Stieg Larsson
Retailers of movie tie-in editions of The Lovely Bones should be on alert. In test screenings, Paramount has found that “the film’s most promising target audience is teen and college-aged girls,” even as “adults so far appear to be lukewarm on the picture…. Most people involved in the film originally thought it would primarily appeal to older moviegoers.” The studio’s co-president of marketing Megan Colligan confirms, “While the initial plan was that the primary target audience was over 25, we discovered that the teen and college-aged audience is critical to the success of this movie.”LAT In other Hollywood reports, Chris […]
Renamed Kobo Spins Out of Indigo Into Separate Company; New Funders, and Partners, Include Borders
In addition to changing the name of Shortcovers to Kobo, the venture announced that it is separating out of parent company Indigo Books to operate as an independent company. A new round of funding has raised $16 million (Canadian), with $5 million coming from Indigo, now joined by Borders Group, REDgroup Retail (which currently owns the major book chains in Australia and New Zealand), and Instant Fame, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong. Those new funders will also serve as strategic distribution partners for Kobo’s international rollout. Indigo retains a 58 percent stake in Kobo, the Canadian Press reports. Borders is […]