News service DebtWire.com reports via the FT that a group of small publishers has hired the bankruptcy group of Lowenstein Sandler as legal counsel “concerning mounting receivables” owed them by Borders Group. But a spokesperson says Borders “has continued to pay its vendors and is not aware of any material disputes related to its December 2009 payments.” One anonymous executive says “[Borders] have been extending payables… and most publishers have cut back on what they will advance.” The service reports “three major publishers said they received payments in full from Borders for the December period but three smaller firms said […]
Archives for January 2010
BookLocker Settles Amazon POD Lawsuit
BookLocker announced today that they have settled the lawsuit they brought against Amazon over the company’s announced policy, first posted in early 2008, requiring print-on-demand books sold on the site to be printed by Amazon’ facilities “for reasons of efficiency” or sold via their Advantage program. (The signed settlement is dated December 16.) Amazon, while denying the allegations and not admitting any liability, will pay BookLocker’s legal fees of $300,000. On their blog BookLocker says they could have exacted a cash payment but Amazon would not allow them to indicate their intention to donate the funds to charity–nor, they claim, […]
Publishing Shows Some Improvement at Courier
Courier’s battered publishing division, comprising Dover Publications, Creative Homeowner, and Research & Education Association, grew slightly in their fiscal first quarter, up $100,000 at $11.6 million. Dover sales rose 18 percent, though Creative Homeowner was down 61 percent, “reflecting continued weakness in store traffic at home centers, the company’s largest sales channel” and the discontinuation of their book distribution services a year ago. The unit’s loss was reduced to $500,000 from $1.9 million a year ago. Overall sales for the quarter were $63.1 million, up 6 percent from a year ago, with improved net income of $2.8 million.Release
Twilight Graphic Novel Set for March
Hachette Book Group’s Yen Press has announced a March 16 pub date and a 350,000-copy first printing for their first installment of the graphic novel version of Stephenie Meyer’s TWILIGHT. “As is typical in graphic novel publishing, due to the length of the prose novel, the book will be divided into two volumes and the release date for the second volume is forthcoming.” Illustrations are by Korean artist Young Kim.
People
Today all from the UK: At Harper UK, publishing director Lynne Drew has been promoted to publisher, fiction and will now oversee the company’s entire adult fiction program. Publishing director Julia Wisdom moves up to publisher, crime and thrillers, and deputy publishing director Sarah Ritherdon is in charge of commercial women’s fiction, with both reporting to Drew. Senior commissioning editor Emma Coode has been promoted to editorial director of science fiction imprint Voyager, reporting to publishing director Jane Johnson. Former Harper UK Children’s publishing director Gillie Russell will join Aitken Alexander as an agent, focusing on YA and children’s books. […]
Amazon Offers 70% Royalty–If You Self-Publish Inexpensively, and Comprehensively
Amazon has created a 70 percent royalty option for authors and publishers self-publishing on Kindle via their digital text platform as of June 30–as long you meet these conditions: * It should be not too cheap and not too expensive–priced between $9.99 and $2.99–and the digital list price has to be “at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the print book” * It has to be available for sale in all territories in which the author or publisher has rights * It has to be available for text-to-speech, and whatever other new features Kindle adds * […]