The NYT self-appointed “Ethicist” Randy Cohen disturbed a number of publishing folks over the weekend in declaring that downloading a pirated ebook version of Stephen King’s Under the Dome after purchasing a print version was “not unethical” though still “illegal.” And he declared a new “right to enjoy”: “buying a book or a piece of music should be regarded as a license to enjoy it on any platform.”NYT Meanwhile, former Random House ceo Peter Olson has been having fun teaching an unpublished Harvard Business School case study on “The Random House Response to the Kindle.” Unfortunately this HBS site features […]
Archives for April 2010
PW Sold to Former Publisher Slowik
One-time PW publisher (in the late 80s and 90s) and now board member at regional and custom-magazine publisher Wainscot Media George Slowik has purchased PW from Reed Elsevier. Slowik is retaining the entire staff and recently-appointed management of publisher Cevin Bryerman and co-editors Jim Milliot and Michael Coffey.
Lunch Weekly for Monday, April 5
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut Susi Wyss’s THE CIVILIZED WORLD, a linked collection of stories about […]
iPad Day One: eBook State of Play
Shoppers created long lines outside of official Apple stores around the country, but in the New York suburbs (and elsewhere, according to Twitter) you could skip the long lines and score an iPad at some Best Buy locations, which had more inventory on hand than was originally promised. Among third-party book apps, the Kindle and Kobo apps are indeed live and working on the iPad, though Barnes & Noble’s app is not yet available. CEO William Lynch tells the WSJ, “We don’t have an exact date, but it will be there within the next two weeks. Apple certifies all apps, […]
As Expected Harper Studio Will Fold
Following the departure of founding executive Bob Miller, Harper’s Michael Morrison announced that “we have decided that in the interest of what’s best for our Harper Studio authors and employees, our last batch of titles to be published under the Harper Studio imprint will be on the Summer 2010 list.” All titles scheduled for beyond that season will be absorbed by one of Harper’s other imprints. Morrison says they “will be contacting agents and authors to discuss the best editors and imprints for each of these titles.” He also indicates that “all our imprints are happy to discuss profit sharing […]
Borders May Try to Raise New Equity, While Paying Steep Interest On New Loan
Borders filed details on their new credit agreements with the SEC along with filing their formal quarterly report. They disclose that the new $90 million term loan carries a minimum interest rate of 14.75 percent. Additionally, Borders needs to raise at least $25 million from the sale of new stock shares by May 15, or else there will be a $10 million reserve against the borrowing base of that term loan. (Even with yesterday’s sharp rise in the stock, Borders still has a current total market cap of about $150 million.) Good old Pershing Square is protected in the case […]