Dorchester Publishing continues to do its best zombie impression, as a number of authors have learned the ailing company continues to sell digital copies of their work even after they no longer hold the rights, and despite repeated assurances they would stop this practice. Horror writer Brian Keene detailed the situation on his blog, saying that he found unauthorized e-copies of his books under the Dorchester banner selling through various digital outlets. “In the most recent case (iBooks), Dorchester blamed their vendor, Libre Digital, but provided no documentation verifying this. An employee at Apple cast doubt on this explanation. In the […]
Archives for March 2011
St. Martin’s Pays a Reported $2M For Four Books By Amanda Hocking, Self-Publishing’s Reluctant Heroine
This year every week in publishing could be considered eventful, but this week in particular had a special kind of symmetry, as the very publishing house Barry Eisler walked away from to publish on his own brought Amanda Hocking into the fold. Despite sources indicating otherwise a few days ago, St. Martin’s emerged the victor of the auction for Hocking’s new Watersong YA paranormal series, reportedly paying more than $2 million for World English rights (which, of course, includes digital rights, too.) “I’ve done as much with self-publishing as any person can do,” Hocking told the NYT Thursday. “People have […]
Borders Pulls a Distribution Switcheroo: TN Center Stays Open And PA Facility Will Close
Borders announced it would shutter its distribution facility in La Vergne, TN months ago, but yesterday they did an about-face and will keep the center open, which also spares the 300 employees who were set to lose their jobs. But the news was grimmer for workers at Borders’ Northeastern facility in Carlisle, PA. The company has said for months that they can no longer afford to support three distribution centers, and so the nearly five-year-old 600,000-square foot facility will now be shuttered in July or August, with 333 workers set to be laid off. Borders other distribution center in California […]
People, Etc.
Abrams will launch Appleseed Books, a new imprint geared towards babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, in Spring 2012. The imprint will publish 8-10 titles annually, mixing board books, novelty books, and young picture books as originals, reprints or branded series. The winners of the Bancroft Prize for History are Eric Foner‘s The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery; Sara Dubow‘s Ourselves Unborn and Christopher Tomlins‘ Freedom Bound. Each author will receive $10,000. Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way by Michael R. Young won the Diagram Prize for the year’s oddest book title. BookNet Canada will launch its interactive […]
S&S CEO Reidy: Ebook Sales Between 15-20 Percent, But Apps and Enhanced Ebooks A Non-Starter
Yesterday’s PublishingPoint conversation Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy’s conversation with Google Book Rights Registry CEO Michael Healy could not have been timed any better, though the news that emerged had less to do with the Google Book Settlement — and the now unclear future of the Rights Registry — and more with the original intent of the event, on S&S’s plan for existing and future digital initiatives. Reidy did comment briefly about the GBS rejection, saying she was disappointed, but the news wasn’t too surprising” and that she hopes it is “another way station along the way to a […]
Joseph-Beth Store in Virginia Stays Open With Auction Bid Deadline Set for April 19
Just before a federal bankruptcy court judge was set to consider Joseph-Beth‘s motion to close its Fredericksburg, VA store, attorneys for the company withdrew the request after receiving “formal and informal objections” to the plan. Instead, Joseph-Beth decided to include the store in its ongoing sale process with the other four locations still open in Memphis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Lexington, KY. Buyers have until April 19 to submit a bid, and if multiple offers come in the auction will be held no later than April 27. “We obviously aren’t where we wanted to be,” Joseph-Beth president Neil Van Uum told […]