Journalist Michael Capuzzo’s true crime book The Murder Room, about the inner workings of the Vidocq Society and published last August, is now under scrutiny in New Jersey District Court. Joan Crescenz quietly filed a libel lawsuit in January against Capuzzo and his publisher, Penguin imprint Gotham. At issue is the way in which Capuzzo characterized the relationship between one of his main subjects, the forensic sculptor Frank Bender, and Crescenz, his secretary for more than two decades. The book claims the relationship was sexual, and uses her name twelve times in the process of discussing the purported affair. Crescenz, […]
Archives for March 2011
REDGroup Cuts HQ Jobs, May Close More Stores; Borders Lease Rejections; and More
REDGroup Retail has laid off 26 staffers at its Melbourne headquarters as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. Administrators Ferrier Hodgson said in a statement that the company could not rule out additional layoffs and store closings in the coming weeks, on top of the 38 Borders and Angus & Robertson stores already closed and 321 layoffs. Earlier this week Australian bankruptcy court granted Ferrier Hodgson’s request for more time to consider its options and come up with a restructuring plan. The administrators now have until September 18. A court hearing on the same matter is pending in New Zealand, which […]
People: Atlantic UK Cuts Five, and More
Atlantic UK has laid off five people as part of an internal restructuring. Commercial director Daniel Scott is leaving in June, while editorial director Sarah Castleton will exit in mid-April. Three additional jobs are being eliminated in the finance department. At McGraw-Hill, Brian Kibby has been appointed president of the Higher Education group, replacing Ed Stanford. Previously Kibby was SVP sales, marketing and business development for Pearson. Les Editions Albert René is now fully owned by Hachette Livre, which bought Sylvie Uderzo’s remaining 40% stake in the company. At Eerdmans, Franklin Goldberg has been promoted to director of sales. Katie Dunneback […]
Borders Gets Extra Time to Renegotiate Leases
In Tuesday morning’s Omnibus hearing, Manhattan bankruptcy court judge Martin Glenn granted the bulk of Borders’ motions, including an extension of the deadline to renegotiate existing leases by an additional 90 days to September 14. The court also gave final approval on the $505 million credit facility pending several changes are made, including a provision giving the unsecured creditors committee $125,000, up from $50,000, to fund investigations of claims of secured lenders. Judge Glenn empathized with part of the creditors’ objection, noting that “when I look at the incremental cost of new money coming in, it’s pretty steep,” but he […]
People: O’Callaghan Resigns as HMH CEO, and More
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ceo Barry O’Callaghan resigned from the company today, though he will remain as a senior advisor. Current cfo Michael Muldowney will serve as interim ceo until a replacement is found. The news comes just a year after the once heavily-leveraged publisher significantly reduced more than $7 billion of debt taken on to acquire first Houghton Mifflin and then Harcourt’s US business in an effective takeover and restructuring by billionaire John Paulson’s hedge fund. Paulson & Co. bought up portions of the company’s distressed debt in order to control the refinancing and conversion to new equity. Callaghan, the […]
ALA Says Harper’s Policy “Threatens Libraries,” Plans Site to Help Develop New Model
The American Library Association (ALA) took a position for the first time yesterday on HarperCollins’ new library ebook licensing restrictions in a short statement. They led: “As libraries cope with stagnant or decreased budgets, the recent decision by publisher HarperCollins to restrict the lending of e-books to a limited number of circulations per copy threatens libraries’ ability to provide their users with access to information.” ALA President Roberta Stevens says, “The announcement, at a time when libraries are struggling to remain open and staffed, is of grave concern. This new limitation means that fewer people will have access to an […]