An unabridged collection of the first two years of consultant Mike Shatzkin’s publishing strategy blog The Shatzkin Files has been released as an ebook, billed at roughly 800 pages and listing for $3.99. Kobo, which first suggested the publication to Shatzkin, has an exclusive on the title for the first 60 days. eBook link
Archives for April 2011
Results: WH Smith, Harper International, and Bertrams
In the UK, WH Smith reported results for the first half of their year, ending February 28, that look encouraging against the backdrop of weak UK retail sales in general and the continuing troubles at competitor Waterstone’s and HMV in particular. Sales still fell, mind you, with same-store and overall sales at their High Street stores down 6 percent, travel-store comps down 3 percent. But profits, which were decent to begin with, remained flat. So they earned £47 million on High Street sales of £473, and £25 million on flat overall travel store sales of £213 million. The company says […]
People, Etc.
Thomas Bouman has been promoted from associate editor to editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. At Simon & Schuster, Lesley Espenship and Erin Ortner have both been promoted to senior digital operations analyst. Also at the company, Erica White has been promoted to manager of business analysis. At Sourcebooks, Shana Drehs has been promoted to editorial manager for Sourcebooks Landmark; Danielle Jackson has been promoted to publicist for Sourcebooks Casablanca; and Valerie Pierce has joined the company as marketing specialist – retail & libraries. She was previously publishing coordinator for Allen Press. Alison McGeehon has been named associate director of marketing […]
Borders Says Dozens of Executives Have Resigned; Postpones SEC Reports
The judge overseeing the Borders bankruptcy case will convene a hearing this afternoon focused on the company’s motion to implement a bonus retention plan for its executives. (The judge will also rule on a motion to reject a few more leases.) In a reply to objections to the bonuses by the US bankruptcy trustee, the company underscores the real problem: dozens of its executives either don’t have faith in their plan or simply don’t want to work there. Since they asked for the bonuses on March 24, two of the top 17 executives (an unamed svp and vp) have quit, […]
Memory Lane: Steven Tyler On His Book…From 2009
A recent announcement from HarperCollins confirmed that Steven Tyler’s autobiography DOES THE NOISE IN MY HEAD BOTHER YOU? will be published May 3, promising “the unbridled truth…straight for the horse’s lips.” Overlooked by many outlets is that Tyler signed to write the book in 2008 and it was originally scheduled for publication the following year. That’s when the rocker, before he was spruced up for regular public consumption on American Idol, appeared at Book Expo America. Interviewed by Chuck Klosterman, you may recall it is one of the odder BEA celebrity showcase presentations, as Tyler was joined on stage by […]
LBF Wrapup: A “Busy” Fair Belies Unpredictable Mood
In the unscientific lexicon of trade show reporting you will tend to find a limited set of standard vernacular for describing fair activity. Regardless of numbers, there’s either “busy” or “not busy.” This year’s London Book Fair has clearly been voted “busy,” allaying any speculation that last year’s volcanically-challenged show had somehow broken the habit of attendance. As usual, though, the packed first two days have given way to a much quieter third and final day. The weather was unseasonably lovely up until today, which always helps the collective mood, even if you never actually see the sun shine once […]