Ravi Singh will join David Davidar’s start-up Aleph Books on September 1 as publishing director. His most recent position was as publisher and editor-in-chief of Penguin India. Singh “will develop his own list” at Aleph, reporting to Davidar. Michelle Bonanno has been promoted to senior publicist at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Robert Podrasky has joined AudioGo as senior acquisitions editor. He was previously senior manager of domestic rights at St. Martin’s. Managing director of WH Smith Travel Retail Simon Marinker will retire at the end of the year after 34 years with the company. He will continue to remain involved with the business […]
Archives for August 2011
Librarians Hopeful As HBG Considers Resuming Frontlist eBook Sales
Library Journal updates the state of negotiations on new models for selling ebooks to libraries. While some librarians have apparently convinced themselves that Hachette Book Group has a plan to start selling them frontlist ebooks again, Hachette executives make it clear their internal debate is still underway. SVP for Hachette Digital Maja Thomas has been meeting with the relevant parties, but the HBG team has not made any decisions. “It’s an extremely sensitive issue and there is a lot of passion on both sides, and we’ve been working diligently here for months on it,” she says. “I will present [her […]
Another Digital Imprint, This Time In Australia
First Pan Macmillan announced a digital imprint for the UK focused on backlist books, Compass, and now Pan Macmillan Australia has announced their own digital imprint, Momentum, launching in February 2012. Pan Macmillan director Tom Gilliatt will run moment, with publisher Joel Naoum “managing” the list. They will both bring back to market out-of-print titles as well publish “new works from established and emerging authors.” And, as we have been exploring via our Publishers Launch Conferences, the line intends to “embrace the international potential of the digital market by making its ebooks available globally.” The launch list includes four traditional […]
BAMM Earnings and Store Comps Slide Sharply in Second Quarter
Books-A-Million posted its second quarter earnings for the period ending July 30, with net sales dropping 11.4 percent to $106.4 million (from $120 million a year ago) and store comps falling 12.9 percent from the same time last year. The company also suffered a net loss of $2.9 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, in contrast to the $1.8 million in net profit earned 12 months ago, and on top of the $3.5 million lost in the first quarter. BAMM chairman, president and ceo Clyde Anderson said in a statement that the results “reflect a continuation of the trends […]
With Writedowns, Borders Loses $328 Million In July
Borders filed their monthly operating report for July with the bankruptcy court, reporting sales of $94.7 million and other revenue of $57.5 million for the month. Regular SGA expenses were $38.2 million, but they took two large writedowns–one against “all long-lived assets,” for $135.2 million, plus the fully-loaded “cost” of the merchandise sold was $284.7 million (or $132.5 million more than sales for the month). All told, they recorded an operating loss of $305.9 million on their books for the month, and a total net loss of $328.2 million. Filing
Martha Grimes Sues Penguin For Deducting Legal Expenses Against Advance
Bestselling mystery writer Martha Grimes has been involved in a series of court appearances related to her termination of representation by the Peter Lampack Agency (PLA) in 2007 after more than 11 years as a client. In the latest development, Grimes filed suit on August 12 in a New York Federal Court against her longtime publisher Penguin, alleging that the company materially breached its publishing contract with Grimes by not paying her $200,000 in advances and by setting-off legal expenses against her earnings in excess of what was provided for in their contract. She also alleges that Penguin “put its own […]