With Amazon indicating that their New York publishing division intends to make its titles available to other ebookstores alongside their print licensing deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Barnes & Noble has provided a quick answer on whether they will revise their position and carry those books. According to a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by BN chief merchandising officer Jamie Carey, “Barnes & Noble has made a decision not to stock Amazon published titles in our store showrooms.” He added: “Our decision is based on Amazon’s continued push for exclusivity with publishers, agents and the authors they represent. These exclusives have […]
Archives for January 2012
Amazon’s Fourth Quarter Sales Are $800 Million Below Expectations; NA Media Growth Falls to 8 Percent
In recent quarters Amazon’s sales have grown sharply while earnings have diminished as the company invested in increased capacity and growing their Kindle business. At the close of the market Tuesday, the company reported fourth quarter sales that will be viewed as a stumble by Wall Street: Their $17.43 billion in revenue is well below the $18.2 billion analysts were expecting, though in the middle of the company’s broad guidance, up 35.5 percent over a year ago. The stock headed south in after-hours trading on the sales shortfall, down almost 9 percent, and fell further in regular trading this morning, […]
People, Etc.
Former president, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Doubleday & Co. and later an editor and svp at Random House Sam Vaughan, 83, died in his sleep at home on Monday. Random House writes, “we lost one of the giants and great gentlemen of 20th-century book publishing…. Under Sam’s leadership, Doubleday, which he joined in the fifties and with whom he was synonymous for more than thirty years, was one of America’s leading publishing houses, with a deep list of iconic authors admired by critics, booksellers, and the reading public.” Among the Doubleday writers he edited were Dwight D. Eisenhower, Wallace Stegner, […]
eNews: Penguin Launches Mobile Platform; Self-Publishing Capabilities From Nelson Literary Agency
Penguin has launched a new digital/mobile toolkit, My Artist’s Way Toolkit & App, based on Julia Cameron’s 2 million copy-selling 1992 book The Artist’s Way. The platform, which will be offered as a $4.99 monthly subscription (or $3.99 a month for those who sign up for a one-year plan) with daily inspirations and weekly exercises and activities. Global digital director Molly Barton said in a statement that the platform is one “that we anticipate using for future Penguin works.” Add the Nelson Literary Agency to the list of agencies establishing ways to help their clients self-publish. Their Digital Liason Platform, […]
Supporters of Menlo Park Store Formalize As Kepler’s 2020 Project
Efforts to stabilize, preserve and redefine Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, CA that we covered in January have taken shape into a formal Kepler’s 2020 initiative, announced via press release and at the store’s web site. “The project aims to create an innovative hybrid business model that includes a for-profit, community-owned-and-operated bookstore, and a nonprofit organization that will feature on-stage author interviews, lectures by leading intellectuals, educational workshops and other literary and cultural events.” As noted previously, entrepreneur Praveen Madan is leading “a volunteer transition team [that] has begun work on a comprehensive development, financial and operational plan” for the […]
People, Etc.
At Kirkus Media, vp business development Meg LaBorde Kuehn has been promoted to chief operating officer, part of the company’s expansion into new lines of business, including digital marketing solutions for publishers and a growing suite of services for unpublished and self-published authors. Kuehn will report to company president Marc Winkelman and lead the business teams of Kirkus Media, including sales and marketing, technology development and author services. In addition, Casey Gannon moves up to marketing director, Perry Crowe has been named director of Kirkus Editorial (their new book editing division), and Ryan Leahey has been named indie editor, all […]