At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Angela Zurlo has been promoted to production manager for the Books for Young Readers and Paul Wiseman imprints, effective June 1. Navah Wolfe and Julia Maguire have been promoted to associate editor, BFYR. In addition, Richard Ackoon moves up to executive coordinator, Laura Roode has been promoted to associate art director, and Krista Olsen moves up to design associate. Knopf announced that in six weeks, they have sold over 10 million units (in all editions) of EL James’s three FIFTY SHADES books. They have printed 9.5 million books so far, available in 15,000 physical retail […]
Archives for May 2012
Houghton: The Dog Ate Our Business
Also included in yesterday’s voluntary bankruptcy filing from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was the disclosure of some basic financial numbers–and problems. For 2011, the company had sales of approximately $1.295 billion and EBITDA of $238 million, which underscores why a debt load of over $3 billion was unsustainable (with interest payments exceeding cash generated). The only solution, as the filing points out, was “a restructuring to completely delever the debtor’s balance sheet.” In looking for causes/excuses, the company says that “the recession decreases in state spending as well as significant purchase deferrals in key states and territories resulted in material reductions […]
Digital Continues to Rise At Bloomsbury, Now 9 Percent of Overall Sales
Bloomsbury reported results for the fiscal year ending February 29, with total sales up 11.5 percent (£10.7 million) to £103.2 million and pre-tax profit up 53 percent to £12.1 million, as compared to £7.9 million a year ago. That number drops to £4.8 million when accounting for the sale of Bloomsbury’s German unit (which they now admit was a money-loser) and the acquisition of Continuum, as well as relocation and restructuring costs. (The company’s reporting returns to a normal 12-month fiscal year, after using a 14-month fiscal year for 2011 to account for various adjustments, which makes some of the […]
Orange to End Prize Sponsorship; Commonwealth Winners Named
Cellphone company Orange announced that it will withdraw its support of the UK prize for fiction by women that has carried its name since the award’s founding 17 years ago. Co-founder and honorary director Kate Mosse makes the case to the Guardian (and future sponsors) that “the investment generates something in the region of £17.5m a year in advertising, and the cultural capital of the women’s prise for fiction is practically second to none.” This year’s winner will be named May 30. The Guardian notes that the prize money itself is supplied from an endowment, with the sponsor providing “the […]
People
Jessica Zimmerman has joined S&S’s adult trade imprint as senior publicist. She was most recently a publicist at Center Street. Danny Yanez has joined Franklin & Siegal Associates as literary scout. He was previously at Vintage/Anchor. Jimmy Fallon has been added to the lineup for the BEA Author Breakfast on Thursday morning (June 7), making a “special ‘guest appearance,'” to promote his THANK YOU NOTES 2, which publishes today. Canongate rights director Polly Collingridge will leave to the company to relocate to San Francisco (as her husband Peter Collingridge joins Safari Books Online). She has been with Canongate for 11 years. […]
The “Big Book” of BEA
As the AP covered this morning, Publishers Lunch has launched what is truly the “big book” of this year’s BEA: a free ebook that presents over 30 meaty excerpts from books that will be featured at the convention and highly-touted fall releases of all kinds. Before you see (or watch the video stream) of BEA marquee speakers Junot Diaz, Barbara Kingsolver, JR Moehringer and Neil Young, you can read samples from their books. We have official Buzz Panel book Shani Boianjiu’s The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, along with more promising debut novelists than fit on any panel (including […]