The launch of Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 on May 30 with the selection of Cheryl Strayed’s WILD–and national media attention for Oprah’s return to book recommendations–has boosted the book’s profile and sales for certain. But will the cable + online Oprah profile come anywhere close to the impact of her syndicated television book endorsements? For the sales week ending June 10, Nielsen Bookscan reports print book sales of approximately 11,300 copies, up roughly 7,700 units from the prior week (with weekly sales having ranged from 3,100 to 4,400 copies over the previous four weeks). That is the book’s best week […]
Archives for June 2012
Class Action Suit Filed Against PublishAmerica Alleging “Deceptive Trade Practices”
After years of news reports recounted all manner of dubious practices with respect to its treatment of authors, PublishAmerica is now the defendant in a class-action lawsuit filed June 11 in Maryland State Court alleging a longstanding history of “deceptive trade practices.” In the complaint, first reported on by Writer Beware, plaintiffs Darla Yoos, Edwin McCall, and Kerry Levine say PublishAmerica “presents itself as a traditional publisher but makes money off of its authors” by “falsely representing the services it offered”; provides “services not reasonably designed to promote book sales” leading to significant expenditures by authors; publishes books “riddled with […]
A Favor
So in the near unspecified future both of your full-time Publishers Lunch correspondents are gong to attempt something very rare–truly unwired vacations. Which is a good occasion to ask for all readers’ attention on an important matter of protocol. Please make sure that you send all of your general news to info@publishersmarketplace.com only, and all of your deal news to deals@publishersmarketplace.com only. Sharing your news with us is that simple! And if you don’t send your information to the right place, it’s very likely that we will not report it at all. Please use our personal addresses (someonesname@publishersmarketplace.com) for personal correspondence […]
People, Etc.
Hachette Book Group’s Orbit division is adding a new imprint for commercial fiction, Redhook. Launching in April 2013 with Robert Lyndon’s historical epic set in the 11th century HAWK QUEST, they plan to start with one or two titles a month. The imprint will publish in all formats, including some digital-only titles. Orbit svp and publisher Tim Holman says in the announcement, “Redhook will help us grow the division and broaden our business and consumer relationships. Our highly focused acquisition strategy will be matched by original and individually tailored publishing strategies.” CEO David Young adds, “The creation of Redhook is […]
At Least Two Amazon Publishing eBooks Are Now Sold Everywhere
With Tuesday’s release of Oliver Pötzsch’s THE DARK MONK: A Hangman’s Daughter Tale in the US, the follow-up his to successful THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER, at least two titles whose US publishing rights are controlled by Amazon are now being carried widely by major ebookstores. The ebook editions for sale are published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which had previously licensed only print rights to the Potzsch books from Amazon Crossing (along with print rights to other titles from Crossing and Amazon Encore). Up until now, Amazon has sold ebook versions of titles from their growing family of publishing imprints exclusively through […]
Barnes & Noble Chairman Riggio Will Pay $29 Million To Settle Shareholder Suit Over College Acquisition
The long-running litigation surrounding Barnes & Noble’s August 2009 acquisition of BN College from company founder and chairman Leonard Riggio is finally over, as Riggio has agreed to settle a series of lawsuits launched by shareholders with a $29 million payment from personal funds. But he won’t actually pay out any money personally; rather, he will forgo some money that is currently owed to him by Barnes & Noble. The settlement reduces by $22.75 million a still outstanding $150 million promissory note that Barnes & Noble owes to Riggio as part of College’s acquisition, plus a $6.3 million reduction in […]