The special meeting called for in July by two large shareholders in Quarto Group will be announced shortly, Sky News reports. They have been “leaked” a letter from Tim Chadwick, who the two dissenting owners–confirmed to include The Wellcome Trust (and 9.7 percent owner), and thus by elimination J.O. Hambro Capital Management (a 9.5 percent owner)–want to appoint to the board while removing chairman and ceo Laurence Orbach. Chadwick is said to insist that Quarto sell or close “all loss-making, relatively risky, or unproven activities and [use] the net proceeds to accelerate debt repayment.” He laments that the publishers’ “results […]
Archives for September 2012
eNews: Google Brings eBooks to Japan; Kobo Adds Portugal; Nook Launches Video; and UK to Appoint eLending Review Panel
After launching Google Play, including ebooks, in Korea, Google will open the service and sell their Nexus 7 tablet in Japan as of October 2, with the device retailing for 19,800 yen ($250.) Reuters reported that executive chairman Eric Schmidt attended the launch, telling a briefing that the continuing growth of the smartphone market would set up a battleground among companies getting into the online shopping space: “It is the defining platform and the defining battle in our industry.” Google Play in Japan will include Japanese-language ebooks. Elsewhere in international expansion, Kobo is extending its partnership with FNAC in France […]
eNews: Google Launches in Korea, and More
Apparently Google launched an ebook venture in Korea earlier this month, with participation from publishers including Woongjin, Ridibooks and Munhakdongne Publishing. An unnamed official told The Korea Herald (found via The Digital Reader), “We picked Korea since the adoption rate of smart devices, including smartphones, are one of the highest among other nations.” Korea Herald Yale University Press announced that they have received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation “to launch extensive market research and development of a new electronic model for illustrated books.” The award and subsequent work is intriguing since so far illustrated books have lagged […]
Awards: New Prize Will Support Both Writing and Marketing/Promotion
Tonight, Jewish philanthropic foundation The Natan Fund will announce a new award to support the writing, marketing and publicity of a new nonfiction book on Jewish themes, introducing what they position as a “new literary philanthropy model.” Rather than honoring an already published book, the prize supports both the creation and marketing of new work. Awarded in two stages, the prize provides up to $15,000 to “support the writing process,” and up to another $35,000 “to craft a customized digital and in-person marketing and publicity strategy for the book at the time of its publication.” That promotional stage will also […]
The Rowling Rollout
Two weekend profiles of JK Rowling prepared the ground for Thursday’s release of THE CASUAL VACANCY, offering details on the book as well as the process that has guarded both the author and the book’s contents. Rowling told the Guardian, which ran their piece on Saturday, she dreamed up the idea for THE CASUAL VACANCY on a plane: “And I thought: local election! And I just knew. I had that totally physical response you get to an idea that you know will work. It’s a rush of adrenaline, it’s chemical. I had it with Harry Potter and I had it […]
People, Etc.
Chris Labonté is leaving Douglas & McIntyre, where he has been fiction acquisitions editor, “to pursue his own writing and other endeavors.” Following his departure, the acquisition and editing of fiction will be integrated into the broader editorial department. Masie Cochran has joined Tin House Books as an associate editor, acquiring high-end women’s fiction, literary fiction, crime, narrative nonfiction, memoirs, and southern fiction. Most recently she worked for Inkwell Management. CEO of yet-to-be-launched Bookish Caroline Marks was relieved of duty the week before last, according to one source. Otherwise, we’re continuing our standing policy that reporting on the venture or tracking ever-changing […]