Sometimes the judge holds all the cards that matter. Bob Kohn’s attempt to obtain an emergency stay of the enactment of the Department of Justice’s ebook pricing settlement pending appeal before all three Apple contracts were voided and the landscape reset itself appears to have been stymied by Judge Denise Cote, who has effectively run out the clock on Kohn by inaction. While Judge Cote denied Kohn’s request for a stay earlier this week, she didn’t rule one way or the other on whether to grant him standing to appeal the ruling in the first place, stretching that process out […]
Archives for September 2012
People: New Nonfiction Executives at Ballantine Bantam Dell; Burtenshaw Exits Reed
Ballantine Bantam Dell announced a realignment of its nonfiction publishing as well as new executive hires and promotions overseeing the department, similar to the division’s recent reorganization of its fiction publishing. Jennifer Tung will join BDD on September 17 in the new role of vp, editorial director, nonfiction, reporting to Libby McGuire. Tung was most recently deputy editor of RedBook, and she will work across all formats and acquire and edit narrative, prescriptive, and brand-focused nonfiction. Executive editors Pamela Cannon and Mamie Cochran will now report to Tung. In addition, Richard Callison will be promoted to associate publisher, nonfiction, also […]
Elliott Exiting As Monsoon CEO
CEO of Monsoon Commerce Brian Elliott is stepping down from his position immediately, with president Kanth Gopalpur taking over. Elliott will work with Gopalpur “to ensure a seamless leadership transition….over the upcoming months.” The combination of Alibris, Monsoon, and Stone Edge Technologies, Monsoon Commerce notes they raised another $8 million in financing earlier in the year, with Oak Hill Capital Partners remaining as majority owner. The company is rellocating resources from their commerce business to their software business, “affecting staff primarily at the company’s headquarters in Emeryville, CA.” They have “eliminated about 10 positions in the Alibris business” as a […]
How the State Settlement Will Boost the Book Business
Yes, it’s another settlement piece. But there’s some good news for the entire industry that has not been fully appreciated yet. While the pending settlement with the states will cost the Settlers money, almost all of that money–and potentially more–will flow right back into the book business. The way the settlement is constructed, you could consider it a little Book Publishing Stimulus Act, particularly since the proceeds will be available to consumers in time for the busiest book-buying time of the year. The Stimulus Act endeavors to put about $65 million into the hands of people who bought ebooks from […]
People
Ben Adams will join PublicAffairs as senior editor on September 24. Previously he was a senior editor at Bloomsbury. At Holt, Jason Liebman has been promoted to associate director of online marketing. Tal Goretsky will join Scribner as art director on September 17. He was most recently senior designer at Penguin Press. Mike Underwood has joined Angry Robot as sales and marketing manager. He was most recently at Wybel Marketing Group, representing publishers such as Dark Horse Comics, Night Shade Books, Felony & Mayhem Press, and more to trade and wholesale accounts across the Midwest. Tamra Tuller has joined Chronicle […]
Annals of Agency Lite: Wednesday
While people wait for the next shoe (or two), here are some additional observations on nouveau Agency. Feel free to send us your questions (or post them in the comments). Will Everything Go Faster? A process that could have taken over a month to recalibrate now looks like it could be mostly resolved by the end of this week or beginning of next, following Harper’s quick move to new contracts. That plus the imminent expiration of Apple contracts is both accelerating and potentially simplifying the renegotiation process. And as we have seen with Harper, even when retailers may not have […]