In a ten-page opinion issued Tuesday afternoon, Judge Cote denied Bob Kohn’s motion to intervene with respect to the ebook lawsuit settlement, concluding that he has no standing and saying that his public comments and the granting of his amicus motion should suffice. According to Judge Cote, Kohn failed to demonstrate he had standing to intervene because he did “not suggest that his individual rights will be impaired in any way if he is not permitted to intervene.” While Kohn may wish to assist the defense in fighting Justice’s lawsuit, he did not argue “that he — and the ‘millions’ […]
Archives for October 2012
Executives Gathering
This year’s official Franfurt Book Fair “ceo panel” doesn’t actually have any publishing ceos on it this year, but our Publishers Launch Frankfurt event next Monday features separate presentations from seven innovating c-level publishing executives (Dominique Raccah at Sourcebooks; Rebecca Smart at Osprey; Rick Joyce at Perseus; Anthony Forbes Watson of Pan Macmillan; Ken Michaels of HBG USA; Stephen Page of Faber; and Charlie Redmayne of Pottermore; plus former Macmillan president turned Providence Equity partners advisor Brian Napack). We’re joined by additional publishing executives from Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, Spain in broad coverage of digital innovation from within […]
From the Curb Your Enthusiasm Department, Penguin Library eBooks and BN’s Early Harvest
Penguin’s previously-announced library ebook lending pilot program with 3M and the Brooklyn Public Library, scheduled to last for a year, got off to a late start beginning yesterday, as announced in a 3M press release. That release let slip at the end of the third paragraph that “Penguin content is expected to be available to all 3M Cloud Library customers by the end of the year,” and other press has been off to the races from there. Penguin has not commented on the release and we have all seen in the past that vendors are not the authoritative source of […]
The Deal for Frankfurt: Fiction Surges On Romance Boom
With the Frankfurt Book Fair about a week away, it’s time for our regular look at dealmaking patterns and trends in advance of the show. As usual, we try hard to let the data tell the meaningful stories. If you had asked for our impressionistic view based on the recent deal report flow and community chatter, we would have said that the flow of newsmaking nonfiction deals has seemed higher and that fiction–at least for unexpected new properties–has seemed light, with few new properties driving a lot of talk and intense rights sales. But the actual data tells a somewhat […]
Wiley Buys Online Learning Service Provider for $220 Million
Wiley is investing in online learning services, agreeing to purchase private-held Chicago-based Deltak.edu for $220 million. They say it will “significantly accelerate Wiley’s digital learning strategy and diversify the company’s service offerings to include operational and academic solutions for higher education institutions.” Deltak provides provides technology platforms and services that support over 100 online learning programs. The company had sales of $54 million for the just-ended fiscal year, and the deal is expected to close by the end of the month.
Sourcebooks Launches Multimedia Shakesperience; Blurb Adds Enhanced Tools
Sourcebooks is launching the first three titles in their new line The Shakesperience, available in the iBookstore for the iPad. Starting with Hamlet, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, at a limited introductory price $5.99 each, the line is the natural tablet-era evolution of multi-media publishing that Sourcebooks began with the bestselling AND THE CROWD GOES WILD in 1999 (a printed book, with two audio CDs recapturing great moments in sports). And it builds on their Sourcebooks Shakespeare book-and-CD packages for an app- and tablet-focused world. The English-language volumes, built in Apple’s iBooks Author, are available worldwide. CEO Dominique Raccah says, […]