Sony Pictures longtime New York-based director of development Mark James is leaving the company to start his own book-to-film scouting company, James Literary Consulting, a book-to-film scouting company. Deadline.com says his two initial clients will be Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures and the Michaels-Goldwyn production company (a partnership between Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn). Patti Pirooz has been promoted to publisher, Penguin Audio. Consortium will handle distribution for And Other Stories, Curbside Splendor Publishing, Gallic Books, GILES, and Stockholm Text effective June 1, as well as Koyama Press and Stockholm Text’s digital titles as of April 1.
Archives for March 2013
Houghton Trade Finished with Strong Quarter
Last week we reported updated sales figures for HarperCollins–revealed via SEC proxy documents rather than the standard quarterly disclosure–and now we’ve found belatedly that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has resumed regular public reporting following their bankruptcy reorganization last year. HMH trade finished 2012 with a strong fourth quarter, with sales of $52 million–up a big $16 million from the previous year–and EBITDA of $13 million. The company was boosted by strong movie tie-ins for The Hobbit and Life of Pi. The fourth quarter results include in part the cookbooks and reference books purchased from Wiley in early November for at least […]
The Digital Combo Pass Returns
Some of our readers have either this month’s Bologna Book Fair or next month’s London Book Fair up next on their agendas, but with hints of spring in the air, Book Expo America (BEA)–beginning May 29–isn’t all that far away. We’ll hold our Publishers Launch BEA Conference on the day before the exhibit floor opens for the third year, and working with the BEA organizers and the IDPF (which holds their own digital conference at BEA), we are bringing back last year’s hugely successful Digital Combo Pass. The combo pass means that instead of choosing between the Publishers Launch and […]
People, Etc.
Jeffrey Yamaguchi has joined Abrams in the newly created position of director of digital marketing. Previously he was director of digital marketing for the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. In addition, there have been several recent promotions in the marketing department. Veronica Wasserman has been promoted to associate director, marketing operations, licenses, and brands. Nancy Lambert moves up to senior marketing manager, while Ellie Levine has been promoted to marketing manager and social media specialist. Maya Bradford moves up to associate publicist, while Nico Cassanetti has been promoted to marketing coordinator. Finally, in the children’s marketing and publicity department, Laura Mihalick […]
RH Changes Contract Terms for Digital Imprints In Response to Controversy
Random House announced changes to the contract terms for their start-up digital imprints Hydra, Alibi, Flirt, and Loveswept on Tuesday morning, following pointed criticism from the Science Fiction Writers of America, the Horror Writers of America and other author group representatives. The company is adjusting the charges made under their profit-sharing contract model, and also offering authors a separate, more traditional advance-plus-royalty contract model. The advance-plus-royalty model follows a traditional contract model: Random House’s “standard ebook royalty of 25 percent of net receipts” along with an agreed-upon advance, with the imprints covering all production, shipping, and marketing costs. In the […]
Bookselling: Porter Square Books Seeks New Owner; Michael Vick Signings Cancelled After Threats of Violence
Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA has been put up for sale after more than nine years in business, as its owners are looking to retire. “We’ve really been able to establish Porter Square Books as a vital community institution,” bookstore president Carol Stoltz told WickedLocal. “We have embraced e-books, author events, sidelines and even a café — all things a successful book store needs to have in the 21st century.” Porter Square added they have allocated “a significant timeframe to find just the right next owner of the store.” At least three scheduled appearances at Barnes & Noble stores […]