The tangled web of what the Department of Justice, the states, and the class-action plaintiffs now want from Apple was plainly evident at Friday afternoon’s court hearing, in which Judge Cote heard a number of thorny and complicated issues. Except for a swift dismissal of Apple’s conditional request to stay proceedings (she of course “didn’t believe Apple is likely to succeed on appeal”), Cote deferred the biggest decisions for later in the month. She did not decide on the DOJ’s proposed injunctive relief, contentiously and vociferously objected to by Apple and book publishers, and she did not commit to a trial […]
Archives for August 2013
People, Etc.
Catherine Onder will join Bloomsbury Children’s on September 3 as editorial director, reporting to publishing director Cindy Loh. Most recently she was senior editor at Disney Hyperion. Loh says in the announcement: “Cat’s publishing vision perfectly dovetails with Bloomsbury’s plans for the future. We have three ambitious new lines launching next year and a fresh, new focus. I can’t wait for Cat to lead our team and grow the list in even more exciting directions.” The latest “cover reveal” is for Sue Monk Kidd’s January 7, 2014 release, THE INVENTION OF WINGS. The 14-title longlist for the FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book […]
Sales and Profits Decline for Indigo As Fifty Shades & Hunger Games Effect Wanes
Earlier this week Canada’s dominant bookseller Indigo reported a 8.1 percent decrease in sales of C$171.5 million for the fiscal first quarter ending June 29, with a net loss of C$15 million (far greater than the $5.5 million loss for the same period a year ago.) Indigo attributed the revenue drop to “declining book and eReader sales,” as compared to the last year’s “strong sales of the Fifty Shades and Hunger Games trilogies.” They also closed 8 stores in the intervening year. Superstore sales comps were down 7.1 percent, small-format store comps fell 13.1 percent, and even online sales remained […]
A Flurry of Filings In the eBooks Case
The court docket filled with new filings Thursday afternoon in advance of Judge Denise Cote’s Friday afternoon conference regarding proposals for an injunction against Apple. To the Publishers DOJ attorney Lawrence Buterman predictably but egregiously replied to the settling publishers’ complaint that the proposed injunction reneges on their long-negotiated, court-approved settlement. First he argues that Justice’s proposal “in no way seeks to modify” those settlements “or punish publisher defendants.” The injunction is all about Apple and “imposes no obligation” on publishers. Because Apple went to trial and was found guilty rather than settling, Buterman reasons, they have to get a […]
Random Rights Stats
The Random House sub-rights team agrees that Brazil has been the new “hot zone” for licensing books (though that may change soon as the country’s economic fortunes swing again). In a blog post that was shared with agents in a newsletter, the publisher offers some interesting rights statistics and infographics. The “top-earning genres around the world” from 2010 through 2012 were: 1. Juvenile fiction 2. Mystery/Thriller 3. General fiction 4. Biography 5. Romance Language-markets by income are: 1. German 2. French 3. Italian 4. Portugese 5. Spanish But by title volume it is: 1. Chinese (simplified characters) 2. Russian 3. […]
People, Etc.
Amulet has revealed details on Jeff Kinney‘s forthcoming eighth Wimpy Kid book, HARD LUCK, sporting a lime green cover for its November 5 release. Kinney says, “As a writer, there’s something wickedly satisfying about putting Greg Heffley under duress, and in the eighth book, Greg suffers a multitude of indignities. But this time around he has a secret weapon against the slings and arrows of middle school.” Meryl Streep will narrate the audio version of Colm Toibin’s THE TESTAMENT OF MARY, for September release. Some day soon, now that HarperCollins comprises a more meaningful portion of the new foxless News Corp., […]