John Siciliano has been promoted to executive editor, Penguin Classics. At Atria, Lisa Sciambra has been promoted to deputy director of publicity, while Valerie Vennix moves up to associate publicist. At Harper, Amy Bendell has been promoted to senior editor. The winners of the remaining CWA Dagger Awards were announced Thursday evening at the Crime Thriller Awards Ceremony: Gold: Dead Lions by Mick Herron (Soho Crime) Ian Fleming Steel: Ghostman by Roger Hobbs (Knopf) John Creasey New Blood: Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller (HMH) Alice Munro‘s daughter, Jenny, will accept the Nobel Prize for Literature on her mother’s behalf […]
Archives for October 2013
Kirshbaum to Leave Amazon Publishing In January
Larry Kirshbaum, 69, will leave his position as publisher of Amazon’s US trade publishing imprints on January 17, roughly two and a half years after joining the company, as first reported this morning by Shelf Awareness. Since that report, Amazon has officially confirmed what Shelf had “learned” and supplied the departure date. The company said, “We’re sorry to see him go, and wish him the best of luck as he returns to life as a literary agent.” Editor-in-chief for Amazon’s adult imprints Daphne Durham has already been assigned Kirshbaum’s responsibilities as publisher. Additional elements of their unsourced story — “the […]
Once Again Amazon Sales Grow On Modest Loss — And Shares Take Off
Amazon reported third quarter sales after the close of the market on Thursday that were consistent with the company’s recent pattern, growing sales significantly and continuing to lose a little bit of money along the way. With shares already trading near record levels, the stock was buoyant in after-market trading Thursday and on Friday morning it was up roughly 10 percent, at a new all-time high of approximately $365 a share. As usual, internet-fueled theories that minor changes in shipping charges were related to some extraordinary impairment to the company’s p&l were completely wrong. Sales grew 24 percent to $17.1 […]
Education and Trade Both Grow for Houghton In Third Quarter
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has reported third quarter 2013 sales as part of revised SEC documents related to the company’s planned IPO. Trade sales were $45.6 million for the quarter, up $3 million (or 6.8 percent) compared to a year ago, and education sales were $504.6 million, in what the company notes is their most important period (“our business is dependent on our results of operations for the third quarter”). Those education sales were $53 million higher than last year, up 11.8 percent, and powered operating income of $107.5 million for the quarter, and net income of $105 million. The increase in […]
People, Etc.
Samantha Edelson has been promoted to marketing manager for Macmillan Audio. Mobifusion has hired Michelle Lewy as director of publisher accounts, based in New York. Most recently, she was director of digital media services at Baker and Taylor. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Siena Koncsol has been promoted to publicist. Longtime Reed Exhibitions executive with oversight for BEA, svp Courtney Muller has resigned from her position. BEA show director Steve Rosato notes that Reed had realigned show responsibilities in August and put BEA under the supervision of Greg Topalian, a former BEA show director. Rosato now reports to Topalian. He writes: “On […]
Hosseini and Acquisitions Help Bloomsbury to Increased Sales
Bloomsbury reported preliminary results for the first half of 2013, with sales up 13 percent to £49.2 million and pre-tax profit up £200,000, to a still-modest £1.1 million. Sales were driven by trade hits such as Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed (in the UK) and the company’s string of academic and professional publishing acquisitions. They are also the UK publisher for Jumpha Lahiri, Margaret Atwood and Colum McCann. The adult trade division had sales of £23.2 million (up 16 percent), as adjusted operating profit of £1.1 million rose 77 percent compared to a year ago. Adult digital sales were […]