Chairman and ceo of Ingram Content Group John Ingram has invested in Mike Fine’s ambitious online “knowledge engine” startup Mediander.com, providing an “early-stage investment” through his personal investing vehicle, JRI Ventures LLC. According to the announcement, “the investment will be used to fund research and development, as well as technical, marketing and other operating expenses.” Fine has been the sole funder of Mediander up until now. ICG as a company also has venture capital arm that has taken stakes in a variety of digital publishing related start-ups. In 2010, John Ingram invested both personally and corporately in ReThink Books, which started […]
Archives for July 2014
People, Etc.
Kensington will merge its two digital-first imprints eKensington and Lyrical Press into a single unit under the Lyrical Press name. The merged imprint will continue to be under the helm of Adam Zacharius, and directly managed by Alexandra Nicolajsen as well as Martin Biro, who has been promoted to associate editor, digital books. Renee Rocco remains managing director. Kensington Publishing president and ceo Steven Zacharius said: “As the largest independent publisher in America, Kensington is able to bring innovative ideas and a personal touch to each of the books we publish. By combining our two digital imprints, we’ve created a […]
Batman Beats Back Kindle Unlimited
Yes, you read that correctly. For the first day since we starting monitoring the effect on Kindle Unlimited titles on Amazon Kindle’s So-Called Bestseller List, the number of KU titles on the top 100 declined modestly, now accounting for 38 titles. But Batman related books have stormed the list, taking over 10 slots, including the No. 1 position. (Wednesday was celebrated as the 75th anniversary of Batman’s creation.) KU books still claim half of the top 50 titles, though (25 today, versus 24 yesterday), and Amazon Publishing’s own titles still show the biggest boost. The traditional publisher titles included in KU […]
Scholastic Takes $21.4 Charge, Mostly on Storia, Which Will Switch to School Licensing Model
Scholastic reported fourth quarter and full fiscal year earnings on Thursday morning, with sales rising 8 percent to $549 million and operating income increasing more, at $48.6 million. The stock rose in early morning trading on the improved results and positive guidance for next year. But the company disclosed a variety of charges, including a mostly non-cash, pre-tax charge of $21.4 million primarily due to a shift in their Storia ereading platform. Scholastic intends to move the service to a “streaming model,” and as a result they will not support various operating-specific Storia apps. That change and a “settlement charge” […]
Rizzoli Acquires Welcome Books
Continuing an active year of acquisitions, Rizzoli International Publications has agreed to acquire the assets of Welcome Books, the publishing imprint of Welcome Enterprises. A publisher of illustrated books in the fields of art, photography, food & wine, parenting, history, travel, pets and social & popular culture, Welcome Books began publishing in 1995, and Rizzoli will continue to publish books under the Welcome imprint. All titles will continue to be sold and distributed domestically by Random House Publishers Service (which represented both companies), and internationally by Rizzoli. Rizzoli associate publisher Jim Muschett will “manage the acquired assets, revising and re-launching key titles, and publishing […]
Workman Names A CEO
Workman Publishing has named ceo and president of their Storey Publishing and Timber Press imprint Dan Reynolds as ceo of Workman. Reynolds will “transition into the role immediately, and relocate to New York City full-time on October 1.” He joined the company in 2001 when Workman purchased Storey. Reynolds takes over following the death of founder Peter Workman in April 2013. Former Workman group publisher Bob Miller, thought to have been in line to lead the company, was dismissed abruptly just days before Workman’s death last year. Wednesday’s announcement finally makes clear the leadership structure across the company. Carolan Workman remains […]