Barnes & Noble filed paperwork with the SEC to prepare the way for Microsoft and Pearson to be able to sell the roughly 3.340 million shares of the bookseller’s stock they were given as part of the deals to buy out their stakes in Nook Media LLC. Those shares comprise a little more than 5.2 percent of Barnes & Noble’s total available shares. A sale of these shares was expected when BN made the deals to end their Nook Media partnership, though neither Microsoft nor Pearson has announced plans for a secondary offering of their shares yet. In other bookseller […]
Archives for May 2015
Lagardere Publishing Rises On Weak Euro, But US Sales Decline Over 12 Percent
Lagardere reported first quarter sales, with the publishing unit rising overall on renewed strength in France and the weakness of the Euro, which works in their favor on US and UK book sales even as HBG USA and Hachette UK had weak quarters. That left unit sales of 421 euros up 7.1 percent on a reported basis, but down 2.2 percent on an underlying basis — taking out 29 million euros of currency gains on the weak euro, and another 8 million euros from last year’s acquisitions of Quercus, Constable & Robinson and Black Dog & Leventhal. Sales at HBG USA […]
People, Etc.
Rob Kirkpatrick will join Dey Street Books as senior editor on May 18. Previously he was senior editor at Thomas Dunne Books. Emily Cunningham will join Penguin Press as editor on June 9. Previously she was an editor at Harper. At Penguin Random House Children’s sales group, Jacqueline Engel has been promoted to vp, group sales director and director, field sales & business development, Penguin Young Readers. In addition, Mark Santella moves up to vp, group sales director and director, mass merchandise sales, Random House Children’s Books. Both Engel and Santella will report to Felicia Frazier. Nick Elliot has joined […]
People
Bloomsbury UK has had to “restructure and reduce the costs of its trade editorial department” due to “the changing publishing environment,” and senior commissioning editor Bill Swainson‘s job is being eliminated at the end of June. Former longtime Barnes & Noble staff member, most recently as vp, books and digital strategy and chief product officer for digital education Jade Roth has joined UK-based Kortext as senior vice president. She will “use her extensive experience in the North American higher education market to support the team’s international expansion.” Dean of Library Services at Austin (Texas) Community College Julie Todaro, PhD. has been elected […]
Still Buzzworthy
Later this week we will release our two newest Publishers Lunch Buzz Books Fall/Winter ebook samplers to get you ready for BEA, BookCon and the big publishing season beyond (with not just 12, but rather about 60 pre-publication excerpts). But before we tout the new editions, it’s worth reminding you and any audiences you might reach that the current Spring/Summer editions still feature the best way to taste almost two dozen high-profile books landing May through July, including some major debuts (Erika Swyler; J. Ryan Stradal; Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite; and Jessica Knoll) as well as highly anticipated books from […]
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave Tops June Library Reads List
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave is the No. 1 pick for the June Library Reads list. The list also includes The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler, an excerpt of which (as well as Dave’s novel) you can start reading right now in our Buzz Books 2015: Spring/Summer ebook. The rest of the list includes: Annie Barrows, The Truth According to Us Nina George, The Little Paris Bookshop Erika Johansen, The Invasion of the Tearling Judy Blume, In the Unlikely Event Elin Hildebrand, The Rumor Paul Doiron, The Precipice Frederik Backman, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s […]