In line with their brief first quarter report, Bloomsbury announced more detailed results for the first half of 2015. Overall sales 13 percent, up £6.1 million to £52.7 million, but profit before tax fell by £200,000 to £300,000. (Sales and profits are “significantly second-half weighted.”) The company had £600,000 in restructuring costs related to acquisitions and the restructuring of the Bloomsbury Information, an another £900,000 of amortization related to acquisitions. Continuing the story from last year, children’s division sales rose £16.3 million (up £5.1 million) on John Green’s Paper Towns and new Harry Potter editions, while underlying adult sales fell again. The adult division was up […]
Archives for October 2015
People, Etc.
Mark Gompertz will join Skyhorse Publishing as group editorial director on November 9. Most recently he was creative director, content extensions for Hearst Magazines. Founder and publisher Tony Lyons says in the announcement, “With Mark’s rare combination of editorial acumen and publishing know-how, he will help take Skyhorse to new heights.” Skyhorse says it is projecting sales for 2015 of $43 million. If they fulfill those expectations, sales will be up 30 percent compared to 2014 (meaning sales were about $33 million last year). Former ceo and chairman of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, Sidney Taurel will take over as chairman of the Pearson board on January 1, […]
Dear Author and Ellora’s Cave Settle Defamation Lawsuit
Romance publisher Ellora’s Cave has settled its defamation lawsuit filed against romance website Dear Author and its proprietor Jennifer Gerrish-Lampe (aka Jane Litte) after a hearing in a Northern Ohio Federal Court Thursday afternoon, according to a brief note in the court docket. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and EC ceo Patty Marks said in an email to their authors that they “are pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement with Dear Author. The terms are confidential, so we will not be discussing that. We are very happy though to now put all of our time and efforts […]
Harry Potter Play Is Officially “The Eighth Story” In the Series
J.K. Rowling’s two-part play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is now officially described as “the eighth story in the Harry Potter series.” In a posting on Pottermore, Rowling provides a synopsis of the story, which picks up 19 years after the books ended (at the time of the epilogue on the characters’ as adults). “It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest […]
Macmillan to Combine Educational Units
Further reorganizing what remains of their fully-owned educational companies after the big merger of Macmillan Science and Education with Springer earlier this year, Macmillan is taking the logical step of bringing together Macmillan Higher Education and Macmillan New Ventures into a single unit as of January 1. The combined entity will be called Macmillan Learning going forward, still under the direction of ceo Ken Michaels (who is currently ceo of the two separate units). Macmillan Higher Education comprises the US publishing lines Bedford/St. Martin’s, W.H. Freeman, and Worth Publishers; Macmillan New Ventures has been their ed-tech investment arm, and comprises start-ups including Hayden-McNeil, Sapling Learning, Late […]
People
At Hachette Book Group, Heather Fain will focus entirely on her role as svp, director of marketing strategy, with expanded responsibilities as she joins HBG’s Executive Management Board. Fain gives up her second position as deputy publisher of Little, Brown, a job that will be taken over by Craig Young as he returns to the company on December 1. He spent the past three years as vp, associate publisher for Ecco, after serving as sales director at Little, Brown. Additionally, Miriam Parker is promoted to marketing director for Little, Brown, reporting to Young. Paul Lamb will join William Morrow as marketing manager on October 26. Previously […]