Amazon announced the retroactive rate at which they will compensate Kindle Unlimited participants for books read (and subscriptions paid for) in January. The per page fell to its lowest point yet, $.00412 per page (about 4/10ths of one cent) — or 10.6 percent lower than the $0.00461 per page a month ago — while the overall pool of money paid out increased to its highest level yet, at $15 million. At the beginning of the month, Amazon had also announced a revised methodology for their universal way of measuring ebook “pages” for calculating those per-page payments. That new method applies starting […]
Archives for February 2016
Briefs: Clare’s Lawyer Responds to Kenyon Lawsuit; “Birthday Cake” Author Speaks Out; and More
Cassandra Clare‘s lawyer, John Cahill of Cahill Associates, issued a statement Thursday afternoon responding to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s trademark and copyright infringment lawsuit filed against Clare late last week. “Cassie was both surprised and disappointed that Ms. Kenyon would file this baseless lawsuit, a decade after the debut of Cassie’s books. Kenyon is wrong when she claims that Cassandra Clare or her publisher made any agreements about using ‘shadowhunters.’ Cassie never gave Kenyon any assurances regarding this and, although she would have preferred to resolve any concerns that Ms. Kenyon has or may have had, Ms. Kenyon never contacted or spoke […]
Simon & Schuster Has Strong Finish to the Year
Simon & Schuster built on a small gain in the third quarter for a big gain in the fourth quarter that lifted full-year sales just above the previous year, by $2 million. Fourth quarter sales of $233 million were $18 million (or 8 percent) ahead of the same quarter a year ago, “driven by growth in print book sales.” CEO Carolyn Reidy told us sales in the quarter were up across all units, with adult book sales up 10 percent, children’s books up 8 percent, and audio up 23 percent. (International sales rose on an underlying basis, but were flat after […]
Simonson’s The Summer Before The War Tops March Library Reads List
Helen Simonson‘s new novel The Summer Before the War is the No. 1 pick for the March Library Reads list. The list also includes Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s The Nest, Lyndsay Faye’s Jane Steele, and Elizabeth Brundage’s All Things Cease to Appear, excerpts of which you can start reading right now in Buzz Books 2016: Spring/Summer. The rest of the list features: The Passenger, by Lisa Lutz Marked in Flesh, by Anne Bishop Fool Me Once, by Harlan Coben The Madwoman Upstairs, by Catherine Lowell Because of Miss Bridgerton, by Julia Quinn Dimestore: A Writer’s Life, by Lee Smith
People
Mary Ann Naples will join Disney Book Group as vp, publisher on March 14, reporting to Jeanne Mosure. Previously Naples was svp, publisher at Rodale Books & Rodale Wellness. Mosure said in the announcement: “As a self-made entrepreneur and a Disney veteran, Mary Ann brings the right leadership capabilities to support the amazing team and talent we have, while implementing new strategic initiatives in the future.” Naples added: “I am thrilled to join the Disney Book Group with its spectacular track record of success, its world-class brands, franchises, authors and illustrators, and its amazing team. Disney has always been at […]
Lagardere Publishing Rises On Euro and France; HBG Rebounds In Fourth Quarter
Lagardere reported fourth quarter sales after the close of the market in France on Wednesday (profits will be reported next month, in the European tradition). A strong final quarter gives a solid boost to their 2015 performance: Sales for the quarter were €631 million — compared to €537 million euros a year ago — up 9.2 percent on a like-for-like basis and 17.5 percent overall. Sales gains added €59 million euros; the strong US dollar and UK pound boosted results by €38 million, and UK acquisitions added €7 million. For all of 2015, Lagardere Publishing had sales of €2.206 billion — up just […]