The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson is booksellers’ number one pick on the ABA’s March Indie Next list. The rest of the list features: The Passenger, by Lisa Lutz What Is Not Yours is Not Yours, by Helen Oyeyemi The Widow, by Fiona Barton Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens, by Steve Olson All the Winters After, by Seré Prince Halverson Margaret the First, by Danielle Dutton Two If by Sea, by Jacquelyn Mitchard Blackass, by A. Igoni Barrett Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli A Doubter’s Almanac, by Ethan Canin Under the Influence, by […]
Archives for February 2016
General Growth CEO “Clarifies” Amazon Comments In the Vaguest Way
CEO of mall operator General Growth Properties Sandeep Mathrani was forced to put out a statement Wednesday afternoon after generating a firestorm of media with his casual reference to Amazon’s “goal…as I understand” to open hundreds of physical bookstores. The funny part is that the statement is titled, “General Growth Properties CEO Sandeep Mathrani Clarifies Statement About Amazon,” while it actually clarifies nothing at all. It simply reiterates what already happened: “Mathrani has indicated that a statement he made concerning Amazon during GGP’s earnings conference call held on February 2, 2016, was not intended to represent Amazon’s plans.” Just as […]
On Cue: Waterstones’ Annual Retreat From Forecasts of Profit
Waterstones has filed financial results for the fiscal year through April 2015, and managing director James Daunt is engaging in his annual dance of walking back the bold proclamations he made to an always-eager press during the important holiday sales period. Amazingly, our analysis right now is exactly the same as what we said a year ago. Here are the facts: According to the company’s records filed with the UK’s Companies House, sales for the year ending April 2015 were £378 million, as the company lost money again — albeit with losses reduced to £1.9 million after taxes. The Bookseller says that […]
Indigo Celebrates Big Holiday Quarter
Canada’s dominant physical bookseller Indigo reported fiscal third quarter sales, through December 26, with revenue up 12.9 percent to $383 million (a $44 million gain), and net earnings of $52.8 million, up sharply from $33 million a year ago. Those gains came even though the chain had one less superstore and four fewer small-format stores than in the same period a year ago. The company had “high single digit growth in the core book business due to a combination of popular titles and a growing trend for adult coloring books” and even better “double digit growth in the general merchandise business,” which […]
General Growth CEO Casually Claims Amazon Wants to Open Hundreds of Bookstores
Mall owner General Growth Properties claims that Amazon is looking to open hundreds of brick-and-mortar bookstores. The remark came in the company’s earnings call with investors Tuesday afternoon. Answering a question about mall traffic, what CEO Sandeep Mathrani actually said was, “And just case in point, you’ve got Amazon opening brick-and-mortar bookstores and their goal is to open, as I understand, 300 to 400 bookstores — and it should sit back and say the last mile is all important,” which is why online retailers in general are expanding their physical store presence. Amazon declined to comment, as did a General […]
People, Etc.
At Atria, Ariele Fredman has been promoted to assistant director of publicity; Kathryn Santora has been promoted to senior publicist; Tory Lowy moves up to publicist; and Emily Bamford is now associate publicist. The Texas Book Festival has hired Julie Wernersbach as literary director, starting later this month. She has been marketing director at BookPeople for the past five years. Tammy Brown joins the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators as director, community marketing and engagement, based in Los Angeles, starting March 1. Bonnie Bader work for the organization as a consultant, with the title of publishing advisor, based in New York. Kat Meyer recently joined the Book Industry Study […]