The New Yorker has a phone interview with Barnes & Noble executive chairman Len Riggio. In an interesting bit of time travel, they write that: “As far back as 2000, Riggio said that he believed Barnes & Noble should open smaller stores (the company’s typical superstores are more than twenty-five-thousand square feet), in denser, more pedestrian-friendly locations. But, at the time, business was great, the suburban power centers were still growing, and the idea never translated into concrete action. ‘You blow some and you get some right,’ he said, reflecting on the missed opportunity. ‘Timing is everything.'”) While they were […]
Archives for October 2016
To BE Is Not to BEA: Show Changes Name to Book Expo
Budweiser changed their name to America for part of this year, but the big US trade book show is going the other way, telling booksellers that “Book Expo America” has officially changed its name to Book Expo (or, rather, BookExpo). A refreshed web site shows off the new Book Expo logo and branding, though for web purposes, the show remains bookexpoamerica.com since bookexpo.com has been owned by someone else for years. More practically, the show and the ABA have agreed to a long overdue move: The annual ABA Celebration of Bookselling luncheon that draws lots of booksellers and executives off […]
People, Etc.
Jeanne Mosure is leaving Disney Publishing Worldwide, where she has been svp and group publisher, Publishing Trends reports. Mosure has worked for Disney since 1998. For now that leaves Disney Book Group publisher Mary Ann Naples as the top book publishing executive at the company. Libby Burton will join Holt as senior editor on November 7. Previously she was editor at Twelve and Grand Central. At Crown Archetype, Jenni Zellner has been promoted to assistant editor. Emily Bamford has joined Random House Children’s Books as associate publicist. She was previously an associate publicist at Atria. Patricia Flynn has been appointed senior director, […]
Print Shipments Were Good in May
The AAP released their May StatShot statistics on Wednesday morning, starting to catch up though still running a bit behind their traditional schedule. As we explained earlier in the year, it turns out the monthly AAP reports on their own are not consistent indicators of…anything, but the best forward-looking measure — gross print shipments, before returns — was positive in the May report. Adult print shipments of $394 million were up $45 million (or about 13 percent); children’s gross print shipments edged up $4.5 million to $149.5 million. That leaves total gross print of $543.5 million up $49.5 million. Those gains […]
Past the Hype, Data Shows Modest Dealmaking As Dollars Move Away From Big Fiction
With the Frankfurt Book Fair underway, our annual analysis of actual dealmaking data stands in contrast to the standing fair daily stories hailing a few big deals made a few weeks ago. Our data shows overall dealmaking just below last year’s soft season, comprising the fewest pre-Frankfurt deals since 2012. (And that’s with an extra day counted in; since Frankfurt is late this year, we start counting the five-week selling season from Monday, September 12 rather than the Tuesday after Labor Day. In terms of where publishers are making their biggest investments, the momentum continues last year’s shift to nonfiction. Overall […]
People: Young Named Canongate Chairman, and More
Former ceo of Orion (and before that ceo of Hachette Book Group USA) David Young will become chairman of Canongate Books in January. He takes over from Christopher Bland, who is retiring after 22 years in the position. CEO Jamie Byng says in the announcement, “David Young is someone who I have admired and respected for almost as long as I have been in publishing. To have David succeeding Christopher makes me and the rest of the Canongate board both reassured and excited.” At Dystel & Goderich, Michael Bourret has been made a partner and the agency is changing its […]