The inexpensive, small Nook tablet that we reported on at the end of October based on various leaks was officially announced by Barnes & Noble on Wednesday morning. The seven-inch Android tablet will indeed sell for $49.99, making the it “the company’s most affordable Nook ever,” and it will include full access to the Google Play store. BN says the devices will be available in stores as of November 25 (“Black Friday”). While the device gives BN a competitor to Amazon’s cheapest Fire tablet, at the same Amazon announced their own Black Friday deals over the week leading up to […]
Archives for November 2016
People: Gibson to Grove Atlantic, and More
George Gibson, whose job as publishing director at Bloomsbury US is being eliminated, will join Grove Atlantic as executive editor in January. CEO Morgan Entrekin says in the announcement that “everyone at Grove Atlantic is thrilled.” He notes, “George is admired here and around the world as a brilliant, gracious, passionate publisher and editor. His independent publishing experience at David Godine, Walker and Bloomsbury makes him a perfect fit for us. In addition, George is a longtime friend and I’m excited to welcome him as a colleague.” Gibson adds, “I have such longstanding admiration for Morgan and his colleagues, for the […]
People: Hoffman to Succeed Makinson as Penguin Random House Chairman
Penguin Random House chairman John Makinson will retire on December 31 after three and a half years at the position and more than 15 years with Penguin and PRH. He will be succeeded by Philip Hoffman, formerly chief corporate finance and strategic development officer at Pearson, on January 1, 2017. Hoffman has served on the PRH board of directors since the company’s inception and has been chairman of the audit committee. Bertelsmann chairman and ceo Thomas Rabe said of Hoffman in the announcement: “From the beginning, he has closely supported Penguin Random House’s development as an equally expert and responsible advisor. […]
Simon & Schuster to Acquire Adams Media
Simon & Schuster announced internally on Monday afternoon an agreement with F+W Media to acquire their trade publishing division Adams Media, as F+W continues to pare back on some its business lines. Adams Media vp, books and content Karen Cooper will serve as vp, publisher of the line for Simon & Schuster, reporting directly to ceo Carolyn Reidy, and staff will remain based in Avon, MA. (F+W president Sara Domville, who had overseen Adams, left the company in July.) Reidy tells employees the acquisition is expected to close before Thanksgiving, noting internal teams “are already hard at work to assure a smooth […]
Whitehead Wins (Amazon’s Book of the Year)
Ahead of tomorrow night’s National Book Awards, Amazon has named Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad as their book of the year. (While it’s early days, the book is already the clear leader in our aggregation of best book of the year lists, as well.) Also on their top 10, however, is another NBA fiction candidate, Jacqueline Woodson’s Another Brooklyn. Young People’s Literature nominee Nicola Yoon also makes the Amazon list. There were some technical glitches when the “best books of 2016” package first went live — omitting Zadie Smith’s Swing Time from the top 20 carousel (even though it was listed in […]
Riggio Signals Another Poor Quarter, But What Comes After the Election is Critical
Barnes & Noble executive chairman Len Riggio appears to have indicated that the bookseller’s fiscal second quarter results through the end of October, due to be announced on November 22, will disappoint investors again: He tells Crain’s, “The preoccupation with the election was hurting sales,” adding, “we expect a bounce-back.” Riggio advises, “You won’t turn a switch and see the whole retail business coming back, but it hit a bottom and it’s starting to turn up.” Bear in mind that the bar for the chain for the second quarter is already set pretty low, since a year ago BN reported disappointing sales […]