After lengthy speculation, Amazon confirmed that it will indeed open a full online store in Australia. The company said in a statement, “The next step is to bring a retail offering to Australia, and we are making those plans now. We are excited to bring thousands of new jobs to Australia, millions of dollars in additional investment, and to empower small Australian businesses through Amazon Marketplace.” They launched a Kindle store in Australia in 2013, and as of a 2015 report, were thought to sell at least $250 million to $300 million a year in physical books exported to Australian customers. […]
Archives for April 2017
Houghton to Layoff Hundreds of Employees, Take More Charges
As previewed just about a month ago, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt updated investors in an SEC filing on Tuesday on their planned restructuring. Their “organizational design change actions,” which will be “substantially complete” by the end of May 2017, are expected to reduce their employee count “by approximately 8 percent to 10 percent across [their] various locations.” As of the end of 2016, HMH had about 4,500 employees, so that suggests layoffs of roughly 360 to 450 people in all. They now say that the various changes planned will result in total charges of approximately $41 million to $45 million. Severance and other termination […]
Briefs: Ferguson to Holiday House, Grisham on Tour, and More
Margaret Ferguson will join Holiday House Publishing in May as publisher of a Margaret Ferguson Books imprint, reporting to editor-in-chief Mary Cash. It’s the first time Holiday House has created an eponymous imprint. Ferguson was publisher of a Margaret Ferguson Books at Farrar, Straus Children’s. Ferguson says in the announcement, “This is a wonderful and unique opportunity for me to be involved with a small publishing house that is on the move and expanding their publishing program in interesting ways.” Chris Kepner has launched The Kepner Agency, after nine years with Victoria Sanders & Associates as an agent and director of international […]
People, Etc.
Emily Angell has left St. Martin’s Press. Chris Kepner is no longer affiliated with Victoria Sanders & Associates. Foreign rights inquires for the agency may be directed to Jessica Spivey. Heather Rose won Australia’s Stella Prize for The Museum of Modern Love (Allen & Unwin). Patricia Spears Jones won Poets & Wrtiers’ $50,000 2017 Jackson Poetry Prize. The Authors Guild is rolling out a Guide to e-Publishing on a chapter-by-chapter basis, as part of a broader new online Writers’ Resource Library. Editorial manager at Editora Rocco in Brazil Vivian Wyler, 63, died on April 16, after battling cancer for many years. She was about […]
People, Etc.
Former president of F+W Media Sara Domville will reunite with her old boss, joining America’s Test Kitchen under ceo David Nussbaum on April 24 in the new role of chief revenue officer. She “will be responsible for driving revenue growth in a number of key company divisions including sponsorship, licensing, underwriting and book sales.” Domville left F+W last July. Bookseller and publisher Donald Weiser, 89, died on April 12. He worked alongside his father at the Samuel Weiser Bookstore in New York and led the publishing company Samuel Weiser, Inc., which was sold in 2000 and became Red Wheel/Weiser. He was a founding member in 1975 […]
People, Etc.
Beth Ryan has been promoted to senior director of sales for ministry services at Harper Christian. With the recent closing of Tyrus Books, the imprint’s founder and publisher Ben LeRoy is leaving Simon & Schuster. Andrea Hall has been promoted to associate editor at Albert Whitman. Eden Sugay has joined Chronicle Books as trade show coordinator. Previously, she was gift sales and support representative at Ingram. National Book Foundation director of marketing and special projects Sherrie Young is leaving the organization today. Forthcoming Stephen Colbert‘s MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS, a book based on the segment of the same name from his television show, in which […]