As part of a broader “strategic alliance” in both the US and Japan between Walmart and Rakuten, Kobo will provide ebooks, digital audiobooks and ebooks devices to Walmart in the US. The two announced “an exclusive retail alliance that will enable Walmart to begin selling eBooks and audiobooks, as well as offer Rakuten Kobo eReaders, in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com in the United States starting later this year.” Walmart will be Kobo’s “exclusive mass retail partner for the Kobo brand in the US. Walmart.com will sell Kobo edooks and audiobooks through a Walmart/Kobo co-branded app. Walmart indicates that […]
Archives for January 2018
People, Etc.: ICM Acquires Sagalyn
ICM Partners has acquired The Sagalyn Agency after a four-year alliance with the Washington, DC based literary agency. Raphael Sagalyn becomes a partner at ICM Partners, effective immediately. Co-heads of the publishing division at ICM Esther Newberg and Sloan Harris said in the announcement, “The acquisition of The Sagalyn Agency gives us an important presence in Washington, DC, at a time when the world’s eyes are on the city moment by moment and the opportunities in publishing are boundless. Strategic value and culture are our primary concerns as we continue to carefully grow ICM Partners, and in The Sagalyn Agency, much like Headline Media […]
Apple Books Changes
Bloomberg looks at some changes on the way from Apple. In an early developer version of iOS 11.3, Apple is changing iBooks to Books; as they have done with music and podcasts, the service will be known as Apple Books going forward. The iBookstore (soon just Apple Bookstore) will be redesigned to “look more like the new App Store launched last year, according to people familiar with its development. The revamped app in testing includes a new section called Reading Now and a dedicated tab for audio books, the people said.” What happens in that audio books tab is the […]
People: John Sterling Steps Back to Focus On Politics
Longtime Macmillan editor-at-large John Sterling “has decided to step back from full-time work for the company so he can devote most of his time to starting a new career in politics,” Holt publisher Steve Rubin writes in a memo. Starting April 1 Sterling will work part-time for the publisher “and edit a small number of his authors and acquire only the occasional book.” Sterling joined the company as president and publisher of Holt in 1998, and transitioned to editor at large in 2009. Most recently, he edited Michael Wolff’s FIRE AND FURY. Rubin writes, “Please join me in applauding John for […]
Barnes & Noble Press Replaces Nook Press
Barnes & Noble’s self-publishing platform has officially changed from Nook Press to Barnes & Noble Press (after changing in 2013 from PubIt! to Nook Press). Most notably, they have increased the royalty offered for higher-priced ebooks; titles listed at $10 or more, up to $199.99, now qualify for a 65 percent royalty, up from 40 percent previously. eBooks can now be offered for pre-order up to 12 months ahead of publication. On the print-on-demand side, they have added more trim sizes, along with glossy cover and color printing options.
Fire and Fury Sales Build
As the supply chain catches up to demand for Michael Wolff’s FIRE AND FURY, print sales recorded by Bookscan continue to mount. In the second full week on sale, the hardcover moved 324,000 copies — well ahead of the approximately 192,000 copies sold to consumers in the prior week. We asked publisher Henry Holt for an update on their reprints and shipments, which they said would be forthcoming soon. (Update: Later Wednesday morning, Holt said in an announcement that they have sold 1.7 million copies across all formats. There are now 1.5 million hardcovers in print after 22 printings.) Ingram’s […]