Subscription service Scribd has resumed providing unlimited access to their catalog of books, audiobooks and other materials to most participants, while curtailing the benefits for the “small fraction of readers who read a high-volume of books,” according to ceo Trip Adler. After launching with unlimited reading of ebooks in 2014, and adding unlimited access to audiobooks later that year, the company had cut back to one audiobook per month in mid-2015 and curtailed unlimited reading in early 2016, to help “achieve long-term sustainability.” Adler says, “We decided to go back to unlimited because it works better in terms of providing a […]
Archives for February 2018
People, Etc.: Enderlin Is Sole SMP Publisher As Richardson Becomes Chair
Building on the transition from mid-2016, Jen Enderlin becomes the sole publisher at St. Martin’s Press and will have all of the division’s publishing units reporting to her. Enderlin will report to Don Weisberg, as SMP president Sally Richardson takes the new role of chairman, also reporting to Weisberg. He writes: “Sally Richardson has been at SMP for 48 years, and has come to represent all that is good about the company. In her new job, Sally will help chart the future for St. Martin’s Press. She will continue to read and buy books and will bring her vast experience […]
February iBooks Picks
iBooks has listed its favorites for February: An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle Daphne, by Will Boast Down the River Unto the Sea, by Walter Mosley Educated, by Tara Westover Force of Nature, by Jane Harper The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert I Am, I Am, I Am, by Maggie O’Farrell The Line Becomes a River, by Francisco Cantu The Monk of Mokha, by Daver Eggers Mrs., Caitlin Macy Only Killers and Thieves, Paul Howarth Suprise Me, by Sophie Knisella The Unforgotten, by Laura Powell The Wedding Date, […]
People, Etc.
At Ballantine Bantam Dell, Emily Hartley and Elana Seplow-Jolley have both been promoted to associate editor. Leonicka Valcius has joined the Transatlantic Agency as assistant agent. Valcius was most recently a title analyst at Penguin Random House Canada. Suzanne Rafer, executive editor and director of cookbook publishing at Workman Publishing, retired on February 2 after almost 44 years with the company. Executive chair and president of Workman Publishing Carolan Workman said, “Workman without Suzanne is unimaginable…. It’s impossible to overstate how much she’s contributed to this company. Always with good nature and humor and love.” Obituary Former longtime Barnes & Noble director of merchandising Bob Wietrak, 69, […]
Amazon, Apple and Google Continue Strong Growth
Big tech had another big quarter, with Amazon, Apple and Google all reporting strong results on Thursday afternoon (following strong reports from Microsoft and Facebook). There are very few publishing-related insights to glean, particularly following Amazon’s recategorization of their sales streams. Amazon remains the laggard in profits, but gets the most attention for a big quarterly increase in net income (thanks in part to tax changes); pre-tax income was $1.87 billion, with the growing AWS alone generating $1.35 billion in operating income. Despite Amazon’s improved income, the company is still run more for the benefit of employees than shareholders. Stock-based […]
People, Etc.
Penny Makras has been promoted to associate director of marketing for Harper Wave and Harper Business. Harper Christian announced a number of promotions across several imprints. John Kramp has been promoted to svp, group publisher Bibles, while Doug Lockhart takes on the role of svp, Bible marketing and new initiatives. At Zondervan, Melinda Bouma has been promoted to publisher. Finally, Daniel Marrs moves up to publisher, Thomas Nelson Bibles. Lathea Williams has joined Workman as publicity manager. Most recently, she was assistant publicity manager at Sourcebooks. Nicole Counts has been promoted to associate editor at One World. At Scholastic Trade, Keith Fretz has […]