Three weeks after it was formed, the special committee of the Barnes & Noble board that is evaluating “strategic options,” including a possible sale of the company, has hired advisors. Anthony Magro and John Kimm at Evercore are the financial advisors, and Baker Botts is legal advisor. Evercore had advised the company in 2013 when Len Riggio planned to take the bookseller private (until he withdrew). Evercore also advised the separate Barnes & Noble Education in 2017 when they purchased MBS Textbook Exchange from the Riggio family. On Tuesday, Amazon Books opened its 18th location in Marina Del Rey, CA — their third store […]
Archives for October 2018
People, Etc.
At Scribner, Sarah Goldberg has been promoted to associate editor; Sally Howe to associate editor; and Julia Lee McGill to publishing manager. Eliza Swift has joined Sourcebooks as senior editor for Fire and Jabberwocky. Most recently she was editor at Albert Whitman, and she previously worked for Alloy Entertainment. At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Jessi Smith has been promoted to assistant editor for Simon Pulse; Jen Ung moves up to senior editor for Simon Pulse; Sally Hosokawa becomes assistant editor for Simon Spotlight; Sarah Jane Abbott has been promoted to associate editor for Paula Wiseman Books and Beach Lane Books; and Amy Beaudoin move up to associate marketing manager, education & library. Tara de […]
Bloomsbury Shows Modest Six Month Gains, Lead by Adult Trade
Bloomsbury announced half-year results for the period ended August 31, 2018, with overall revenue up 4.4 percent to £75.3 million, an increase of £3.2 million over the same period last year. Adjusted profit before tax — which excludes a major increase in exceptional costs in the period — was modest at £2.9 million, though up 13 percent from £2.5 million during the period last year. Adult trade was the big performer, with sales rising £2.9 million to £15.9 million, due in part to renewed interest in the late Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. Meanwhile, the bigger Children’s division declined £.6 million to £31.1 […]
Appeals Court Once Again Supports Publishers Over Georgia State In Copyright Infringement Case
There is yet another twist in the long-running copyright infringement against Georgia State University by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and SAGE Publications (in which actual costs were shared by the Copyright Clearance Center and the AAP). First brought in 2008, and first ruled on in 2012, on Friday the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals yet again overruled the District Court judge and remanded the case back for further consideration. This is the second time the Appeals court has reversed the lower court’s ruling, in a situation where the original judge clearly wants to favor GSU and the Appeals court […]
Briefs: S&S to Close Touchstone
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing president Jonathan Karp announced Monday that Touchstone will be eliminated at the end of the year, with its titles for 2019 and beyond reassigned to the Atria and Gallery lists. That decision was made in the wake of Susan Moldow’s forthcoming retirement. “Touchstone’s front list frequently overlaps with our other adult publishers, particularly Atria and Gallery Books,” Karp writes, “and I believe that going forward we will be best served by integrating Touchstone’s talented staff within these imprints.” Starting in January, executive editor Matthew Benjamin, associate editor Kaitlin Olson, executive editor Trish Todd will move to […]
People, Etc.
Erwin Koning will join HarperCollins Holland as publisher/editorial manager on December 1, responsible for the overall trade publishing program for HarperCollins Holland. He previously held positions as editor, commissioning editor, and publisher, at Meulenhoff Boekerij and Bruna. Koning succeeds Martine Koelemeijer, who served as interim publisher/editorial manager since May 2018. Miranda Martin joined the Columbia University Press as editor for life and physical sciences at the beginning of October, taking over from Patrick Fitzgerald, who retired in June. She was assistant editor for the linguistics list and assisted on the life sciences list at the University of Chicago Press. In […]