Audible could issue as many as 12 million free audiobooks and reimburse up to 8.4 million customers for overdraft fees to fulfill the settlement terms of two recent class action lawsuits. The plaintiffs in Grant McKee et al. v. Audible, Inc. and Eric Weber and Bryan Rees v. Amazon.com, Inc., and Amazon Services LLC claim that Audible failed to communicate to customers that unredeemed credits are lost when an account cancels, and that gift membership credits expire when the gift membership does. As well, plaintiff McKee argued that the credits are a form of gift certificate, which federal banking laws requires to […]
Archives for April 2019
People, Etc.: Naples to Lead Hachette Books, and More
Mary Ann Naples will join Hachette Books as vice president and publisher and “will oversee its growth as a major commercial nonfiction imprint,” along with overseeing the “ongoing integration” of the Hachette Books imprint with Da Capo Press and Lifelong. She was vice president and publisher at the Disney Book Group. (Naples’ second job in publishing in the early 90s was editor at Hyperion; that list was acquired by HBG in 2013 and became the foundation of Hachette Books when it was created in 2014.) CEO of Hachette Book Group Michael Pietsch says in the announcement, “Mary Ann Naples is […]
Briefs
New Ventures Arthur A. Levine announced details about his new venture at the Bologna Book Fair. Levine Querido is a partnership with Holland’s Querido (an imprint of Singel). Levine says: “I’m starting this company with enormous optimism about the importance and potential for making outstanding books in an independent environment. We can give something of enormous value to children. And to have an ally in Querido for whom I have such profound admiration, is a great blessing.” He adds, adds: “Great stories come from everywhere. I want my new company to seek them in the beautiful diversity of America, and […]
Lagardere Publishing Still Looking to Acquire
Lagardere published their full annual report, which provides broader guidance for 2019 — including a strong reiteration that the publishing division is still looking to build their English-language publishing operations through an acquisition of scale: “As part of the strategy defined for the Group by Arnaud Lagardère, Lagardère Publishing plans to position itself for the potential acquisition of an English-language publisher – yet to be identified – to increase its weight in that linguistic market, where a large part of the economic future of global publishing is being played out.” More broadly, the publishing group “is expected to resume growth,” […]
Blake’s The Guest Book Tops May Indie Next List
The ABA named Sarah Blake’s The Guest Book as its No. 1 Pick for May’s Indie Next List. Also on the list are Juliet Grames’ The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna and Kim Michele Richardson’s The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Read excerpts of all three in our 2019 Spring/Summer Buzz Books sampler. The rest of the list: Normal People, by Sally Rooney Rough Magic, by Lara Prior-Palmer Lanny, by Max Porter Furious Hours, by Casey Cep Out East, by John Glynn Courting Mr. Lincoln, by Louis Bayard Southern Lady Code, by Helen Ellis Rules for Visiting, by Jessica Francis […]
People, Etc.
Joe Davidson is joining Black Dog & Leventhal as editor, starting April 8. Previously he was an editor at Rizzoli. Acquisitions Charleston, SC-based Arcadia Publishing has an agreement to acquire “the significant majority of [the] assets” of New Orleans-based Pelican Publishing, which has a list of over 2,000 titles. The transaction will close in May. Arcadia ceo David Steinberger says in the announcement, “It is a publisher that fits well with Arcadia’s mission, which is to connect people with their past, with their communities and with one another.” Pelican president and publisher Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton, whose family has owned the […]