The American Booksellers Association’s annual Town Hall meeting at Book Expo always provides an interesting window into the issues on booksellers’ minds, and this year’s version was focused squarely on practical matters. First and foremost, booksellers wanted to know what happened to two promised initiatives from the past: Affordable group health insurance for booksellers and […]
Archives for May 2019
Representation and Hope for the Future at the Children’s Author Breakfast
Book Expo wound down on Friday with Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush moderating the children’s breakfast, and promoting their new picture book Sisters First. Barbara told the audience that they conceived of the picture book before their 2017 memoir of the same name, but that that “after waking up the day after election […]
Scholastic Sharply Reduces Earnings Guidance
Ahead of formally reporting results for their big fiscal fourth quarter, which ends May 31, Scholastic announced a sharp reduction in their estimates of earnings for the year. The fourth quarter is “typically” when they earn most of their operating income for the year. Shares fell over 10 percent in the first hour of trading […]
In Sweden, Bonnier and Storytel’s Standoff Over Audio Compensation
Swedish publisher Bonnier and the leading digital audiobook service in Scandinavia Storytel have been in a dispute since April — when Bonnier started withholding their new release audiobooks from Storytel, most prominently with the release of Camilla Lackberg’s latest novel. In a posted FAQ, Bonnier said they were retaliating after Storytel started “hid[ing] all the […]
Book Expo Panels: Retailers, Breakfast Authors and More
As predicted, this year’s Book Expo is effectively a one-day show played out over three days. After a quiet start on Wednesday, today at least has attendees filling the very wide aisles, spacious lounges, empty booth slots and open meeting rooms at a convention that is more profoundly than ever a downgraded, modest shadow of […]
People, Etc.: Book Co-Authored with Tony Robbins Is Dropped
Tony Robbins‘ longtime publisher Simon & Schuster declined to comment earlier this month when BuzzFeed first dropped their expose alleging inappropriate sexual advances with employees and more. But now the planned July release of THE PATH: Accelerating Your Journey to Financial Freedom, by Peter Mallouk, writing “with” Robbins as co-author, will not be published. A […]