Pearson told investors it expects operating profit for the year to be at the very bottom of the original guidance range of £590 million to £640 million, as part of its 9-month trading update. The reduced expectations are due to weaker than expected sales in the US higher education business, which represents 25 percent of sales. US higher ed revenues dropped 10 percent over the prior year’s period, which Pearson attributed to “a significant industry wide acceleration of print attrition as channel partners and students turn away from print products more rapidly than anticipated.” As a result, Pearson now anticipates […]
Archives for September 2019
People, Etc.
Lara Jones has been promoted to associate editor at Emily Bestler Books. Megan Rudloff has been promoted to associate publicist at Atria. Conor Mintzer joins Holt as associate editor. He was most recently at Flatiron Books. Sylvie Carr has founded The Carr Agency. She was previously an agent at Fletcher & Company. Idea Architects has launched a new division called Idea Architects: True focused on “inspirational and compelling memoirs and true stories that have the power to change hearts and minds.” Author Lara Love Hardin will develop and represent the books for the new unit. Author Janet Evanovich is switching agents […]
Judge Threatens Publishers and Audible with A Quick Trial, With No Immediate Ruling On Injunction
The publishers motioning to enjoin Audible’s new Captions feature left federal Judge Valerie Caproni’s courtroom Wednesday without an answer, as the judge delayed any decision. Toward the end of the two-hour conference, Caproni offered both parties a different kind of swift justice: Go straight to trial on the case, with expedited discovery and Audible holding off of a launch until post-trial. “I’ll give you a trial by the end of the year,” she said. Neither party was excited about that option. Audible’s attorney quietly said she’d have to consult with her client. The publishers’ attorney, Dale Cendali, made a passionate […]
People, Etc.
Cindy Sipala has been promoted to executive editor at Running Press. Mary Reynics is moving Ballantine Bantam Dell as executive editor, reporting to Jennifer Hershey. She was previously at Crown, and will continue to edit select titles for Crown Forum. Robert Van Kolken joins the Hachette Audio staff as senior producer. He was previously with Macmillan. At Scholastic, Michael Moccio has joined as coordinator, licensing & brands. He was previously assistant editor at Boom! Studios. Paul Moore has joined as associate director, metadata. He was previously manager, publishing & planning (operations) at Disney Publishing. Veronica Mang has joined as junior designer, […]
People, Etc.
Rakia Clark has joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as senior editor. She was most recently senior editor at Beacon Press. Mabel Hsu has been promoted to editor at Katherine Tegen Books. Stephanie Cooper has joined Dutton and Plume as marketing director. She was previously marketing director at Harper Collins. Maria Whelan has joined Princeton University Press as promotions manager overseeing publicity for history, philosophy, and sociology books. She was previously a senior Publicist at Dutton. Peter Robinson is leaving Rogers, Coleridge, and White to “begin a fresh chapter in his life” after over 30 years as an agent. He has been […]
Authors Guild and AAR File Brief Endorsing Publishers’ Suit Against Audible
For only the second time, the Authors Guild and the AAR (Association of Authors’ Representatives) joined together to file an amicus brief in support of the seven publishers suing to block Audible Captions. They say the “feature presents a significant threat to the rights and livelihoods of authors and their representatives…. Audible seeks to bypass its glaring infringement of authors’ and publishers’ rights by arguing that this is a contract issue, not a copyright issue and that, in any event, its misappropriation qualifies as fair use.” Significantly, their legal argument is that “Audible completely ignores the Copyright Act’s explicit recognition […]