Nicole Counts has been promoted to senior editor at One World, reporting to Christopher Jackson. Kate Hensley has joined Princeton University Press as publicist. She was previously publicist and scholarly books marketing manager at the MIT Press. Iain MacGregor is joining Headline as nonfiction publisher. He was previously publishing director at Simon & Schuster UK. Bookselling Neil Van Uum’s Booksellers on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati will close in the “near future,” after seven years in business. “We made a valiant effort, but economics dictate that we can no longer operate the store at a loss,” Van Uum said. “We will be […]
Archives for October 2019
HMH Trade Sales Down for Q3, While Company Seeks New Lenders
On the heels of announcing significant layoffs and news of improved sales and billings for the company overall, HMH reported full results for Q3. In its trade, or Books & Media business, both sales and EBITDA were down for the quarter, largely due to $16 million received a year ago from re-licensing some George Orwell titles for paperback. Books & Media sales for the quarter were $48.1 million, down from $66.6 million in 2018, with segment adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 million, down from $15.5 million. Net income was $4.9 million, versus $12.1 a year ago. Though the company expects a […]
Holt and Holtzbrinck Agree Not to Pay Snowden Anything, for A While
Publisher Henry Holt and two German-based Holtzbrinck companies agreed in an order submitted along with the US Attorney General’s office to a Federal Court in Virginia that they would not pay out any proceeds to Edward Snowden or his representatives earned by his book Permanent Record prior to April 1, 2020. (For now that simply aligns with a normal royalty accounting schedule, though that is not mentioned in the order.) The submitted file does indicate that Holt licensed rights to the book from the German-based HIM Holtzbrinck 37, which is the originating contractual party with Snowden.
Negotiations Between Publishers and Audible Continue
Audible’s attorney reported to the court on Wednesday as promised, telling Judge Valerie Caproni that the publisher plaintiffs “responded yesterday” to Audible’s previous offer “with a counter-proposal, which Audible is now considering.” Once again, attorney Nicole Gueron asks the court to withhold ruling on the motions for a preliminary injunction (or a dismissal) pending the continuing discussions, promising another update on or before November 14.
Quad Will Exit the Book Printing Business, As Stock Plunges On Poor Results
The big news in Quad’s third quarter earnings release was ceo Joel Quadracci’s announcement: “We have made the strategic decision to divest our book business.” Having cancelled their planned merger with the leading book printer LSC Communications, Quad has apparently chosen not to engage in what the Department of Justice had called their “intense rivalry.” Quadracci claims, “We are selling the business to ensure continued capacity for our clients and sustainable employment for our employees, and an ongoing presence in the communities where the book plants are located.” Their book printing business generates a little over $200 million a year, […]
People, Etc.
Flatiron Books editorial director Noah Eaker will join Harper on December 2 as vp, executive editor, reporting to Doug Jones. Tim O’Connell has been named senior editor at Knopf, after 14 years at Vintage/Anchor. Jim Hanas has been promoted to senior director of digital sales and marketing at Harper Collins, taking on oversight of the digital sales department and audiobook marketing, while continuing to lead audience engagement efforts. David Briggs will join Macmillan Children’s as vp, managing and production editorial on November 18. He was most recently vice president/executive managing editor at Penguin Children’s. Alexis Minieri has been promoted to […]