Heather Kelly has joined Abrams Children’s as senior designer. Previously she was senior designer at Sterling Children’s. At HG Literary, Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts was promoted to vp, foreign rights, and Rhea Lyons was named director, film/TV rights. Controversial Nobel prize laureate Peter Handke‘s originating publisher Suhrkamp prepared a lengthy document, “intended mainly for the benefit of foreign publishers of Handke’s work who had found themselves, like Suhrkamp, in an uncomfortable position as a result of Handke’s record of downplaying Serb atrocities against Muslims in the Bosnia war.” But “Suhrkamp’s rambling defense has not received positive reviews from” the German and Austrian […]
Archives for November 2019
Anonymous Whistleblower Squeals to Congress — On Amazon Antitrust Allegations
The House Judiciary Committee’s rambling inquiry into Amazon’s business practices may have flushed out a tattle-tale merchant of scale articulating allegations of a valid antitrust accusation against the company. Or at least that is Bloomberg’s read of the 62-document: “It accuses Amazon of ‘tying’ its marketplace and logistics services together, an antitrust violation in which a company uses dominance in one market to give itself an advantage in another market where it’s less established.” Importantly, the merchant alleges that Amazon’s own fulfillment services are more expensive than competitors’ — and slower — which forces sellers to raise prices, harming consumers. […]
People, Etc.
Tammy Cabot has been promoted to vp & director, specialty retail sales at Penguin Random House, to lead a newly unified cross-company specialty retail effort, serving non-book retailers of all sizes and interests. Tiffany Liao has been promoted to senior editor at Holt Children’s. Carrie Hannigan and Josh Getzler have renamed their agency Hannigan Getzler Literary, following the departure in September of co-founding partner Jesseca Salky. At least 10 people were laid off at Bustle, including senior books editor Cristina Arreola. Washington Post book critic and associate editor Carlos Lozada was elected to the Pulitzer Prize board (as was New Yorker editor […]
Lawsuit Against Media Men List Creator Hits a Wall
Stephen Elliott’s lawsuit against Media Men list creator Moira Donegan appears to be on life support, after Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara denied his request to order defendant Moira Donegan to unmask the Jane Does who Elliott claims defamed him — info she has already said she doesn’t have. Judge Bulsara said that there was no cause, given that there was already a fully briefed motion, as well as an amended complaint, ready for Judge Lashann DeArcy Hall to rule on. Even if Donegan was served discovery, Judge Bulsara said, there was little reason to think she would produce the same […]
Soft Quarter at Harper and A Big Loss at News Corp.
News Corp. reported fiscal first quarter sales on Thursday afternoon, with a soft quarter at HarperCollins. Sales of $405 million were down $13 million, or 3 percent, with foreign exchange costing $5 million in the period. EBITDA fell much further, down to $49 million, from $68 million a year ago (which had been a time of unusually “robust profit growth”), blamed on “the different mix of titles.” Digital sales fell 5 percent in the period, comprising 22 percent of “consumer revenues” (which were $387 million). The results were worse for parent company News Corp., where sales fell 7 percent to $2.34 […]
Earnings News: Indigo Sales Fall Again; LSC Announces Two More Plant Closures
At Indigo, Q2 sales for the period ending September 28, 2019, declined to $203.4 million (CA) compared to $216.3 million for the same period last year, a decrease of 6 percent. The operating loss was ($20.455 million) from ($19.125 million) last Q2. On the earnings news, the stock was down slightly to $4.30 a share at 11 a.m., down about 2 percent from close. Comparable retail superstore sales for the quarter decreased 7.4 percent, while small format stores decreased 5.7 percent. As for product mix, print gained slightly as a percentage of sales, moving to 59.5 percent of sales, from […]