China Literature, China’s largest online publishing and ebook platform, reported results for the year ended December 31, 2019. Sales for the company were RMB8.348 billion ($1.197 billion) in 2019, a 65.7 percent increase over the prior year. Operating profit was RMB1.194 billion ($171.1 million), a 7.1 percent increase. More than half those sales, however, $634 million in all, were from IP operations, which were mostly earned by New Classics Media (NCM), the major Chinese TV and film production studio the company acquired in October 2018 to create downstream opportunities from its content library. Sales from IP operations increased 341 percent year-over-year. […]
Archives for March 2020
Some New Titles On Sale Today
In a special section of PublishersMarketplace we regularly list notable forthcoming releases by month, currently looking out through May. Some release dates are going to shift further into the year, but for now we want to help shine a light on titles publishing today. (Fiction is listed first; the nonfiction sections starts with David Daley.) A Conspiracy of Bones Reichs, Kathy Scribner The Shape of Family Gowda, Shilpi Somaya Morrow The Boy from the Woods Coben, Harlan Grand Central The Red Lotus Bohjalian, Chris Doubleday The Eighth Girl Chung, Maxine Mei-Fung Morrow Less Than a Moment Havill, Steven Poisoned Pen […]
Status Reports: HBG Supports Indie Home Delivery, Jeff Kinney Book Postponed, and More WFH and Cancellations
Hachette Book Group launched an indie home delivery initiative to provide extra margin to “any independent bookstore that offers local delivery of books to homes or businesses within their community done directly by a store staff member or other contracted local delivery service.” Between March 16 and May 15, bookstores will receive an additional discount of 5 percent off MSRP on any delivered HBG title once receipt of the credit request form is received with no minimum order to be eligible for the rebate. Abrams postponed the release of Jeff Kinney‘s ROWLEY JEFFERSON’S AWESOME FRIENDLY ADVENTURE, from April 7 to August […]
People, Etc.: LBF Director to Leave, and More
Director of the London Book Fair Jacks Thomas will step down and leave Reed Exhibitions this summer after 7 years running the show. She had intended to announce her departure at this year’s LBF before the event was cancelled. At Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Stephanie Fletcher has been promoted to senior editor. Jenny Xu has been promoted to associate editor. Liz Kossnar has joined Little, Brown Children’s as a senior editor. Awards The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, by Rick Atkinson has won the $50,000 New-York Historical Society Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize. The […]
Powell’s and McNally Jackson Have Substantial Layoffs
After closing their physical stores due to the spread of COVID-19, Powell’s Books reportedly announced temporary layoffs that dismissed roughly 85 percent of the 400 workers represented by ILWU Local 5, according to the union. Citing “the rapid, significant downturn in sales in the recent weeks and days,” human resources director Michelle Afroso wrote to employees that the store “needs to take to immediate steps to scale back the company.” She said, “If sales continue to decrease in the future, we will need to take further action. We will try to avoid additional layoffs by reducing the size of the […]
McNally Jackson Lays Off Employees “Facing Down A Massive…Loss In Revenue”
McNally Jackson laid off a significant portion of its staff on Monday, employees of the store reported, as the company closed its retail stores to visitors. Children’s and YA buyer Cristin Stickles posted a list of 33 employees who have been let go, writing, “Most @mcnallyjackson employees (anyone at the store less than 4 years) were (temporarily) laid off today, to be hired back at an indeterminate date. PTO through this week, health care through this month. Please support these incredible booksellers directly.” Multiple other accounts confirmed the details of the layoffs. The store then confirmed online, “We are paying […]