The American Library Association’s executive board announced Tuesday that the scheduled June 25 to 30 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago has been canceled. President Wanda K. Brown said, “As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it’s become clear that in the face of an unprecedented situation, we need to make tough choices.” It’s the first time since 1945 that the ALA has not held an annual conference. But Reed Exhibitions is still hoping to hold a delayed Book Expo and Book Con in New York in late July. Simon & Schuster joined PRH and HarperCollins on Tuesday afternoon in announcing […]
Archives for March 2020
McGraw-Hill Cengage Merger Further Delayed As UK Announces Deeper Review
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced March 24 that it would conduct an in-depth review of the planned merger between McGraw-Hill and Cengage. The review, referred to as a Phase 2 investigation, is not expected to conclude before September; meanwhile, competition agencies in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico are also still reviewing the deal. In a report on the update, McGraw-Hill says, “The completion of the merger is subject to a number of conditions, including, among others, the receipt of approval from governmental entities. No assurance can be given that the required regulatory approvals will be […]
Penguin Random House Gained On Foreign Exchange, Acquisitions, And A Little Growth
Bertelsmann reported sales for 2019 on Tuesday, with Penguin Random House showing gains in sales and profits, primarily from the stronger US dollar and a continuing string of acquisitions, plus decent “organic growth” of 1.5 percent. Topline sales of €3.636 billion were up €212 million from 2018, rising 6.2 percent. Operating EBITDA of €561 million was also up 6.2 percent, or €33 million, compared to €528 million a year ago — though here the result was lifted by an accounting change regarding lease expenses that looks to have provided a one-time boost on the order of €28 million. (Per our […]
Bookstore Needs and Relief, and Publisher Layoffs
Ceo of Canada’s Indigo Books Heather Reisman deserves extra attention for her current stance as their stores are closed chainwide, telling the Toronto Star “she is continuing to pay her employees during the shutdown.” Indigo continues to ship online orders, and “when we close 200 stores it has a very significant impact on the company.” She expects stores will have to stay closed longer than initially planned, and is also expecting a need for substantial government assistance: “If it did go on for a couple of months the only response is a massive injection of cash into the system by […]
Free Resources: More Updates
A lot of updates came in to our sharable, free web pages on resources and measures the publishing community is taking. Continue to let us know as you add initiatives and information. Also, publishers, since all of your new educational permissions policies vary slightly, try to post the complete guidelines somewhere on your website so that we can link to them, thanks. How to help booksellers — and authors [http://publun.ch/supportBooksellers] How educators can get publisher permissions [http://publun.ch/permissions] How students can access educational books for free [http://publun.ch/students] Updates from Cambridge University Press, McGraw-Hill, and RedShelf, courtesy of a new resource page from […]
WH Smith Changes Position and Will Close Many of Their Stores
Following Monday’s closure of Waterstones stores across the UK, competitor WH Smith will close approximately 60 percent of their high street bookstores as well. Initially the company resisted closing any locations, with employees complaining about the risks to the media (“It’s putting the general public and ourselves at risk. We don’t want to be there, but we feel like we have to”). But after a televised address by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday night, the chain announced it would close many stores, while keeping open locations that provide Post Office services and other key support functions: “At this critical […]