Lonely Planet will layoff a significant number of employees in multiple locations. The company said “its operations in London and Melbourne [will] close almost entirely, with impacts in other Lonely Planet locations around the world,” according to communications manager Adam Bennett. Managing director for publishing Piers Pickard said in an email seen by Books+Publisher that “significant numbers of roles are affected globally.” A source tells the Sydney Morning Herald that “up to 80 people would lose their jobs in Australia, ” with only three people said to be retained there. And “according to Pickard, staff in Dublin, London, Melbourne and […]
Archives for April 2020
Influential Senator Tells Internet Archive They Are Acting Outside of the Law
Reaffirming that no serious or informed person believes the Internet Archive’s self-proclaimed “National Emergency Library” is legal, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on intellectual property, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, sent a letter to IA founder Brewster Kahle. “I am not aware of any measure under copyright law that permits a user of copyrighted works to unilaterally create an emergency act,” Tillis writes. “Indeed, I am deeply concerned that your ‘Library’ is operating outside of the boundaries of the copyright law that Congress has enacted and alone has jurisdiction to amend.” Tillis notes, “I deeply value […]
People, Etc.
Drew Reed will move to Sony Pictures as evp of literary affairs, starting May 1. He has served in a similar role at Fox for 17 years. Jake Bauman continues as vp of literary development, and will report to Reed. Patricia “Patty” M. Wong, city librarian at Santa Monica Public Library, was elected as president-elect of the American Library Association. She will serve as president-elect for one year before taking over as president at the 2021 ALA Annual Conference. At Scribe UK, Sarah Braybrooke has been promoted to publisher and managing director and Molly Slight to editorial director. Both will […]
Briefs: Forthcoming Books, Postponed Pulitzers
Forthcoming Paolo Giordano‘s HOW CONTAGION WORKS will be published in the US on April 14, as an ebook from Bloomsbury and in audio from Penguin Random House Audio. An essay on the coronavirus pandemic that explains how disease spreads and how our interconnectedness will save us is reported to have been shared over 4 million times in Italy, with publication planned in 25 countries around the world. (Rights originate from MalaTesta Literary Agency in Milan.) In the UK, Nosy Crow posted a free digital book on Monday, CORONAVIRUS: A Book for Children, including artwork by illustrator of The Gruffalo Axel […]
Barnes & Noble Warehouse Workers Say Illness Is More Widespread Than Acknowledged
In addition to the five confirmed cases of COVID-19 among employees at Barnes & Noble’s big Monroe, NJ warehouse, the company acknowledged in a recent memo that they “have had nine employees contact us with confirmed cases” of the virus. The first confirmed case of an employee testing positive was back on March 12 by one account (and April 1 by another), which is part of why workers staging a protest Tuesday insisted the company has not done enough to protect them. NJ.com says about 15 employees participated in the protest. Beyond the nine confirmed cases, a representative for employee […]
AAP January Stat Shot Shows Increased Print Sales
AAP’s January stats, from 1,361 participating publishers, show total adult and children’s print sales up slightly, to $365 million, up from $353 million last year, mostly due to continued growth in children’s. Adult print trade sales were just above flat at $232 million, owing to an 8.1 percent increase in trade paperback sales. Mass market was down 20.5 percent, while hardback sales were down 4.4 percent. Children’s print trade sales grew to $133.3 million, up from $122.5 last January (and also revised upward from original reporting of $119.9 million). Adult ebooks declined to $65.1 million, from $69.7 million, or 6.6 […]