Hachette Book Group has started limited “Phase 1 openings” of their offices in Boulder, CO and Philadelphia, PA and will start the same next Monday in Boston and New York, but ceo Michael Pietsch emphasized to employees in a letter that it provides “only for people with a strong desire or need to be in the office, and daily attendance in each location is restricted to 10-15 percent of office capacity.” Beyond those first steps, he wrote, “We do not have any specific plans or timeline to move to further reopening phases at any HBG location at this time. Our […]
Archives for August 2020
Parneros and Barnes & Noble Make Final Arguments Before Judge Rules on Summary Judgement
In an August 6 phone conference, attorneys for Barnes & Noble and BN’s former ceo Demos Parneros presented final arguments on the bookseller’s motion for summary judgment dismissing two of the three claims against them before Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who replaced John G. Koeltl for unstated reasons in February. The motion, which aims to throw out Parneros’ claims that BN defamed him and failed to act in good faith and fair dealing when they terminated him in July 2018, had been fully briefed when the case was reassigned, and then was delayed by the pandemic. The hour-long conference, conducted […]
People, Etc.
Pronoy Sarkar has been promoted to editor at St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Allison Sundstrom has been promoted to associate art director, children’s at Sourcebooks. Nicole Lyons has been promoted to manager of operations at Wayside Publishing. Events The ALA has announced that its 2021 Midwinter Meeting, scheduled for January 22-26 in Indianapolis, will take place virtually due to COVID-19. ALA president Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. said in the release, “In the last few months, we have successfully pivoted our delivery to present the Virtual Event in June and ALA’s Holding Space tour series this summer. Though we very much hoped […]
Harper Sees Profits Rise On Small Sales Decline, But Finishes Behind Previous Year
HarperCollins’ parent company News Corp. reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings on the Thursday. The publisher saw sales decline only 3 percent, down by $12 million to $407 million. As with Simon & Schuster’s report in the morning, Harper increased earnings even as sales fell, with EBITDA of $47 million, compared to $43 million a year ago. The company said the earnings rise was “primarily due to cost savings and the mix of titles.” Sales were supported by “a great performance from our children’s division,” with books for children in high demand during the lockdown. Digital sales rose 26 percent in […]
Simon & Schuster Profits Rose, As Sales Fell 8 Percent
ViacomCBS reported second quarter earnings on Thursday morning, with publisher Simon & Schuster recording sales of $200 million for the period, down 8 percent from $218 million a year ago. But expenses were also lower so profits (OIBDA) rose, to $38 million, up from $35 million a year ago. The company said the 8 percent decline in the topline was “primarily driven by lower print book sales as a result of the impact of COVID-19, partially offset by growth in sales of electronic and digital audiobooks.” (That’s roughly in line with the 10 percent decline in the quarter reported this […]
People, Etc.
Publisher of Harper Business Hollis Heimbouch has been promoted to senior vice president. Beth Bugler has been promoted to creative director at The Experiment. At Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull, Lena Moses-Schmitt and Sarah Jean Grimm have each been promoted to senior publicity manager. Westwood Creative Artists has formed a management committee “to ensure the continued success and long term viability of the business,” comprising Jackie Kaiser, Hilary McMahon, Michael Levine, John Pearce, and Bruce Westwood. Sarah Anderson has joined VIZ Media as director, publishing sales. She was previously client publishing director at Simon & Schuster UK. Imprints Post Hill Press’s Bombardier Books […]