Barnes & Noble Education reported earnings for the first fiscal quarter of 2021 ending August 1, with sales of $204 million, compared to $320 million in last year’s quarter, a decline of 36 percent. The net loss steepened to $(46.7) million, compared to $(32.2) million last year. With the majority of campus bookstores closed all quarter, retail sales decreased by $116 million compared to the prior year, with comparable store sales of approximately $107 million, down 42.8 percent. “Physical textbook sales declines were partially mitigated by the shift to digital textbook products,” said the release. Meanwhile, furloughs and other cost […]
Archives for September 2020
Wiley’s Earnings Rebound, with Slight Increase in Sales
Wiley reported first quarter sales for the period ended July 31, with sales of $431 million, compared to $423.5 million last year’s period, an increase of 2 percent. EBITDA was $81.8 million, compared to $57.5 million, up 42 percent and outperforming analysts expectations. Education Publishing sales were $64.1 million, down 2 percent from last year’s period. Consistent with the long-term trend, there were “continued market pressures on print books.” The release noted, “Digital content and courseware growth accelerated while print textbooks continued to decline sharply.” Professional Learning declined 21 percent, as COVID-19 closures impacted in-person corporate training. In Education Publishing, […]
People, Etc.
Andrea Joyce has joined Duckworth Books to handle its North American rights sales. She was most recently rights director at Canongate. Shanna Hogan, journalist and true crime author of books including Dancing With Death and Picture Perfect: The Jodi Arias Story, died on September 1, following a tragic accident. (She suffered brain damage after stumbling, hitting her head and falling into the family’s pool last week.) Hogan was working on a new book at the time of her death. Her editor Charles Spicer said “Shanna Hogan was an intrepid journalist, a talented writer, a natural podcast star – and an […]
Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Tops October Indie Next List
The ABA named V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue as its No. 1 pick for October. Also on the list is Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind, excerpted and available for download now in our Buzz Books 2020 Fall/Winter sampler. The rest of the picks: Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots White Tears/Brown Scars, by Ruby Hamad The End of the Day, by Bill Clegg A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik Keep Moving, by Maggie Smith Rough House, by Tina Ontiveros Stakes Is High, by Denzel Smith Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse Here We Are, by Graham Smith Dear […]
People, Etc.
Nachie Marsham has joined IDW Publishing as publisher. He was previously executive editor at Disney Publishing Worldwide. Heather Gold has been promoted to editor for classics and ancient world at Yale University Press. Forthcoming Pope Francis‘ LET US DREAM will be published by Simon & Schuster on December 1, 2020, in dual English and Spanish editions. The book begins by exploring the COVID crisis and “explains why we must—and how we can—make the world safer, fairer, and healthier for all people now.” It is “the fruit of many exchanges between Pope Francis and his biographer, Austen Ivereigh, in the weeks […]
Rabe Says Bertelsmann Is Interested In Bidding for Simon & Schuster
Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times, “We would, of course, be interested in Simon & Schuster.” He noted, “We’ve been the most active player on the consolidation of the book publishing market in the last 10 years.” Any potential purchase would be subject to review, and would add 30 percent or more to Penguin Random House’s US revenues and unit sales. But Rabe does not believe they would be blocked by the government: “We looked at this and we don’t think it is an issue. If you look at the market holistically, particularly the strength of Amazon, and […]