Barnes & Noble Education reported earnings for the third fiscal quarter ended January 30, with sales of $412 million, compared to $503 million last year, a decline of 19 percent. While sales were better than analysts’ expectations, earnings were worse, with net loss of $(48) million, down from $(2) million last year. The loss included pre-tax impairment of $27.6 million, “on certain store-level long-lived assets in the retail segment.” Retail sales decreased by $70.3 million in the quarter, or 15.4 percent. Comparable store sales were down 20 percent overall, with the biggest decline in trade books, down 61 percent. Textbook […]
Archives for March 2021
Dohle Addresses the S&S Merger, Publishing During COVID, and More
Penguin Random House ceo Markus Dohle gave a virtual talk hosted by the Atlantic Council on Monday afternoon, speaking about the pending merger with Simon & Schuster, the success of PRH during COVID, the role of the publisher in our divisive political climate, and more. Asked whether the merger between S&S and PRH potentially jeopardizes freedom of speech and democracy in the US, Dohle said, “I want to be as careful as possible. We are now in the regulatory process. And in very good discussions with the Department of Justice.” However, he noted that, “The book industry is by far […]
New Books Publishing March 9
This week, Walter Isaacson’s timely history of the CRISPR gene editing is among the nonfiction releases, alongside a bevy of new fiction, including Imbolo Mbue’s How Beautiful We Were, Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code, and Thomas Grattan’s debut Recent East. Amanda Dennis’s Her Here, an existential detective story, was excerpted in our Spring/Summer Buzz Books, downloadable here. 17 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-march-9 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_March_/219096 6 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-march-9 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_March_/219097 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make […]
People, Etc.
At Bloomsbury, Morgan Jones has been promoted to associate editor; Elizabeth Ellis to assistant editor; Mia Kwon to associate designer, adult trade; Nicole Jarvis to marketing director, adult trade; and Emily Fishman to associate publicist. At Tom Doherty Associates, Laura Etzkorn and Libby Collins have each been promoted to senior publicist, and Giselle Gonzalez has been promoted to assistant publicist. Marc Visnick has joined TKO Studios in the newly-created position of vp of sales and business development. Previously, he worked at Ingram as senior business development manager. Colleen Lindsay joins the company as senior manager, marketing and social media, reporting […]
Former Foundry Agents Lament Continuing Issues
Authors waiting for overdue royalty payments from Foundry Literary have been watching anxiously for news that the agency has secured new bank accounts after City National Bank served notice that it intended to close Foundry’s accounts at the end of February. An author reports they have been told by two people with direct knowledge of the process that the bank agreed to short extensions, with a new deadline to close the accounts of March 15. After attorneys for former Foundry partners Yfat Reiss Gendell and Peter McGuigan told the court on February 16 that, “The parties have made significant progress,” […]
Pearson Sales and Profit Down in 2020 as Management Predicts a Return to Growth
Following on their January trading update, Pearson announced full earnings for 2020. Sales were £3.4 billion, a decrease of £472 million, or 10 percent, as reported in January. Of the decline, £55m was due to scope changes, and £31 million from negative currency impact. Operating profit was £411 million, up from £275 million, but for 2020 the adjusted numbers are more revealing, since the statutory numbers reflect the £531 million gain from selling the company’s final 25 percent stake in Penguin Random House, which generated a pre-tax profit of £180 million. The year also saw lower restructuring costs, as the […]