Archives for September 2021
WH Smith Stock Jumps On News of Activist Investor
Shares of UK retailer WH Smith have gained almost 10 percent in less than two days this week, following the news that Los Angeles-based activist investment firm Causeway Capital increased their holdings. Causeway now owns 11.84 million shares in WH Smith, just over 9 percent of the company, making them the single-largest shareholder. For now, everyone is spreading peaceful and happy messages about the investment. Director Jonathan Eng told the Sunday Times, “We are firm believers in the strategy and management team of WH Smith, which is why we first invested last March and why we have continued to add […]
Opening Sales for Rooney in the UK
After lots of anticipation and pre-orders, Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You? recorded opening week print sales in the UK of 46,000 units, making it the top-selling title for the week, according to Nielsen Bookscan UK.
Pearson Sues Chegg For Copyright Infringement In Selling Textbook Answers
Pearson Education filed a lawsuit yesterday against Chegg, claiming copyright infringement. The complaint claims that the website Chegg Study sells answers to end-of-chapter questions from 9,000 textbooks, including Pearson’s, “using precisely the same unit, chapter, and topic orders and naming conventions for the questions employed in the textbooks.” Subscribers to Chegg Services, which includes Chegg Study, grew 67 percent to 6.6 million last year, and the company reported $644 million in net sales in 2020, up from $410 million in 2019, according to SEC filings. The complaint states, “Textbook questions are intended to be part of the learning progression. Educators […]
Tomorrow at Noon: AMA with Oprah Book Club’s Editorial Director, Leigh Haber
Join Leigh Haber, editorial director for Oprah’s Book Club and the books director for O Quarterly and Oprah Daily, online at this Publishers Marketplace link tomorrow September 15th at noon Eastern. The latest guest on our Discuss forum, Leigh will answer your questions about book clubs and more. A reminder that these are straightforward typed message board conversations. No cameras, no sound, no zooming, no separate apps required. Use the “reply” button to type your questions or comments, and Leigh will post back.
New Books Publishing September 14
Colson Whitehead, Joy Williams, Liane Moriarty, and T.C. Boyle lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes books from Gabrielle Union, Carmelo Anthony, and Nathaniel Philbrick. Also out today are works by Katie Lattari and James Kennedy, excerpted in our Buzz Books 2021: Fall/Winter sampler, and Ali Hazelwood, available in our Buzz Books 2021: Romance sampler. 19 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-september-14 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_September_/219822 20 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-september-14 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_September_/219823 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 […]