Once again, we are able to include children’s literature in our annual process of tabulating the consensus Best of the Best Books of the year. Drawing on a slightly smaller group of 18 selective sources in all, this year the data yielded more middle grade picks than in the past (including a nonfiction book, Gary Paulsen’s memoir), with a natural group of top titles there and in young adult, and with a long roster of picture books appearing on the same number of lists: Top Middle Grade Books of the Year The Legend of Aunti Po, Shing Yin Khor Starfish, […]
Archives for December 2021
Bookselling: Boston’s I AM Books Reopens
I AM Books in Boston has reopened in a new location the North End, after closing for a year due to the pandemic. The new space is more than three times the size of the original store, which first opened in 2015.
2021: The Year In Legal News
A busy legal docket this year involved antitrust suits, embezzlement, copyright infringement, and misconduct by government officials. The suit brought by the Department of Justice to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition drew the most attention within the publishing world and is headed to an August 1, 2022 trial date, while former governor Andrew Cuomo was investigated for ethical breaches in writing his memoir. Elsewhere, a legal battle between former agency partners dragged on the entire year, still leaving many authors and others waiting to be paid. In January, literary agent Peter McGuigan filed suit on behalf of himself and the […]
Corporate: Lagardere Publishing Raises Profit Expectations, and More
Following “decade high” earnings in the first half of the year, Lagardere Publishing said in a release that the division’s “strong sales momentum and product mix” will raise profits “in a more favorable manner than anticipated in the context of the health crisis.” They now expect full-year operating margin of “around 13.5 percent” for the year, up from a previous expectation of 12 percent. For comparison, in 2020 they had operating margin of 10.3 percent, with recurring EBIT of €246 million on sales of €2.384 billion. Through the first nine months of 2021 publishing sales were up 9 percent; if […]
Bookselling: John W. Henry Invests In Harvard Book Store, Politics & Prose Owners Hires Labor Counsel
John W. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Globe and Fenway Sports Group (which owns the Red Sox) has invested in Harvard Book Store. The initial investment will be directed to “renovation projects for the existing bookstore” and updating the bookstore’s website “to provide a leading-edge e-commerce experience, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of Harvard Book Store.” Future investments will go toward “other projects currently in planning stages to enhance the bookstore’s presence in Greater Boston’s literary landscape.” Henry said in a release, “We hope that our involvement will enable Harvard Book Store to build upon this legacy to better […]
Obituary: Eve Babitz
Eve Babitz, 78, author of memoir Eve’s Hollywood and novels including Sex and Rage and L.A. Woman, died on December 17 at U.C.L.A. Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications of Huntington’s disease.