ViacomCBS — rebranding as Paramount Global — reported fourth quarter and full-year results for the period ending December 31, with year-end sales at Simon & Schuster of $993 million, up 10.2 percent from last year’s record high of $901 million. Sales for the quarter were $268 million, up 6.3 percent from $252 million in the same period last year, with operating income of $42 million. Operating income was $213 million for the year, up significantly from $141 million in 2020 and $127 million in 2019. CEO Jonathan Karp said, “It was an extraordinary year all around” with “growth in every […]
Archives for February 2022
People 2/15
Susette Brooks has been promoted to director of strategy, diversity, equity and inclusion at Penguin Random House, and will continue her responsibilities overseeing multicultural marketing.
Obituary: Valerie Boyd
Valarie Boyd, 58, author of Wrapped in Rainbows and editor of the forthcoming Gathering Blossoms Under Fire by Alice Walker (to be published by Simon & Schuster on April 12), died on February 12. She was working on an anthology titled Bigger Than Bravery: Black Resilience and Reclamation in a Time of Pandemic. Dana Canedy, svp and publisher of Simon & Schuster said, “We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Valerie Boyd. Boyd was a tremendous talent who touched so many with her generous spirit and deep commitment to storytelling.”
New Books Publishing February 15
Marlon James, Sheila Heti and Sarah J. Maas lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes new work from Tiffanie Drayton and Garrett M. Graff. Also out today is Our American Friend by Anna Pitoniak, excerpted in our Buzz Books 2021: Fall/Winter sampler. 17 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-february-15 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_February_/222206 9 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-february-15 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_February_/222207 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 sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form […]
March Library Reads
Library Reads announced its March list, with Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto as its top pick.
Jenna Bush Hager Has First-Look Deal with Universal for Book Adaptations
Jenna Bush Hager has entered into a first-look production deal with Universal Studio Group, Variety reports, focused on optioning books for development. She indicates she is about to hire an executive “from the film and TV worlds” who “can really help create a company that stands by these missions” of finding new authors from diverse backgrounds. It’s unclear the extent to which Bush Hager will focus on optioning on her “Read with Jenna” selections or other titles from her broad reading; she says she read 100 books last year looking for her monthly picks. She says, “I think it will […]