Ingram Content Group announced Friday a “streamlining of how we run and position our distribution brands.” In January, they will “sunset” the original Ingram Publisher Services brand as a standalone business. IPS clients will be shifted to one of the other four distribution lines: Consortium, Ingram Academic, Two Rivers and Publishers Group West. Ingram Publisher Services will continue as the overarching name for the entire distribution group. VP and GM of Ingram Publisher Services Sabrina McCarthy says in the announcement, “IPS, Ingram’s original distribution brand, has been a well-respected part of Ingram Content Group since 2005, and served as the […]
Archives for September 2022
Ingram Invests in NFT eBook Company
Ingram Content Group has closed a seed funding round for NFT ebook company Book.io. The startup puts ebooks and audiobooks on the blockchain, where they can be sold as NFTs. The company says in a release that Ingram’s print-on-demand service Lightning Source will work with Book.io “to bundle NFT eBooks with bespoke printed physical books” in a process they’re calling “Mint & Print.” Ingram president and ceo Shawn Morin, said, “Ingram Content Group is excited to join with Book.io in pioneering new supply-chain models for eBook delivery that take advantage of the security of blockchain technologies, the promise of Web […]
Obituaries: Mark Laframboise, Marybeth Peters
Chief book buyer at Politics & Prose Mark Laframboise died this week. According to the store’s Facebook page, he joined Politics & Prose as a bookseller nearly 25 years ago and was promoted to the top buying position 11 years ago. He served as president of the board of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association. On Facebook, owners Brad Graham and Lissa Muscatine wrote, “It is hard to imagine not seeing Mark hunched at his computer, with a publisher rep at his side, going through his buys for the next season. It is hard to imagine the floor without Mark […]
Hachette Employees to Return to Office on Nov. 1 (For Two Days A Week)
Hachette Book Group will end its return-to-office pilot program, which allowed staff to defer in-person work, on October 31. November 1 will be the start of the Hachette Hybrid program, in which staff is required to be in the office two set days per week, ceo Michael Pietsch announced in a memo to employees. “In doing this, we are following updated guidance from the CDC and state and local authorities in our locations,” ceo Michael Pietsch wrote. “The CDC acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but there is significantly less risk of severe illness compared to earlier in the […]
Judge Dismisses Two Antitrust Suits Against Amazon and Big 5
A federal judge ended two longshot lawsuits against Amazon and the industry’s five biggest publishers, upholding recommendations from a magistrate judge last month. US District Judge Gregory Woods dismissed the cases without prejudice, and the plaintiffs can refile if they choose. One suit was brought in the name of Illinois bookseller Bookends & Beginnings, accusing the publishers of colluding with Amazon to offer special discounts on print books. Federal Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo contended that collaboration on terms is both legal and logical. The other lawsuit, brought by class action specialists on behalf of consumers, alleged a tortured theory that […]
Harper Union Files Unfair Labor Practice Charge
The Harper Collins Union shared on social media that it has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, after the company did not respond to a request for information during bargaining. “We strongly believe the Board has to agree with us that the company’s refusal not only violates the labor law, but also gets in the way of us working toward an agreement,” the union said.