We will move to our as-needed holiday schedule from here–which means we’ll have a newsletter tomorrow if there is anything to report, or we will leave your mailbox alone if there is nothing that needs saying. For PublishersMarketplace.com members we’ll be back some time next week with a catch-up issue of the newsletter as merited, most likely by Thursday — and as always, our team will be clipping news to the Automat, posting deals, accepting job listings and more.
Archives for December 2022
The Very Best of the Best Books of 2022
The votes are all in and we’re ready to celebrate the consensus very best books of 2022, based on a broad collection of lists. Hernan Diaz’s Trust emerged as both novel of the year and overall book of the year, with Gabrielle Zevin and Celeste Ng’s novels close behind. Ed Yong’s An Immense World led from start to finish as the top nonfiction book of the year, though by a modest margin, with a number of other titles close behind. The big publishers dominated the lists as usual, with nine titles from PRH — but Canada’s Drawn & Quarterly makes […]
Ingram to Shut Down Aerio
Aerio, the innovative platform that enabled anyone to sell books easily online and brought Ingram Content Group their first direct-to-consumer option when they acquired the company (founded as Aerbook) in 2015, will close as a freestanding service at the end of January 2023. The company told customers in a “service alert” sent by email on Tuesday. Our queries to a company representative were not answered. Aerio provided the technical foundation on which the better-known Bookshop.org was built. And the advisory note sent to Aerio customers suggests, “Another great selling solution is Bookshop.org!” Aerio storefront sites will shut down on January […]
PRH UK Gives Lowest Paid Staff 9% “Pay Awards”
PRH UK has given its staff earning £30,000 and under a 5 percent raise as well as a one-time payment of 4 percent, to combat inflation. Those earning £30,000-£50,000 will get a 5 percent raise and a 1 percent one-time payment; those in the £50,000-£80,000 a 4 percent raise and a 1 percent payment; and those earning over £80,000 will receive a 2 percent raise. HR director Val Garside told The Bookseller, “Our annual pay review discussions with the union were detailed and positive, and we are pleased that they have accepted our company offer. We understand that the economic […]
Decision to Close Bookforum Is “Unrelated to Penske Media”
Following the announcement that Bookforum will shutter after its winter issue, an article in The New Yorker reports that Penske Media recently acquired only sister publication Artforum, and the company says the decision to close Bookforum “is unrelated to Penske Media.” Bookforum announced its closure on December 12, just one week after PMC bought Artforum. As the magazine puts it, “Acquiring the art magazine without its scrappier literary offspring seems to have secured Bookforum’s demise.” Kate Koza, associate publisher of Artforum told The New Yorker, “The publication of Bookforum was no longer financially possible without Artforum’s income and efficiencies.” In the […]
Hachette Announces “30/30 Strategy” to Reduce Carbon Emissions
Hachette Livre has announced a plan to reduce its carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030. This will include: “a 30% reduction in the proportion of books that are shredded, a 26% reduction in carbon intensity of paper manufacturing, an 18% reduction in carbon intensity of book printing and binding, and 1% and 1.5% annual reductions in upstream and downstream freight respectively.” The strategy was developed with the help of French consulting firm Carbone 4, which previously helped the company reduce emissions in France by 20 percent. The new plan will apply to all Hachette Livre companies worldwide. They write in […]