Firebrand Technologies announced the coming launch of two new products for publishers. Firebrand Flywheel uses a recommendation engine to “strategically select” and then execute titles for timely metadata enhancement. They will start onboarding clients in January. Title Management Lite, also available in January, is a simplified version of their core enterprise service, focused on smaller publishers “with fewer needs.” It still “includes the most important features your team needs to track workflows, manage schedules, and collect and distribute your data,” and is upgradeable to their Enterprise version.
Archives for October 2023
Obituary: Helen Dressner
Helen Dressner, 91, a former sales rep for Random House, died October 25 of a stroke. She joined the company as a marketing associate in 1977, and for the majority of her career, worked as a national accounts sales manager. Kim Hovey, svp and deputy publisher, Ballantine Bantam Dell, writes, “I had the honor of working with Helen for many years, and was always in awe of what a great salesperson she was. Smart, savvy, and always loved to read, discuss, and champion our books. An amazing colleague and friend.”
With Its Stock Languishing, Endeavor Awaits Proposal From Controlling Shareholder Silver Lake to Go Private Again
It took Endeavor multiple attempts before they executed their 2021 public offering, at a modest $24 a share, though private equity company Silver Lake retained a dominant and controlling stake. But the market has been unimpressed, particularly as Endeavor pushed through a merger between their Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment. The stock went from a high of nearly $35 a share at the end of 2022 to less than $18 a share earlier this week. Which led to Endeavor’s announcement Wednesday afternoon that it would explore a sale or sales: “Given the continued dislocation between Endeavor’s public market […]
Scholastic Apologizes, Will Discontinue Separate Book Fair Collection
Scholastic has reversed course regarding their separate, optional case of “diverse books” available for elementary school book fairs. The Share Every Story/Celebrate Every Voice book collection, which featured predominantly BIPOC and LGBTQIA creators and stories, was created in response to pending and enacted book ban legislation around the country. The case did not ship automatically with Book Fair orders, but was available as an add on. After librarians shared news of the case online and Scholastic wrote an explanation, the program drew widespread criticism from authors including Amanda Gorman, Celeste Ng, and Jacqueline Woodson. In a letter to authors and […]
People 10/25
Christine Marshall has been promoted to senior managing editor at Simon Spotlight, Little Simon, and Libros para niños.
People 10/24
Theresa Dooley has been promoted to associate director of publicity at Harper.