On Wednesday Donald Trump announced a 90 day pause on most of the administration’s new tariffs, along with an increase in the tariffs on goods from China. (China’s retaliatory counter tariffs are 84 percent.) Correcting the information yesterday sourced from the ABA post’s, Canada has not yet levied any tariffs on books imported from the US, after soliciting comment and hearing appeals from the book industry. Books had been listed as a possible category for tariffs on a Canadian notice of intent to impose counter-tariffs.
Book Are Spared For Now, But….
Documentation indicates that standard printed books are exempt from the extensive tariffs imposed by executive order last week. But there are tariffs on imported paper, including that used in book printing. As book printer Sheridan had advised last month, “Tariffs will likely lead to some cost fluctuations across imported printing materials. Some publishers may wonder if switching to U.S.-sourced materials is a viable option. While this is a consideration, past trends have shown that increased demand for domestic alternatives typically leads to price shifts in those materials as well.” (Ironically, tariffs on imported book paper could make printing in other […]
First Quarter Deals Were Strong, As Big Fiction Reports Continued to Set New Records
On the heels of a soft fourth quarter in 2024 (-3.2 percent) capping a record year (+3.6 percent overall), PM deal reports show renewed strength in the first quarter of 2025. As was the case a year ago, early dates for the London Book Fair and Bologna Book Fair helped strengthen the pre-fair deal counts in the quarter, which could lead to a softer second quarter. Nonfiction maintained its comeback pattern, at least in total deals, rising one percent, as adult fiction remained the growth engine, gaining another 4.5 percent over last year’s record period. Children’s deals increased for the […]
DOGE Furloughs the Entire Staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences For 90 Days
DOGE placed the roughly 75 employees who comprise the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences on paid “administrative leave” for up to 90 days. A letter from the agency’s director of human resources told employees they would not be allowed on the premises during the leave, and their email accounts are suspended. “Please understand this action is not punitive but rather is taken to facilitate the work and operations of the agency,” the letter claims. The workers are represented by the AFGE Local 3403 union, which says the action came after a “brief meeting between DOGE staff and IMLS leadership.” […]
Penguin Random House Has Record Sales for 2024
Bertelsmann announced full year results for 2024, with sales at Penguin Random House hitting a new record of €4.917 billion, up 8.5 percent from €4.532 billion. Revenues rose “primarily due to higher sales prices, a broad range of titles across all genres and growth in audiobook sales,” with “positive business performance, especially in the United States,” also driven by the continuing “expansion of its portfolio” (acquisitions). Operating EBITDA grew as well, to €739 million, up from €664 million in 2023, when profits had been flat. The “earnings growth [was] due to both revenue and savings achieved largely through the reorganization […]
Former Tattered Cover CEO Will Try Again As A Denver Bookseller
Kwame Spearman, who failed to turn around the Tattered Cover bookstores as ceo and left to pursue a career in politics, will try again as a bookseller. Spearman purchased 9,000-square-foot building at 1700 Humboldt St. in Denver’s City Park West with partner Rich Garvin, a San Francisco philanthropist, for $2.9 million. His redevelopment plans include a 3,500-square-foot bookstore, called Denver Book Society, which he hopes to have open by spring 2026. Spearmen tells Business Den, “Books that you can easily find on Amazon, you can find on Amazon. You come into our store and have a best-in-class staff opportunity that […]