The 55,000-square-foot facility on Long Island that has housed a plant for printer Coral Graphic Services has been sold and the company — part of Bertelsmann Printing Group — needs to vacate and shut down operations. According to a WARN notice filed with New York State, 85 jobs will be eliminated between now and the closing of the plant on October 29. That location has served as their main office as well. Coral Graphics specializes in book components, including as covers, inserts, and jackets.
Harper Reports Strong Fourth Quarter, Record Full-Year Sales
News Corp announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2026, with fourth quarter publishing sales at $566 million, up $72 million (or 14.6 percent) from a year ago, “driven by higher physical and digital book sales, which included strength in general books, the UK and children’s publishing.” Digital sales were up 12 percent in the period, with audiobook sales growing 16 percent, “driven by strong growth at both Spotify and Audible.” EBITDA of $57 million was up $7 million from a year ago, with foreign exchange contributing $3 million. Costs rose in line with sales, with the […]
S&S CEO Greeley: “The challenge ahead of us and the opportunities ahead of us are really independent of who owns us”
Simon & Schuster ceo Greg Greeley spoke to David Steinberger on the Open Book podcast, discussing his first 100 days on the job and more. “At this stage of my career, I really wasn’t looking for a job. What I was looking for was a mission,” Greeley said. “Books…remain one of humanity’s most enduring and important technologies. We preserve ideas across generations. We inspire people. We help understand one another. Books challenge us. And the opportunity to help steward an institution that has served authors and readers for more than a century was really just too compelling to pass up. And frankly, for a […]
Publishers Ready for Settlement Windfall
As we suggested early on, while some authors will receive nice checks as a result of the landmark Anthropic copyright infringement settlement, the big winners will be publishing companies, which stand to collect many hundreds of millions of dollars. Following formal approval of the settlement earlier this week, Bloomsbury is the first (publicly traded) publisher to issue a release celebrating their expected profit. With 14,087 Bloomsbury titles covered by the settlement, the company’s fifty percent share of proceeds will yield just over $22 million.
Richard Robinson’s Son Objects to Probate of His Father’s Will; Asks for Jury Trial
Following a lengthy and often contentious discovery process, the late Richard Robinson’s son John Benham (Ben) Robinson formally objected to the probate of his father’s will in a New York Surrogate’s Court last week, asking for a jury trial. The longtime chair, ceo and controlling owner of Scholastic died suddenly in June 2021. His will, last revised in 2018, named Iole Lucchese as his primary heir. Lucchese took over as chair of the Scholastic board shortly after Robinson’s death, and was supposed to inherit Robinson’s controlling A class shares in Scholastic, which means that control of the company hangs in […]
Thomson Reuters Sells Controlling Share In Print Book and Printing Business to KKR
Thomson Reuters announced Tuesday a deal to form a joint venture with private equity firm KKR, which will pay approximately $500 million for a 51 percent stake in Thomson’s Global Print business. That business comprises Thomson’s legal and tax information books, sold in print and through their ProView platform, as well as the company’s book printing division. Thomson Reuters will retain “full editorial control over its content portfolio.” The joint venture will “hold an exclusive license to distribute the content in print and on ProView, Global Print’s eBook platform.” Thomson Reuters stock has suffered this year, as investors fear AI […]