French book publisher La Martiniere Group (which also owns Abrams in the US) and French media company Media-Participations (which specializes in comics and graphic novels, but also publishes magazines, has a film/tv production arm, and a digital media group focused on videogames) announced Thursday that they are in merger discussions. Both companies are privately owned. Herve de…
Scholastic Returns to Normal Sales, with Higher Loss
Scholastic reported fiscal first quarter sales through August 31, returning to a normal quarter after last year’s boost from the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Sales were $189 million — down from $283 million a year ago, but close to the $191 million in the same quarter two years ago. The company…
People, Etc.
Byrd Leavell has moved to UTA. Waxman Leavell Literary Agency will revert to its original name, Waxman Literary Agency. Azia Cheng has been promoted to ceo of Penguin Random House North Asia, reporting to Markus Dohle, effective immediately. She has been sales director there since 2008 and succeeds Helen Duan, who departed last month. The…
Sales Starts: Clinton Tops a Big Week for New Titles
A wave of big books landed last Tuesday, with Hillary Clinton’s What Happened registering the biggest opening week, topping Bookscan’s chart with just under 168,000 print copies sold across the outlets they track — which publisher Simon & Schuster notes is “the biggest first week sales recorded by any author for a hardcover nonfiction title…
Awards: Whiting Will Support Nonprofit Literary Magazines
The Whiting Foundation announced a new initiative to support small nonprofit literary magazines through a program of awards, matching grants, and organizational help. Director of literary programs Courtney Hodell says in the announcement, “When literary magazines suffer, literature feels it, and when they thrive, so do writers and readers. We hope to bring more attention…
Ward and Egan Lead National Book Award Fiction Longlist
The National Book Awards announced their final longlist on Friday morning, for the fiction award. (Asterisked titles have not been released yet.) Independent presses fared well, with 5 titles in contention: Elliot Ackerman, Dark at the Crossing (Knopf) Daniel Alarcón, The King Is Always Above the People: Stories* (Riverhead) Charmaine Craig, Miss Burma (Grove Press)…