Sourcebooks will launch an Ebony Magazine Publishing imprint, “to showcase the extraordinary work of Black authors and celebrate Black stories.” Planning to publish four to eight titles a year, it starts with BLACK HOLLYWOOD: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments by photographer Carell Augustus in October 2022, with a foreword by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker. Fiction will follow in November, from actor, producer, director, and author Eriq La Salle, with his originally self-published Martyr Maker series. “Unfortunately, there has historically been a blatant underrepresentation of authors of color in the thriller/suspense genre,” La Salle said. “The exciting collaboration between two well […]
Maryland Claims eBook Lending Law Is About “Consumer Protection” Not Copyright, But Clearly Seeks to Remedy Lack of Digital First Sale Doctrine
The state of Maryland filed their reply to the AAP’s motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s new library ebook law while the matter is litigated. The state claims the interference with Federal copyright law is incidental and accidental rather than primary: The AAP’s complaint, they write, “rests on the mistaken assumption the Maryland Act is a copyright law and not a regulation of unfair trade practices. State copyright laws are preempted by federal law, but State laws restraining unfair trade practices are not…. The Maryland Act, by contrast, is a consumer protection statute regulating reasonable terms regarding licensing […]
Bookselling: Barnes & Noble Opens Replacement Store Outside of Cincinnati
Originally expected in November 2021, on January 19 Barnes & Noble will open a new Cincinnati-area store at Deerfield Towne Center in Mason. It takes the place of a store two miles away in Waterstone Center [no irony] that closed last August.
People: Desser to Leave Random House
SVP and editor in chief at Random House Robin Desser “has decided to leave…to pursue her dreams,” effective April 1, publisher Andy Ward announced. “This news is bittersweet, but after talking to Robin, I fully appreciate and support her choice.” He notes, “she’ll continue to work with some of her, and our, cherished authors.” Desser moved to Random House in early 2020, after a long tenure at Knopf. She said: “I am profoundly grateful to my authors, and to my treasured colleagues both here and around the world for the privilege, pleasures, and joys I have been lucky to experience […]
Data Says Library eBook Lending Is Up, Costs Are Down
In contrast to lobbying efforts in some state legislatures, the dominant service provider for library ebook lending reports that the market is thriving. Overdrive notes that in 2021, “With a focus on equity of access to books for all, libraries achieved all-time records for circulation while lowering the average cost-per-title borrowed.” Senior manager for public library content Karen Estrovich says in one press release flexible pricing models are an important element: “Top performing libraries utilized simultaneous access, cost-per-use and community reading programs to maximize access by increasing the number of available books in their collections.” Among the factors, American Rescue […]
HBG to Expand Indiana Warehouse
Hachette Book Group received local approval to expand their warehouse in Lebanon, IN. The company will invest almost $21 million in a 164,000-square-foot expansion that will also include ancillary office space. Construction is due to begin later this year, and the company tells PL the expected completion date for the construction is April 2023. When HBG announced their deal to acquire Workman Publishing last August, ceo Michael Pietsch had indicated to us, “It will take us at least a year or two to expand our warehouse to accommodate” the Workman distribution.