Lagardere Publishing reported third quarter sales ending September 30 of 637 euros, down by 1.6 percent compared to last year in absolute terms. (You’ll notice our report likely diverges from others, since the official company release charts results for the nine months of the fiscal year and concludes they are still rising; we actually break out the calculator to look at quarterly numbers). The company does not usually quantify currency effects, but this time around the impact was so significant they couldn’t help themselves, noting that “because Lagardere Publishing generates over 40 percent of its revenues in the dollar and […]
Test Program for Universal Online Catalog
The innovators at Above the Treeline will begin testing an online interactive catalog of books from multiple publishers. The six-month pilot program features books from Chronicle, Harper, Wiley, Penguin, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Thomas Nelson, and Tyndale House. Called Edelweiss, the new interface aspires to let retailers “manage their catalogs easily in a single online library, to view dynamic, enriched content about new titles, and to efficiently integrate orders and bibliographic information back into their point-of-sale systems.” CEO John Rubin explains to BTW that they have tried to redesign the catalog to work as an interactive online product rather […]
People
Joey Paul has joined Faith Words as executive editor. Publisher Rolf Zettersen calls it “a significant milestone” for the line. “He brings key relationships, a strong history of bestsellers and great instincts to our program. It will be a privilege to work with him.” Most recently he was vp of editorial and acquisitions for the spiritual growth and practical living division of Thomas Nelson. A 37-year publishing veteran, he was also publisher for Integrity Publishers and editor in chief for Word. Publishing Trends reports that president of eScholastic Seth Radwell is leaving the company, following the sale of Scholastic at […]
Focus on Penny's Team at Costco
The “cover story” in the current issue of Costco’s member magazine dubs the warehouse clubs “the big little bookstore” and looks at how Pennie Clark Ianniciello and her three assistant buyers have built “one of the top five booksellers” in the country. Carrying only about 200 titles at any given time, they say “it’s not uncommon for Costco to purchase 20 to 25 percent of a new book’s first printing.” Harper vp of sales Jeff Rogart concurs that “Costco is consistently one of our top retailers for total sales and frequently ranks number one or two on individual titles.” But […]
Can Senator Use Campaign Funds to Commission Book?
That’s the basic question Republican Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond put to the Federal Election Commission recently, as his campaign treasurer wrote, “because the issues present in the book are so important and because we believe the book would be an effective gift to potential donors, we wish to utilize either campaign or leadership PAC funds to compensate Senator Bond’s co-author.” The book, The Next Front: What Can America Do to Win over Asia’s Muslims, was originally signed by Simon & Schuster. Bond now has another publisher and apparently needs to repay his original $60,000 advance and compensate his co-author.The Hill
NBCC Lists Again
About a year ago the NBCC started what was going to be a monthly Best Recommended List, which shortly thereafter turned into a seasonal list of Good Reads and then went dormant after spring recommendations. Now they return with a revamped NBCC Reads for fall. The new plan is not so much recommendations about new books as an online English class: “Three times a year, we will pose a question to this group. The results will be posted here at Critical Mass. We will no longer tabulate votes or rank the titles under discussion. Instead, we will simply give an […]