Even with the many changes in spring pub dates that we have been tracking at publun.ch/pubdatechanges, April remains packed with new books coming to market. As we have done the past couple of weeks, we are ready to call attention to a number of notable titles publishing today in need of attention and support. Our sample Bookshop and Aerbook store carousels provide easy displays of: 30 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-april-7 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Fiction_Publishing_April_7/177704 13 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-april-7 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_April_7/177703 11 new children’s/YA books https://bookshop.org/lists/new-children-s-titles-publishing-april-7 https://aerbook.com/store/publishers_lunch/New_Childrens_Titles_Publishing_April_7/177705
Status: More on Macmillan’s Layoffs, Barnes & Noble Redesigns Stores, WH Smith Will Sell More Shares
Further to the 5 reported layoffs at St. Martin’s (primarily from Thomas Dunne Books), last week’s companywide job cuts at Macmillan also saw the elimination of 5 positions at Farrar, Straus, including executive editor Colin Dickerman, svp, director of special projects Jeff Seroy, and vp, sales and marketing, Picador Darin Keesler. Another 3 positions were eliminated at Holt, including executive editor Paul Golob and senior editor Jonathan Cox. Subsequent disclosures also included Diana Gill, Melissa Frain, Diana Pho and Alison Bunis at Tor. Given that a spokesperson said last week, “We are doing layoffs across the organization,” that suggests that […]
Tracking Pub Date Changes
As you know, we already spend a lot of time identifying and listing notable forthcoming books over a three month horizon — so at PM, we have monthly lists for April, May and June. Recently, we have used that data to amplify new releases on a weekly basis. And tomorrow we’ll issue lists of over 50 titles releasing on April 7 alone. As a result, that means we’re also tracking pub date changes in detail. Today we’re sharing that data in a separate spreadsheet, via publun.ch/pubdatechanges. We show you the original pub date as well as the new date, arranged […]
Macmillan Starts Layoffs, Reduces Some Employees’ Pay; Barnes & Noble College Furloughs “Majority” of Staff
On Thursday afternoon, Macmillan Publishers announced that it would “implement a temporary reduction in pay for employees, as part of a larger Holtzbrinck cost-saving initiative.” They company is also “implementing a job reduction action and hiring freeze.” A spokesperson tells us, “We are doing layoffs across the organization,” but declined to specify any numbers. Among those layoffs, within St. Martin’s, is Thomas Dunne, “a legendary figure in book publishing” who has worked for the company since 1971, and began his imprint in 1986. St. Martin’s publisher Jennifer Enderlin noted that there will be “no more Thomas Dunne Books titles to […]
Assistance: Patterson Helps Indie Stores In New Campaign, PEN Increases Grants to Writers
James Patterson is making a personal donation of $500,000 to help save independent bookstores across the country, as part of a new fund to be administered by BINC (Book Industry Charitable Foundation) that is raising money to support stores rather than individual booksellers in need. Patterson is joining with Reese Witherspoon, as well as the ABA, in a new awareness and fundraising campaign, #SaveIndieBookstores, running through April 30. BINC will distribute the pool of funds raised to eligible independent bookstores “by May 15.” Apparently those grants will be available to ABA member stores only. The site indicates, “Funds received are […]
Bertelsmann Completes Acquisition of Pearson’s Final 25% Stake In Penguin Random House
As of April 1, Bertelsmann finalized their purchase of Pearson’s remaining 25 percent share of the Penguin Random House joint venture, for $675 million. (As a reminder, the enterprise value of that minority stake, including PRH’s debt, is $917.5 million.) Having paused a share buyback program that aimed to return some of that money to shareholders after spending £167 million, Pearson now says it “will retain the proceeds from the disposal…to further strengthen our short-term financial position” during the current crisis. Pearson previously held two seats on the PRH board, which are likely to be placed or retired. For now, […]