Barnes & Noble ceo James Daunt wrote to employees with what he intended as an “extremely honest, straight-forward and unvarnished representation of the situation.” Cutbacks are already underway at the head office, both in personnel and expenses, as part of “substantial reductions in cost.” He notes, “Everything is about trying to support and sustain stores.” So far “customers are proving loyal to us and clearly appreciate that we remain open. Our sales have declined, but well within what we need to remain profitable.” Kid’s book sales “have improved” and “obviously online is doing exceptionally well” but other areas have suffered, […]
Status: Penguin Random House Withdraws from Book Expo and Book Con
Though Book Expo officials have been saying this week that they still plan on convening in late May as scheduled, Penguin Random House announced Wednesday after that they do not plan to participate. The company said in a brief statement: “In light of the New York City and State guidance to substantially limit the size of events and number of participants in public gatherings, we regret that we have had to make the difficult decision to withdraw as a participant in BookExpo and BookCon 2020. We will be exploring additional ways to connect with booksellers, librarians and readers going forward.”
Reference: Free Online Book Access for Students and Kids
With schools closing around the world and districts racing to develop remote learning programs, educational publishers, booksellers, and nonprofits are helping families and educators with free offerings. Below we compile updates on collections of digital books for students, both K-12 and higher ed. General reading Scribd The subscription reading and audio site always had a 30-day “free trial” with a credit card on file, but now through this page you can use the site for free without giving them a provisional card. For Kids Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone The first book in JK Rowling’s series is available for […]
Status Reports: Amazon Delays Replenishment of Non-Essentials, Indigo Closes Stores, French Publishers Postpone Releases, and More
Amazon told third-party sellers in the US and EU who use their distribution centers for Fulfillment by Amazon that the company is “temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and ship these products to customers.” They have disabled new shipments and replenishment to their warehouses of other products through April 5 . The notice said, “We are taking a similar approach with retail vendors,” and that is reinforced in a general press release. (In the case of retail vendors for non-prioritized goods, they are […]
Author Donations Back A Second BINC Fundraiser
After garnering donations of over $44,000 during their first matching gift challenge, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation has secured pledges for another $41,000 in matching funds for a new round of gifts. Garth Stein, Tui Sutherland, and Amor Towles have combined their gifts for that match pool. Sutherland says, “I am so grateful for bookstores and the booksellers who have supported me — as an author, a reader, and above all as a mom of two bookworms — so we want to do anything we can to show them our love and support right now, when so many really need […]
Clarity: Penguin Random House Formalizes Open License for Online Story Time and Classroom Read-Alouds
Responding to community needs and inquiries, Penguin Random House formally stated on Tuesday that it is “permitting teachers, librarians and booksellers to create and share story time and read-aloud videos and live events,” according to publicly posted guidelines. Teachers and educators providing distance learning in a virtual classroom setting can conduct story time or read-aloud videos with PRH books through closed educational platforms (such as Google Classroom, Schoology, Edmodo and Discovery Education.) Videos posted to YouTube must be designated as “unlisted” when uploading, and then can be linked to from within a closed educational platform. The permission lasts until the end […]