On Sunday the NYT ran a story based on “drafts of a manuscript” by former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Within hours of that story going live, Amazon posted a pre-order listing for the book — which had not been officially announced or even confirmed by any of the parties — offering the 528-page THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED, scheduled for March 17 publication. They showed the cover and a brief description from publisher Simon & Schuster, so clearly their listing was based on official metadata, but the publisher declined to answer our questions about how that data was approved […]
John Bolton’s Manuscript Is Leaked, to Underscore Any Testimony Would Support Impeachment Case
Portions of the book manuscript from $2 million patriot John Bolton have been leaked. “Associates” of his indicate to the NYT that “he believes he has relevant information, and he has also expressed concern that if his account of the Ukraine affair emerges only after the trial, he will be accused of holding back to increase his book sales. So problem solved. Despite the the expression of his “associates,” Bolton’s actual spokesperson told Politico, “The Ambassador sent the draft manuscript to the White House for pre-publication review by the NSC several weeks ago. The Ambassador has not circulated the draft […]
Winter Institute: What Booksellers Need the Most
The ABA convened yet another vibrant and successful Winter Institute, which featured ever-expanded programming and attendance, all substantially underwritten by supporting publishers, as was acknowledged at Thursday afternoon’s Town Hall meeting. If you were listening carefully, however, there is really one issue that matters the most to independent booksellers: Turning this “higher calling” into a truly viable, profitable profession. You heard it in incoming ABA ceo Allison Hill’s brief remarks at the beginning of WI: “Running our businesses is increasingly a challenge, and I believe this moment in time is a critical one for our industry…. The measure of our […]
2019’s Book Club Picks, Part Two: How Did the Booksellers Pick?
As promised, this is the second part of the in-depth look we started yesterday, tracking the performance of well-known monthly book club and spotlight picks. This installment focuses on selections from booksellers and librarians, who generally highlight new release titles, as they should. In some cases that helps their sales track record, since they often pick anticipated and pre-ordered books from commercial authors or titles that come with a big publisher promotional push. On the other hand, sometimes those titles publish late in the month, so our window on sales does not always include four weeks worth of data. (In […]
Mavjee to Lead Knopf Doubleday Group As Arthur Named Knopf Publisher and Mehta Successor
Penguin Random House has made their much anticipated announcement about new leadership for Knopf, following the death of Sonny Mehta and the departure late last year of other longtime Knopf executives. Former Crown Publishing Group president and publisher Maya Mavjee will return to PRH on March 2 as president & publisher of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. And it is Reagan Arthur who has been named Mehta’s selected successor, becoming evp, publisher, Knopf, Pantheon and Schocken on February 11. Mavjee will report to PRH USA ceo Madeline McIntosh and joins the PRH US board. She has been president, publishing strategy […]
2019’s Book Club Books: How Did the Pickers Pick?
The burst in attention and impact for book clubs and monthly spotlight picks among booksellers, celebrities, and media outlets prompted our popular monthly “How Did They Pick?” feature, which tracks print sales of selected titles. Over time, that sales data has shown that not all picks are created equal; some are aggressively marketed commercial hits, while others are quiet releases and sell fewer than 1,000 copies in their selection month. The sales impact from club to club varies widely as well. Below we have charted each club’s most and least resonant picks of 2019, and we show you their average […]