Random House is promoting Andy Ward to succeed the late Susan Kamil, and in the second big change at the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group this month, longtime editorial director at Knopf Robin Desser will move over to the Random House imprint as editor-in-chief in January. Newly reporting to Ward in his new role as publisher are deputy publishers Tom Perry and Avideh Bashirrad, “who will work hand-in-hand with him to establish the priorities for the publishing program,” as well as Dial Press editorial director Whitney Frick and Hogarth editorial director Alexis Washam. Ward will continue to acquire and edit as […]
The Bigger Lunchbox
We hope you enjoyed the small anniversary glimpse of what the full, longer Publishers Lunch Deluxe looks like — even though a few days isn’t really sufficient to represent all the additional news and analysis we provide to paid subscribers all the time. But it’s a start, at least. As we noted earlier in the week, if you are ready to try a full month of paid newsletters — plus optional daily deal newsletters and unlimited use all the big databases and features behind the paywall at PublishersMarketplace.com — remember that we have time-limited discount code still available for you. […]
International: Haynes Puts Itself Up for Sale, and Bonnier Launches A Danish Publisher
Haynes Publishing, which is publicly traded in London, has decided to put itself up for sale, with Europa Partners as its financial adviser. Founder John Haynes died a year ago. Executive chairman Eddie Bell said in a statement, “The board now believes our future will be best secured by the whole group becoming part of an organization with the financial resources to invest for future expansion and take the company through to the next 60 years of success.” Sales for the fiscal year ending May 31 were £36.2 million, up 7 percent. Elsewhere, Bonnier Books will launch a new publishing […]
Something Extra
We are celebrating the 18th anniversary of PublishersMarketplace.com this month (yes, we really did start a paid subscription website after the first dotcom bubble burst and just weeks after 9/11). This year we’re trying something a little different: You’ll be getting the full, longer Publishers Lunch Deluxe for the rest of this week, to provide a little taste of what our paid subscribers see every day. There’s no easy way of doing the same thing for all the big databases and features behind the paywall at PM but to help inspire you to have a look, use time-limited code fifteen19 […]
Anonymous Whistleblower Squeals to Congress — On Amazon Antitrust Allegations
The House Judiciary Committee’s rambling inquiry into Amazon’s business practices may have flushed out a tattle-tale merchant of scale articulating allegations of a valid antitrust accusation against the company. Or at least that is Bloomberg’s read of the 62-document: “It accuses Amazon of ‘tying’ its marketplace and logistics services together, an antitrust violation in which a company uses dominance in one market to give itself an advantage in another market where it’s less established.” Importantly, the merchant alleges that Amazon’s own fulfillment services are more expensive than competitors’ — and slower — which forces sellers to raise prices, harming consumers. […]
Soft Quarter at Harper and A Big Loss at News Corp.
News Corp. reported fiscal first quarter sales on Thursday afternoon, with a soft quarter at HarperCollins. Sales of $405 million were down $13 million, or 3 percent, with foreign exchange costing $5 million in the period. EBITDA fell much further, down to $49 million, from $68 million a year ago (which had been a time of unusually “robust profit growth”), blamed on “the different mix of titles.” Digital sales fell 5 percent in the period, comprising 22 percent of “consumer revenues” (which were $387 million). The results were worse for parent company News Corp., where sales fell 7 percent to $2.34 […]