Self-publishing website Inkitt raised another $37 million in Series C financing, led by Khosla Ventures. valuing the company at about $400 million post-money. (That’s only slightly above where they stood after raising $57 million in 2021.) Unfortunately, the capital will help fund “AI to write stories based on your original ideas, and to produce versions of its fiction personalized for specific readers” among other purposes. The facile tech media repeats CEO and founder Ali Albazaz’s claim that “Inkitt, in aggregate, ranks as the number 11 best-selling publisher globally” — to which TechCrunch amusingly adds “above household names like Penguin Random […]
Penguin Random House US to Open Export Distribution Center in the UK
Penguin Random House US will open a new distribution center in the UK to supply export sales to continental Europe, which ceo Nihar Malaviya says they “currently expect to be operational next year, likely summer 2025.” Those sales have been serviced from the company’s US warehouse. The company will also develop local UK-based printing of at least some of those US titles. The new facility is actually a current PRH UK distribution center — in Grantham, England, where the UK division is exiting their third-party distribution business Grantham Book Services and was due to close down the plant and lay […]
Balzer & Bray Moving to Macmillan from Harper
Alessandra Balzer and Donna Bray will move to Macmillan Children’s as of April 15. They will set up a new incarnation of their Balzer + Bray imprint there, with both having the title of SVP and co-publisher. Balzer + Bray was launched in 2008 at Harper Children’s. Existing B+B titles, as well as titles already under contract, will remain at HarperCollins, a spokesperson told us. Beginning in fall 2024, Harper’s B+B books will be published under the imprint of the editorial team to which they have been reassigned. MCPG president and publisher Jen Besser says in the announcement, “The only word […]
KKR’s “Base Case” Is to Own Simon & Schuster for Five to Seven Years
Bloomberg Television interviewed KKR co-head of global private equity Pete Stavros and Simon & Schuster ceo Jonathan Karp recently. Asked how long KKR plans to own S&S before exiting, Stavros noted, “We’ve owned business for 20 years before. It takes as long as it takes….” Primarily, however, “Our base case would be this is five, six, seven years. We’ve got a bunch of things we want to accomplish. Maybe it becomes a great public company some day; we’ll see. We’re not in a hurry.” Stavros suggested a leaner supply chain is part of their strategy: “Foreacasting demand for a new […]
Sally Kim to Lead Little, Brown
Sally Kim will join Little, Brown as president and publisher on March 4, leaving her current role as svp publisher at Putnam. Current Little, Brown publisher Bruce Nichols will leave his position on March 1. Hachette Book Group’s new ceo David Shelley says of Kim in the announcement, “She is a brilliant editor as well as a publisher – in common with many of her predecessors at Little, Brown – and I love her editorial taste in fiction and nonfiction, as well as her publishing flair. I believe that Sally will be a visionary leader for Little, Brown and will […]
Profits Fell at Waterstones
Waterstones’ primary holding company recently reported full fiscal year results through the end of April 2023, showing increased sales but much lower profits, following the acquisition of Blackwell’s. Sales reached £452.5 million, up from £400 million in the previous fiscal year — but operating profit fell sharply to £13.9 million, down from £57.6 million the prior year. The lower earnings included 15.4 million in “exceptional items.” The company says they absorbed a £7 million impairment charge on Blackwell’s carrying value after acquiring it in August 2022. The report says that, “disruptions to the distribution centre, caused by the implementation of […]