We have known the basic contours of trade publishing results for the first half of 2016 since the end of August, following public reporting by publishing companies — trade sales were down modestly in total dollars, with still-rising print unit sales unable to fully make up for still-declining ebook sales. Now the AAP has finally released their statistics for the first half of the year, compiled from approximately 1,200 publishers, giving some additional color to the sales trends behind the numbers. Total net trade sales of $2.803 billion for the first half of the year were down $55.8 million (or -2 […]
Barnes & Noble Officially Launches $50 Tablet
The inexpensive, small Nook tablet that we reported on at the end of October based on various leaks was officially announced by Barnes & Noble on Wednesday morning. The seven-inch Android tablet will indeed sell for $49.99, making the it “the company’s most affordable Nook ever,” and it will include full access to the Google Play store. BN says the devices will be available in stores as of November 25 (“Black Friday”). While the device gives BN a competitor to Amazon’s cheapest Fire tablet, at the same Amazon announced their own Black Friday deals over the week leading up to […]
Simon & Schuster to Acquire Adams Media
Simon & Schuster announced internally on Monday afternoon an agreement with F+W Media to acquire their trade publishing division Adams Media, as F+W continues to pare back on some its business lines. Adams Media vp, books and content Karen Cooper will serve as vp, publisher of the line for Simon & Schuster, reporting directly to ceo Carolyn Reidy, and staff will remain based in Avon, MA. (F+W president Sara Domville, who had overseen Adams, left the company in July.) Reidy tells employees the acquisition is expected to close before Thanksgiving, noting internal teams “are already hard at work to assure a smooth […]
Whitehead Wins (Amazon’s Book of the Year)
Ahead of tomorrow night’s National Book Awards, Amazon has named Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad as their book of the year. (While it’s early days, the book is already the clear leader in our aggregation of best book of the year lists, as well.) Also on their top 10, however, is another NBA fiction candidate, Jacqueline Woodson’s Another Brooklyn. Young People’s Literature nominee Nicola Yoon also makes the Amazon list. There were some technical glitches when the “best books of 2016” package first went live — omitting Zadie Smith’s Swing Time from the top 20 carousel (even though it was listed in […]
Riggio Signals Another Poor Quarter, But What Comes After the Election is Critical
Barnes & Noble executive chairman Len Riggio appears to have indicated that the bookseller’s fiscal second quarter results through the end of October, due to be announced on November 22, will disappoint investors again: He tells Crain’s, “The preoccupation with the election was hurting sales,” adding, “we expect a bounce-back.” Riggio advises, “You won’t turn a switch and see the whole retail business coming back, but it hit a bottom and it’s starting to turn up.” Bear in mind that the bar for the chain for the second quarter is already set pretty low, since a year ago BN reported disappointing sales […]
People
The Zora Neale Hurston Trust is now being represented by the Joy Harris Literary Agency. (Hurston’s work was previously represented by Victoria Sanders & Associates.) Singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen, 82, died Thursday. Jared Bland at his longtime publisher McClelland & Stewart said in a statement, “His work, in all its forms, touched our hearts, informed our lives, and made our world better. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without his singular voice. His presence will never be forgotten. His profound art will endure.” Literary agent Ed Victor celebrated 40 years in business at a party in London on […]