Governor Kathy Hochul announced an agreement with legislators on a new budget for the state of New York that would include increasing the minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2026 in NYC, Westchester and Long Island (rising by 2027 for the rest of the state). The reports do not indicate the effect on the earnings level for executive and administrative employees to be classified as exempt from overtime, though traditionally that level equals 75 times the hourly wage (in which case it would rise to $1,275 a week, or $66,300 a year).
Bookselling: Barnes & Noble Store Updates
The PR campaign is all about Barnes & Noble’s big “expansion” of the store base, but the actual news continues to present a more nuanced picture of stores that are being closed or swapped out, along with new locations. The latest outlet to be surrendered is in Highland Village, TX, where they are giving way for a Cheesecake Factory. A spokesperson tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “We are actively looking for a new location and hope to find one soon.” In Redding, CA, the chain will be switching locations. Unlike many other replacement stores, this one will be larger than […]
Publishers and Internet Archive Make Slow Progress on Terms of Judgment
When US District Court Judge John Koeltl found quickly and overwhelmingly in publishers’ favor on March 24, granting summary judgment finding the Internet Archive guilty of copyright infringement on a mass scale, he gave the parties 14 days to submit proposals “for the appropriate procedure to determine the judgment to be entered in this case.” Since then the parties have been in regular contact, petitioning the court regularly for extensions. On Wednesday, ahead of the latest deadline on April 27, they got the judge’s permission for a fourth extension, until May 12. In their letter to the judge they wrote: […]
Register Now for the Next Buzz Books Editors Panel
Our seventh Buzz Books Editors Panel, via zoom, is on Wednesday, May 17, at 7:00 PM Eastern. Once again, we are honored to have the American Booksellers Association join us as co-presenter, with Publishers Lunch founder Michael Cader hosting. You can register here. And note that the first 25 booksellers who enroll will get a package of galleys for the featured titles. On May 10, a week ahead of the panel, we’ll release the next edition of our popular digital sampler, Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter, packed with substantial excerpts from all of the Editors Panel books, as well as […]
WH Smith Celebrates Only Small Declines at Their Bookstores
With WH Smith’s High Street bookstores in a long, steady decline, the parent company’s earnings report for the first six months shows only light falloff from last year’s comps. Sales of £266 million were down just £4 million from the same period a year ago, with trading profit of £24 million down £2 million. The company noted a “good performance in books, supported by Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare” and “a good performance from Mother’s Day across our stores and digital channels.” There is no expectation of growth; the company has consistently focused on wringing cash out of the bookstore business: […]
Harper to Use Newly-Designed Font for Some Non-English Works
Harper Collins will deploy a newly-commissioned font, Harper Arc, that “was designed to improve readability” while saving space: It “will reduce the amount of paper used per title by up to 20 percent.” Starting in July, they will use the font on select non-English titles published by Harper divisions in Europe and South America. The company is also exploring using the font more broadly, including English-language titles. CEO international foreign language and chief digital officer Chantal Restivo-Alessi says in the announcement, “It promises to deliver on two important initiatives at HarperCollins: improving readability and sustainability. Translations in Europe can be […]