With the naming of a new CEO for Simon & Schuster expected before the end of the year, longtime chief operations officer Dennis Eulau will retire at the end of November after 30 years at the company. CEO Jonathan Karp said in the announcement: “Throughout my years here, Dennis has personified the spirit and values of Simon & Schuster. During my time as CEO, Dennis has been a wise and trusted partner in leading the company, just as he was for my predecessor Carolyn Reidy. Although I cannot imagine Simon & Schuster without Dennis, I know that everyone who has […]
Reese’s Book of the Year
Trump Refiles Defamation Suit Against Penguin Random House and NYT
After Florida District Court Judge Steven D. Merryday rejected Donald Trump’s initial $15 billion defamation suit against Penguin Random House, the New York Times, and New York Times reporters on the grounds that it was too long and “tedious,” Trump filed a new version that meets the judge’s limit of no more than 40 pages. The new complaint more prominently leads the “allegations” by quoting 22 statements from Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner’s book LUCKY LOSER: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success, claiming that the work “published many false, malicious, and defamatory statements.” […]
Pearson Results Remain Flattish, But Upbeat
Pearson issued a brief third quarter trading update, reporting “underlying” sales growth of 4 percent in the period, looking forward to “stronger Q4 sales growth…given known business unit dynamics.” Higher Ed sales were down 1 percent in the quarter, “due to ongoing challenging trading conditions in mature markets.” US Higher Ed sales rose 2 percent in the quarter, helped by “sustained engagement with our AI-powered study tools, partly offset by declines in our K-12 channel. In the Higher Ed segement, the company said, “We continue to expect sales growth in 2025 to be higher than in 2024 as we […]
Lagardere Publishing Has Record Third-Quarter Sales, As HBG Moves Up in the US
Lagardere Publishing issued their brief third quarter trading update on Thursday afternoon, celebrating record third quarter sales of €811 million, up 6 percent compared to €765 million for the same period a year ago. The company reports that, “All business segments contributed to the growth effort, with General Literature enjoying very good performances in the United States and France.” The acquisition of Union Square (and 999 Games) added €15 million in the quarter, while the declining US dollar and British pound cost €19 million in negative currency effect. In the US, ceo David Shelley reports that, “HBG had a fantastic […]
Fiction Still Leads In Pre-Frankfurt Deal Period
As we noted earlier in the month, third-quarter dealmaking in the US remained fairly strong even as the consumer marketplace wobbled, with total deal reports gaining slightly, despite a modest pullback from record spending a year ago. In the more concentrated five-week-plus pre-Frankfurt dealmaking, we see similar trends, with publisher spending a little stronger than during the third quarter, though still backing down just a bit from last year’s FBF period. As has been the case for some time, adult fiction continues to lead the market — particularly among publishers’ largest investments — while adult nonfiction and children’s books continue […]