Longtime president and publisher of the Random House Publishing Group Gina Centrello has decided to retire from her position. She will take the new role of strategic advisor to the US Board going forward, and “will continue to participate actively in the industry through her work supporting Literacy Partners.” PRH US ceo Madeline McIntosh writes, “I’ve valued Gina as a friend and colleague for more than two decades, so I’m having a hard time imagining this place without her–and I know I’m not alone in that.” One of the company’s longest serving top executives, Centrello has led the Random House Group […]
2022: The Year In Deals
Today we report both fourth quarter and full-year 2022 statistics for US deal reports. Dealmaking patterns were somewhat in line with sales in 2022, as most key domestic deal statistics ebbed from record levels in 2021 but still held at high levels relative to previous years. Things did soften after a strong first quarter, and then picked up a bit in the fourth quarter. In particular: – US deals finished down by only 1.5 percent, with just over 7,000 reported transactions — still 8.9 percent more transactions than we recorded in 2020, and well ahead of earlier years. – Adult Fiction rose […]
Fourth Quarter Deals
Today we report on dealmaking statistics for both the fourth quarter of 2022 as well as the full year — which means that most of our focus is on the annual trends. To recap: The first quarter continued the boom from 2021, setting a new record for overall deal volume, as reported six-figure transactions softened a little to the second-best quarter in years. The second quarter hewed more closely to the sales pattern for print books, with deal volume declining 9.1 percent, but still well ahead of previous years, as reported six-figure deals held flat with 2021, still at record […]
Distribution: Pan Macmillan
In a logical move, Pan Macmillan’s full list will be distributed in the US by Macmillan itself, starting in July. The UK imprints have been distributed in the US by Trafalgar Square Publishing, part of IPG.
Bookselling: Another Longtime BN Closes
The latest closing announcement: The Barnes & Noble in Paramus, NJ will close February 11 after 28 years in that location because “the landlord has chosen not to renew our lease and will be redeveloping the site.” The store said online, “Unfortunately we don’t have a location for our new building yet, but we will be back.”
Second Best: Good Final Sales Week Leaves 2022 Print Sales Well Ahead of 2020
In the final sales week of the year, NPD Bookscan recorded print sales of approximately 16.3 million units — even with the same week in 2021, and well ahead of previous years. That was the second week in a row that sales equaled or exceeded sales from 2021, providing a strong finish to the important holiday sales period that ran stronger than preceding months. For the six-week holiday period, tracked print sales were approximately 4.6 percent below 2021, totaling close to 140 million units. That put tracked print sales for all of 2022 at a strong 780 million units — […]