Knopf will hold a celebration of the life of Joan Didion on Wednesday, September 21, beginning at 5 PM, in New York at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue. Speakers will include Hilton Als, Gov. Jerry Brown, Griffin Dunne, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Susanna Moore, Vanessa Redgrave, David Remnick, Patti Smith, Jia Tolentino, Calvin Trillin, and Kevin Young. The service is open to the public and a livestream will be hosted on the Cathedral’s website as well. Didion died on December 23 at the age of 87.
Hoover’s Print Sales Have Topped 7 Million Units in 2022
NPD Bookscan noted in a release that Colleen Hoover has sold 7.3 million print books so far this year, through August 27. Right now she occupies four of the top six spots on Bookscan’s most recent bestseller list, and nine of the top 20 spots — with titles from three different publishers. Year to date, she holds five of the top eight bestselling print books as well. Her new book, IT STARTS WITH US, publishes October 18 and “is expected to smash presale records,” Bookscan adds. The majority of Hoover’s books are categorized as romance, and a separate release from […]
Merriam-Webster Parent Britannica Hopes for IPO or Capital Raise
Britanica Group is hoping to launch an IPO “as soon as next year,” Bloomberg reports, “according to people with knowledge of the matter,” who are apparently trying to seed interest in the market. CEO Jorge Cauz confirms in an interview, “We are seeing significant increases in revenue and increases in margin. So we want to continue to grow obviously. But since the market changes so rapidly, especially after Covid, we do want to tap into the public markets to accelerate that growth.” Those knowledgable people are hoping the parent of Merriam-Webster “could be valued at more than $1 billion.” The […]
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Penguin Random House Sales Fall Organically, Gain On Foreign Exchange, As Earnings Declined
Bertelsmann reported results for the first six months of the year, with Penguin Random House declining on an organic basis by 1.8 percent — though topline sales still rose by 6.3 percent, due to the weakness of the euro. Sales for the period were €1.916 billion, compared to €1.804 billion a year ago. Earnings were down by both measures, with EBITDA of €257 million, compared to €324 million a year ago. The company noted, “Adjusted for exchange-rate effects, revenue and earnings declined, given the inflationary pressure and supply-chain challenges.” You can see the dual effect on PRH US sales — […]
Barnes & Noble Education Loses More Than Ever In First Quarter
Barnes & Noble Education started their fiscal 2023 by doing what unfortunately they do best: Losing more money than expected. In the seasonally soft quarter, sales of $264 million were up from $241 million a year ago, but still well behind pre-pandemic levels of $338 million in fiscal 2019. The net loss of ($52.7 million) was worse than last year’s net loss of ($43.6 million), and their worst loss for this quarter in at least the last six years. Retail sales of 236.5 million rose $26 million, mostly on merchandise and café and convenience food product sales, rather than textbooks. […]