Penguin Random House has launched the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, through which it “aims to significantly expand readership, strengthen connections with audiences, and deepen its range of books and content offerings for the Christian readership.” The new standalone entity comprises Waterbrook, Multnomah, Image, and Forum, the imprints that were housed in the Crown Publishing Group until it was disbanded in 2018, when they were moved over to the Random House Publishing Group. Campbell Wharton, who has been deputy publisher for the lines, takes over as svp, publisher of the new group. He will report to cfo Manuel Sansigre. Longtime […]
PRH US Shows Little Growth in Staff Diversity
Penguin Random House US released its workforce demographics report for 2024, noting divides in gender and little progress in the racial diversity of employees. “As our demographics show, while we continue to improve in some areas, we have a long way to go to make our workforce representative of U.S. society—and we are committed to staying the course,” the company says. Among non-warehouse staff, 74.66 percent identify as women and 24.09 are men, with .85 percent reporting as nonbinary. Looking at racial makeup, 68.91 percent of non-warehouse employees are white, 10.64 percent are Asian, 10.02 percent are Hispanic, 6.18 percent […]
August Shows Trade Book Gains
The Association of American Publishers released StatShot data for August from participating publishers, reporting trade sales of $763 million, up 10.6 percent from August 2023. That strong data follows a near-record July. and looks to be a record performance for August, moving ahead of the big $758 million reported in August 2021. In adult books, sales were $550 million—$296 million (up 14.7 percent) in fiction and $254 million (up 8.5 percent) in nonfiction. Digital audio showed significant gains, up 41 percent to $82.5 million, making up 15 percent of the market. Ebooks grew as well, up 6.1 percent to $77.8 […]
Higher Ed Sales Grow in Pearson’s Third Quarter
Pearson released a trading update for the third quarter, reporting that overall sales were up 4 percent. They note that all segments grew in the quarter, including Higher Education, which had been on the decline. Sales for the Higher Education business, which includes textbooks, were up 4 percent in the quarter, “driven by the operational and business changes implemented over the past 18 months.” In the US, the gains were due to increased adoptions, enrollment, and pricing. The company expects the segment to reflect growth for the full year. “Pearson is delivering on the three priorities for 2024 that I […]
Distribution: New Publishers for Consortium
Starting January 1, Alabaster Creative Inc., Autumn House Press, Hagfish, Hemeria, LittlePuss Press, and Tilted Axis Press will be sold and distributed by Consortium. In addition, Aunt Lute Books has been sold and distributed by Consortium since June 29.
Storytel Continues to Grow Profits, As New CEO Takes Over
Storytel reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, with sales up 7 percent to SEK954 million ($91.6 million). Gross profit gained 18 percent to SEK434 million with operating profit of SEK 87 million. EBITDA was up 67 percent to SEK161 million. Those continuing profits along with increased guidance for the full year lifted the company’s stock. On October 1, Bodil Eriksson Torp became ceo of the company. In a release, she notes, “Under my leadership, we will continue to move the world through a story, explore new possibilities, and push the boundaries of what can be achieved—all in […]