Two big acquisitions will fuel hopes for players of scale to challenge Audible’s dominance in core markets. Spotify will acquire distributor Findaway as part of their goal to develop a meaningful presence in the audiobooks market, pending regulatory approval. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021; the terms were not announced. Findaway bills itself as the “world’s largest audiobook distributor,” and is a key player in distributing digital audiobooks to Apple, Google, Overdrive and others. The company also provides tools for independent authors to produce and distribute audiobooks and sells audiobook players to brands. “The […]
Obituary: Sylvère Lotringer
Semiotext(e) founder Sylvère Lotringer (83) died on Monday following a long illness. A critic and theorist who was born in Paris and taught French literature and philosophy at Columbia for 35 years, he began Semiotext(e) in 1974 as a scholarly journal. As an independent publisher, it is known for introducing French theory to American readers.
Online Gift Shop Helps High Street Sales at WH Smith
UK book retailer WH Smith reported preliminary results for the year ended August 31. Overall, sales were £886 million, a decline of 13 percent, with group trading loss of £20m, compared to last year’s loss of £43 million. High Street sales were up slightly at £485m, a 4 percent increase over last year, with High Street trading profit at £19m, up from a loss of (£10m) last year. The lift is attributed to the easing of pandemic lockdowns around the world, and the growth of the company’s websites, particularly the “record performance” of their online greeting card and gift business, […]
People 11/10
At House of Anansi, Michelle MacAleese has become senior managing editor and Grace Shaw joins in the newly created role of production editor. Jessey Glibbery has been promoted to sales manager and Natassja Barry has been promoted to the newly created position of western Canada account manager. Erica Mojzes has been promoted to rights manager and Mariana Linares has been promoted to international sales & rights associate. Sonya Lalli moves into the newly created role of rights specialist at large.
Indigo Up in Second Quarter
On Tuesday morning, Indigo announced results for the second quarter 2022 ended October 2, with sales of CA$239 million, up 16.3 percent from $205 million during the same period last year. The company proudly proclaimed results as above pre-pandemic levels, but that’s due in part to a string of weak reports for this period since 2017, when sales were $224.5 million. But the biggest difference had nothing to do with operating sales: Revenue was bolstered by a one-time payment of $17 million from Starbucks, as Indigo renegotiated their contract and closed a number of in-store cafes. Net earnings for the […]
Imprints: Anna Todd’s Wattpad Line
AFTER author Anna Todd has launched an imprint, Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books. The imprint is the first to launch under the Wattpad Webtoon Book Group and will publish Todd’s books going forward, starting with three titles in 2022, as well as “books by established and emerging writers of commercial fiction.” A release states that “Todd will be involved in every aspect of publication for books published by Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books, from acquisition to launch and promotion” in partnership with consulting publisher Anne Messitte (she’s also consulting publisher at Zibby Books). Messitte will “guide publishing strategy for the […]