Maria Golikova has joined Doubleday Canada as senior managing editor. She was previously at House of Anansi Press.
Acquisitions: Open Road Buys eBook Publisher, Wonderbly Sold
Open Road has acquired UK ebook publisher Bloodhound Books, for an undisclosed amount. The Bloodhound brand “will be retained in all markets” with founders Betsy Reavley and Fred Freeman staying on. In a release, Reavley said, “The market and consumer behaviour have both changed dramatically in the past year…. We needed to find a way to expand the business from our audience reach to our marketing capabilities. We are extremely excited about joining the OR/M team, which will give us the opportunity to do just this – to provide the very best in content from our authors to a wide […]
People 7/26
Brian Grogan is joining as senior director of mass market sales at Sourcebooks. He was most recently svp of sales at Harper Collins.
Former University Employee Sues B&N College for Manager’s Alleged “Racist” Remark, Call to Police
African American Joshua Gagum, a former quality assurance specialist at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, is suing Barnes & Noble College Booksellers and an unnamed store manager for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and tortious interference. He claims the manager negligently called the police on him when he was performing his normal duties, with proper identification, and asks for damages in “an amount as determined by a jury.” According to the lawsuit, filed in July, the incident in question occurred when Gagum was inspecting a room in the university’s bookstore on January 22, 2019, as part of a […]
Forthcoming: Yang’s Notes on Democracy
Crown announced that it will publish FORWARD: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy by entrepreneur and former presidential and mayoral candidate Andrew Yang on October 5. The book “offers a vivid account of what running for president is really like and a scathing indictment of America’s ‘era of institutional failure.’” Yang reads the audio edition, which will release simultaneously by PRH Audio. Executive editor Paul Whitlatch acquired world rights from David Larabell at CAA.
Scholastic Up for the Quarter but Down for the Year
Scholastic reported earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, ending May 31, with sales of $401 million, rebounding strongly from $284 million a year ago — the first pandemic quarter — up 41% percent. In a release, the company cites “improving market conditions, strong demand for foundational literacy programs and summer reading, and top selling trade titles.” The company showed operating income of $9.7 million, back in the black compared to an operating loss a year ago of $46.2 million. Earnings were still held back by one-time pre-tax items, including settlement charges of $20 million “related to intellectual property […]