Lagardere reported third quarter results for the period ending September 30 on Thursday morning, with publishing division sales of €696 million, down 1.2 percent from last year. Company-wide revenues increased 23.1 percent to €1.46 billion in the quarter, with the travel division rebounding on the easing of travel restrictions. The $240 million acquisition of Workman Publishing was completed on September 23, right before the close of the quarter. “In the context of strong market consolidation, this acquisition is set to enable Hachette Livre to significantly boost Hachette Book Group’s US footprint, strengthen its positions in Youth Works and thereby create […]
People 10/28
Alison Forner has been promoted to senior art director at Avid Reader Press.
People 10/27
Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton will retire at the end of the year.
More Record Profits: Bloomsbury Up for First Half of 2021
Bloomsbury announced its “highest ever first half sales and profits” for the six-month period ending August 31. Overall sales were £101 million, up from £78 million in the first half of 2020, or 29 percent. Pre-tax earnings were £11.1 million, up from £3 million. They had one-time charges of £1.8 million, due to legal and restructuring costs of the acquisitions of House of Zeus and Red Globe Press. “These results demonstrate the strength and resilience of our strategy of publishing for both the consumer and academic markets, and our growth of digital revenues,” chief executive Nigel Newton said in a […]
New Books Publishing October 26
Tamron Hall and Cherie Priest lead this week’s fiction releases, while nonfiction includes titles by Katie Couric and Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen. Also out today is the latest by Kat Martin, excerpted in our Buzz Books 2021: Romance sampler. 18 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-october-26-8ea9a94d-9510-46d5-ba0a-fb500db7d1b1 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_October_/220238 17 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-october-26 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_October_/220239 We consult a number of sources in compiling our weekly lists and PM members can see our lists for the coming three months through this reference page. But if you want to make sure your key titles are on our radar, now you can use this form to submit […]
France Passes Legislation Requiring Minimum Shipping Rate
French parliament has passed, but not enacted, a law requiring a minimum shipping fee for books, Reuter’s reports. The legislation is clearly aimed at Amazon, which charges as little as one cent for shipping, after France banned free shipping in 2014 in an attempt to level the playing field with independent bookstores.