Welbeck Publishing Group has created a standalone subsidiary to publish titles directly into the Australia/New Zealand market, in partnership with online retailer Booktopia, which has a 25 percent stake in the new Sydney-based business in exchange for a $3 million (AU) investment. Booktopia will distribute Welbeck’s 4,500 title backlist in ANZ and will form an ANZ publishing program that aims to publish 50 titles per year in fiction, narrative nonfiction, children’s, and illustrated/gift books. Welbeck’s Mark Smith will relocate to Australia for a few months in early 2022 to help set up the business and recruit staff. Marcus Leaver will […]
Forthcoming: Obama and Springsteen
Penguin Random House announced the global publication on October 26 of RENEGADES: Born in the USA by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen, a collection of conversations that began on their Spotify podcast of the same name in 2020. PRH stated, “They share exclusive stories and ruminations about life, music, and their enduring love of America, with all its challenges and contradictions.” The full-color book will also include personal photographs, Springsteen’s handwritten lyrics, and Obama’s annotated speeches. English-language editions will be published by Crown in the US and Canada, and by Viking UK in the UK/Commonwealth. The US hardcover is $50. […]
People 7/21
At Gallery, Sydney Morris has been promoted to senior publicist.
Bloomsbury Up 28% In First Third
Bloomsbury issued a trading update ahead of today’s annual meeting, reporting sales for the four month period ending June 30, with trade sales of £39.7 million, up 26 percent from £31.5 million last year. Adult trades revenues rose 17 percent and children’s sales were up 32 percent. Company-wide sales of ¢63 million were up 28 percent, from £49.5 million a year ago. Their recent acquisitions of Head of Zeus added £859,000 in consumer adult sales, and Red Globe Press added £478,000 to the non-consumer academic and professional segment. They still “are actively targeting further acquisition opportunities in line with our […]
Distribution
Cheriton Children’s Books will be distributed by Lerner Publisher Services in the US and Canada as of January 1, 2022.
Bookselling
LET’S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED author Jenny Lawson’s Alamo Heights, TX bookstore Nowhere opened for public browsing on July 19 (it has done curbside and online sales since 2020). The store includes a bar, which will open when San Antonio’s COVID vaccination rate reaches over 80 percent.