WH Smith released a trading report for the 20 weeks ended January 14, with sales up 41 percent over last year and 20 percent over 2019, driven by the continuing recovery in their travel stores. High Street sales, however, continued their long fade; revenues were down 2 percent from 2022, and 14 percent from 2019, which the company called as ever “a good performance, in line with our expectations.” Sales in the Travel segment were up 77 percent over last year and 48 percent from 2019. The company has opened 40 new stores so far this year, with 37 set […]
Pearson to Cut Costs in 2023, Focused on Higher Ed
Pearson released a brief trading update for the fourth quarter and full year 2022, ahead of their full results for the year on March 3. “Underlying” sales were down 1 percent for the quarter but up 5 percent for the year, and adjusted operating profit for the year was up 11 percent to £455 million. The company saw growth for the year in all segments except for Higher Education, which dropped 4 percent, at approximately £900 million, “an expected, albeit reduced, decline.” There, the company restructured the sales team and refocused sales and marketing and invested in modernizing their products. […]
Brown and Lucas Address Black Women In Publishing Panel
Digital Book World convened in New York starting on Monday. In a panel called Black Women in Publishing, Hachette Nashville publicity director Laini Brown and Pantheon svp and publisher Lisa Lucas both said they would recommend publishing as a career to anyone who wanted to break into it. Brown said that it’s an industry where you can learn a lot about a lot of different topics, and Lucas said that people should know that there are many types of jobs in publishing outside of editorial, and that publishing is “a great living.” “As much as we complain about money and […]
New Books Publishing January 17
Notable releases this week include new novels from Bret Easton Ellis, Matthew Salesses, and Grady Hendrix, as well as nonfiction by Mario Vargas Llosa and Colm Toibin. Also out this week is Windfall by Erika Bolstad, excerpted in our Buzz Books 2022: Fall/Winter anthology. 14 works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-january-17 14 nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-january-17 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 brief […]
Harper Union to Host Second Rally
The Harper Collins Union will host another strike rally outside parent company News Corp’s offices at 1211 Avenue of Americas in Manhattan on January 18 at 12:30 PM. The action follows a rally on December 16, and will mark the 50th business day of work stoppage in the strike that began on November 10. Harper employees were required to return to the office this week under the company’s hybrid plan, which expects employees to work in-person two days per week. (Yesterday, ceo of News Corp Robert Thomson sent a memo to company staff urging them to return to the office.) […]