Beginning in March, authors using Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange will be able to see data on returns, including number of units per title, both in their account dashboard and in monthly financial statements. The move, announced on the ACX blog, is a response to continuing pressure from the Authors Guild and ACX authors for changes to the company’s returns policy, after its negative financial impact (reportedly reducing sales anywhere from 15 to 50 percent over time) became apparent last fall. This follows Audible’s decision last month to pay authors royalties on returns made more than seven days after purchase, which […]
Pearson’s Sales Down 10 Percent for the Year, as Expected; WH Smith Sees Good Holiday Sales
Pearson issued their traditional January “trading report,” providing sales highlights in advance of a full annual report on March 5. The pandemic year only reinforced the longstanding trend: Global online learning (18 percent sales growth) was weighed down by declines in US higher ed courseware (with sales falling (12) percent). The businesses most heavily hit by pandemic-related closures, global assessment — which means tests — and international, were down (14) percent and (19) percent respectively. All this added up to a sales decline of (10) percent. While profit results await the annual report, the report says both sales and profit […]
New Books Publishing January 19
Emily Rapp Black’s memoir of resilience, a new Rita Mae Brown mystery, and a supernatural teen romance from Josh Malerman are among this week’s notable new releases. Nine new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-january-19 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Fiction_Publishing_January_/218651 Six nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-january-19 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_January_/218652
Bolton Permitted Discovery to Show Government Acted Unfairly
Former national security John Bolton can go forward with discovery to fight the government lawsuit claiming he violated nondisclosure agreements by publishing The Room Where It Happened. US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth denied the government’s motion for summary judgment, arguing that Bolton should be allowed to gather testimony and documents to prove his claim that the government acted in bad faith. “Because Bolton argues that the government acted inequitably, the Court must be satisfied that the government has clean hands before it can impose a constructive trust. For Bolton to support that argument, he must be allowed limited discovery,” […]
New Books Publishing January 12
A broad selection of books publish today, including Victoria Gosling’s Before the Ruins, featured in our Buzz Books Fall/Winter 2020 sampler; a masterclass on Russian short stories from George Saunders; Adam Jentleson’s all too timely Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy; and more. 26 new works of fiction https://bookshop.org/lists/new-fiction-publishing-january-12 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_January_/218607 15 new nonfiction titles https://bookshop.org/lists/new-nonfiction-publishing-january-12 https://shop.aer.io/publishers_lunch/cl/New_Nonfiction_Publishing_January_/218607
Acquisitions: A Big Buy for Wiley, and More Titles for Chicago Review Press
Wiley announced the acquisition of open-access publisher Hindawi Limited, “one of the world’s fastest growing scientific research publishers,” for a total purchase price of $298 million. “The acquisition of Hindawi enables Wiley to move farther and faster toward our goal of meeting the world’s urgent and escalating need for new knowledge,” said Wiley ceo Brian Napack. London-based Hindawi expects to record $40 million in sales for 2020, with year over year growth of 50 percent. Chicago Review Press has acquired half of Fulcrum Publishing‘s list, comprising 126 new and backlist titles across graphic novel, gardening, natural history, and travel. The acquisition expands […]