Quarto released full-year results for the year ended December 31, 2018, with revenue of $149 million, down from $153 million in 2017, or 2 percent, “in a time of continued softness in the marketplace and of considerable transition for the group,” according to ceo C.K. Lau, alluding to last year’s dramatic boardroom coup and ensuing reorganizations. The company still isn’t making money, with a pre-tax loss of $100,000, but that’s a lot better than the heavy losses in 2017. Exceptional items were more modest, but still cost $5.2 million for the year — with $2.9 million in reorganization costs, $0.8 […]
PEN Panel on Call-Outs, Correctness, and Culture Wars
PEN America hosted a timely panel on March 5, “Writing Wrongs: Call-Outs, Correctness, and Culture Wars,” falling just days after queer black author Kosoko Jackson responded to Twitter criticism of his YA novel by canceling its publication. Readers faulted the book for using genocide as the backdrop to a love story, among other sensitivity issues—and Jackson, who has himself served as a sensitivity reader for other titles, agreed. On the PEN panel: authors Ayad Akhtar, Francine Prose, and Meredith Talusan; former NY Review of Books editor Ian Buruma; Slate writer Inkoo Kang; and New York Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris. Suzanne […]
Barnes & Noble Stock Drops After Q3 Earnings Disappoint
From a short-term, publisher perspective, Barnes & Noble’s fiscal third quarter report was in line with their holiday sales update, showing sales just $400,000 below flat at $1.231 billion. Actual book sales did fall a bit, by $7.6 million or 1.2 percent, as non-book sales rose $19.1 million, or 4.9 percent, particularly as the company picked up the slack in the toy market. From a more existential, investor perspective, though, it was another poor quarter with little prospect of improvement on the horizon. Adjusted EBITDA of $133 million was down $6.5 million, due to the increased marketing and promotional spend […]
Wiley Reports Significant Decline in Publishing for Q3
Wiley reported fiscal third quarter earnings Tuesday morning, with overall sales down slightly, to $449 million from $456 million, representing “favorable underlying growth throughout, except in book publishing,” according to president and ceo Brian Napack. Operating income dropped more significantly, however, to $50 million from $65 million a year ago, or 23 percent. The results include $13 million in sales from the recent acquisition of Learning House, and -$6 million in operating income. Just after 11 a.m., the stock was trading down about 15 percent from the prior day’s close. STM and professional publishing sales fell $16.2 million or 20 […]
Barnes & Noble Education Stock Falls on Reduced Guidance
Barnes & Noble Education’s shares were down close to 30 percent in the first two hours of trading on Tuesday, after the company once again released lower-than-expected earnings and reduced guidance. Fiscal third quarter sales of $550 million fell 8.8 percent, down from $603 million a year ago. (Second quarter sales had fallen 8.1 percent; first quarter sales were down 5.1 percent.) Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $22 million, down from $34.6 million in the prior year period. The continuing poor results led the company to reduce its 2019 guidance, with consolidated sales now expected to be in the range of […]
Judge Calls Stephen Elliott’s Lawsuit “Deficient”
Only one one Stephen Elliott’s three claims against S***ty Media Men list creator Moira Donegan, that of defamation, survived Friday afternoon’s pre-conference on the motion to dismiss. Judge Lashann Dearcy Hall quickly mowed through Elliott’s other claims of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, with the plaintiff’s counsel agreeing to withdraw those. Team Donegan came to play, with lead attorney Roberta Kaplan arguing in the Eastern District courthouse in Brooklyn, and Donegan watching from the first row. Elliott did not attend, and as it transpired, his lead attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, was out of town. Even the defamation claim, which […]