Amazon reported fourth quarter results Thursday afternoon, and after a run up before the report, shares fell more than 4 percent in the first 30 minutes of trading on Friday. The market’s sour reaction was based on tepid guidance: The company currently expects Q1 sales growth of between only 10 percent and 18 percent compared to Q1 2018. As well, cfo Brian Olsavsky told investors on yesterday’s conference call that investment was likely to increase compared to last year. Fourth quarter sales were $72.4 billion, a 20 percent increase over the same period last year, and net income increased to […]
YA Author Jay Asher Sues Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for Defamation
Jay Asher, author of the young adult novel Thirteen Reasons Why, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, which in February 2018 indicated that he had been expelled from the organization the previous year after having been “found to have violated the SCBWI code of conduct in regard to harassment.” At the time, Asher said he remained a member in good standing of the organization. Filed January 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Asher’s lawsuit claims that SCBWI executive director Lin Oliver and the organization made false and defamatory statements that harmed his career and […]
Printer EPAC Wins Lawsuit Against Thomas Nelson, Awarded $15 Million in Damages
After a year of proceedings in Nashville’s U.S. District Court, a jury has ruled in favor of book printer EPAC Tech in its longstanding lawsuit (first filed in 2012) against former customer, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. Finding Thomas Nelson guilty of breach of contract and fraudulent concealment, the jury awarded the printer $12 million in punitive damages and another $3 million in compensatory damages. Thomas Nelson had dropped EPAC eight months into an exclusive five-year contract to bind all its books, in favor of a cheaper option at Lightning Source, alleging that “EPAC was never able to show that it […]
People, Etc.
Kate Dresser has been promoted to senior editor at Gallery. Shawn Sarles has joined DK as a sales manager (after serving as a sales Analyst at Hachette Book Group); and Katie Schloss has joined the company as a brand manager. At the University of Chicago Press, Carrie Olivia Adams has been named promotions and marketing communications director of the books division. Richard Atkinson left his position as senior commissioning editor at Bloomsbury UK in November after 12 years with the company to focus on writing a family memoir. The Harlequin Creator Fund announced last November is now open for submissions. Former vp […]
Parneros Motions for Advancement of Attorney Fees to Fight Counterclaim
On Friday January 18 came multiple filings in Parneros v. Barnes & Noble. The bookseller’s former ceo Demos Parneros demanded the company pay his attorney fees and expenses in fighting its counterclaim, again citing the indemnification clause in his contract. While on its face absurd – Parneros is essentially asking BN to pay to sue itself – attorney Anne Clark cites several cases where NY courts “have awarded advancement for officers and directors to defend against claims brought by the corporation itself.” (For better or worse, it puts Parneros in league with fired CBS ceo Leslie Moonves, who has had […]
Transitions: Farrar, Straus’s New Publisher, Mitzi Angel
2018 was a year of executive transitions and succession at Macmillan, with new leadership for all three of the company’s most longstanding adult publishing divisions. Jen Enderlin was made sole publisher at St. Martin’s Press in February, and in November Ben Schrank joined Holt as publisher (and will move up to president as well this spring). Additionally, in March Faber & Faber publisher for adult publishing Mitzi Angel was hired as svp and publisher of Farrar, Straus. She rejoined the company in the summer, becoming the first female publisher of the house. PL sat down with Angel recently to learn more […]