Founding publisher of Thomas Allen Publishers Patrick Crean has joined HarperCollins Canada to oversee his own imprint, Patrick Crean Editions, which will publish between eight and 12 titles per year with a focus on Canadian literary fiction and non-fiction. “In these perilous times in publishing, editorial is under such siege by corporatism to produce, to make a profit,” Crean told Quill & Quire. “Of course, HarperCollins is that, but they really and truly seem to be devoted to the editorial function and understand it, and that’s what drew me there.” HarperCollins Canada publisher and editor-in-chief Iris Tupholme said the launch […]
People, Etc.: Macmillan’s New Children’s Publishing Venture in China
Macmillan and 21st Century Publishing House have joined forces on a new children’s publishing venture in China, Macmillan Century Consulting & Service Company Ltd. The new venture will acquire, develop, introduce and promote children’s titles sourced from Macmillan’s publishing companies and imprints around the world, and will be led by 21st Century Publishing president Zhang Qiulin and Macmillan managing director for Greater China Charlotte Liu. “We believe Macmillan Century is in a unique position at the outset, as it has the advantage of combining Macmillan’s carefully selected children’s classics and bestsellers with 21st Century’s strong distribution channels within the Chinese […]
Barnes & Noble Will Finally Launch Nook in the UK in Mid-October
After lengthy speculation and anticipation, and in advance of announcing its first quarter earnings Tuesday morning, Barnes & Noble said they will finally launch Nook in the UK in mid-October with an online storefront as well as partnerships with “leading UK retailers” that will be announced “shortly.” (Waterstones, of course, was long expected to be partnering with Nook, but in the end allied with Amazon instead.) Nook UK will first sell the company’s Simple Touch and Simple Touch with Glowlight devices, with the tablets available at an undisclosed point. The unnamed UK partners “are expected to support the Nook offering […]
Digital Book World Launches Aggregated eBook Bestseller List
Digital Book World has launched a weekly set of ebook bestseller lists that aggregates the previous full week’s sales ranking data from Amazon, Nook, Google, Kobo and Sony into an overall list of the top 25 selling books, as well as four additional top 10 lists organized by price tiers: free to $2.99, $3 to $7.99, $8 to $9.99, and $10 and up. The bestseller lists, which will appear every Monday, were developed for DBW by Iobyte Solutions and seek to address the lack of differentiation between inexpensive ebooks — either self-published or priced promotionally for a limited time — […]
eNews: Hunger Games Bestselling Series Ever At Amazon US: State Department Cancels Kindle Contract; and More
Amazon announced that THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy by Suzanne Collins is the US division’s bestselling series ever on all formats, though, as always, no sales figures were provided. (What the release doesn’t note is that those “sales” are likely spurred by Amazon’s decision to offer the Hunger Games to Prime members for free borrowing through the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.) Earlier in the summer Amazon UK said the 50 SHADES OF GREY trilogy was its bestselling series to date. In other Amazon news, the State Department cancelled a controversial no-bid contract with Amazon pending since last June that would have […]
People: Stephen Laster Named McGraw-Hill Chief Digital Officer
Stephen Laster has joined McGraw-Hill in the newly created role of chief digital officer, reporting to ceo Buzz Waterhouse. Laster will lead the company’s digital initiatives, including creating compelling digital learning experiences for students and inspiring creative innovation across all aspects of the organization. He spent the past six years as chief information officer for Harvard Business School. “The digitization of education provides our company with a major opportunity to make learning more accessible, engaging and effective,” said Waterhouse. “Stephen is the ideal choice to lead our digital initiatives going forward as we continue to leverage technology innovations and capabilities […]