On September 22 Georgia District Court Judge Amy Totenberg denied CCA and B’s bid last month, as part of a 19-count lawsuit on copyright and trademark infringement, to stop the October 18 publication of Adams Media’s ELF OFF THE SHELF: A Christmas Tradition Gone Bad, a parody of the bestselling holiday children’s book ELF ON THE SHELF. In denying the permanent injunction, Judge Totenberg ruled that Adams Media’s book met the definition of a parody, that stopping publication of ELF OFF THE SHELF “until a trial on the merits would eliminate this prime time for Defendant’s book marketing” since Adams […]
Tablet Rumors: Wednesday Announcement Scheduled From Amazon; Internal Slide Points to Higher-Priced BN Device
Amazon sent out invitations on Friday for an event taking place in New York on Wednesday, September 28 at 10 AM, at which time it’s widely expected the company will announce its new tablet. NYT An internal slide reportedly obtained by The Digital Reader indicates that Barnes & Noble will launch a tablet priced at $349 (code-named Acclaim) in addition to a new version of the 7″ Nook Color, code-named Encore and still priced at $249. The slide comes with initialed approval by WL/JI, which correspond to the initials of ceo William Lynch and head of digital products Jamie Iannone.
Bookselling: Joseph-Beth To Open New Store in KY; Two More Stores Close; and More
Joseph-Beth, which only recently emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy, announced Friday that it will open a new store in Crestview Hills, KY. Chief executive Mark Wilson told Cincinnati.com the company stepped in to take over the lease as soon as it learned of Borders’ liquidation in July. “Books and bookstores are not going to go away,” Wilson said Friday. “Bookstores still work – the business model still works. But books by themselves don’t work. You have to have the right mix.” The store aims to open in late November or early December, hire 30 workers (many of them former Borders […]
People, Etc.
Lauren Weber has been named agency assistant at Pippin Properties following her summer internship at the company. Amber Hoover has been promoted to associate director of international scouting at Franklin & Siegal Associates. She joined the company in 2005. Darren Turpin will join Angry Robot as marketing and digital manager on November 7. She is currently an online marketing manager for Little, Brown UK. Alexandra Wilder joins the Strand Book Store in New York as events director on October 3. Previously she was the managing director of the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center. The winners of the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace […]
People, Etc.
At Oxford University Press, Casper Grathwohl has been promoted to the newly-created position of svp, group strategy, effective October 5. Reporting to CEO Nigel Portwood, Grathwohl will work at Group level and alongside OUP’s business units on a range of activities designed to address OUP’s strategic agenda. Patrick Koors has joined the live events division of Thomas Nelson as vp of marketing. John Ashbery will receive the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and Books & Books co-founder Mitch Kaplan will receive the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community at the 2011 National Book Awards […]
BN’s Privacy Issues Are Holding Up the Other Borders IP Sales
A lengthy hearing in federal bankruptcy court Thursday did little to resolve a dispute over recommendations from a consumer privacy ombudsman that leaves Barnes & Noble’s $13.9 million bid for Borders’ intellectual property still in doubt. The asset purchase agreement called for a “drop-dead” deadline of September 30, but Judge Glenn flat-out said there was “no way” any deal could be reached in time at the current rate. For now, the parties will reconvene Monday, September 26 at 4 PM. As Judge Glenn heard statements from lawyers for Borders, the creditors committee, Barnes & Noble, as well as the privacy […]