HMV announced earlier this week that it may face difficulties meeting its credit covenants, which come due in April, and the company enlisted KPMG to help renegotiate terms. Separately, the Guardian reported that at least one credit insurance company removed their coverage a week ago for all goods supplied to HMV. Analysts reignited the facile running five-year-speculation on whether Waterstone’s will be put for sale, even though it doesn’t really fix anything . Disposing of the bookstore chain “would let [HMV] clear the decks to play another day,” analyst Nick Bubb told Bloomberg. “The danger is, they don’t sell Waterstone’s, […]
People, Etc.
At becker&mayer!, as of April 1 Jim Becker will serve as president and publisher of the book packager, including overseeing SmartLab and other educational initiatives, while Andy Mayer will focus on new business development as publisher of Epic Ink, which produces high-end collectible books, and director of becker&mayer! productions, which develops and delivers innovative book-related products directly to retailers. Anna Erikson has joined The Creative Company as vp of retail sales to manage the Creative Editions and Creative Paperbacks imprints. Previously she was at Chronicle Books as director of distribution client services. At Harlequin, Emily Rodmell has been promoted to […]
eNews: Amazon Buys LoveFilm; BDMI Leads Big Investment in Flat World; and More
Today a number of deals-in-progress mentioned previously have been confirmed. Amazon makes its accquisition of all remaining shares of LoveFilm, the “Netflix of Europe,” in which it already held a significant minority stake, official.Release Samsung has confirmed its acquisition of display technology firm Liquavista.Release Flat World Knowledge has received a big endorsement for their open-source textbook model, garnering more than $15 million in Series B Funding led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Bessemer Venture Partners. Also joining the round are returning investors Valhalla Partners, GSA Venture Partners (formerly Greenhill SAVP), High Peaks Venture Partners, and several angel investors. FT […]
Previewing the Winter Institute Galleys and Authors
With each passing year the annual ABA Winter Institute has become a showcase for emerging writers and a place to pre-launch what publishers hope will be summer hits – especially in fiction. Some of the 40-odd authors who appeared at Wi5 last year included Adam Ross (MR. PEANUT), Danielle Trussoni (ANGELOLOGY) Justin Cronin (as part of the massive pre-pub blitz for THE PASSAGE), Brady Udall (THE LONELY POLYGAMIST) and Karl Marlantes (MATTERHORN). For Wi6, which starts today in Washington, DC, the number of attending authors is up to 56 and chatter on Facebook and Twitter indicates it’s going to be […]
People, Announcements, Etc.: Investment Answer Author Dies; RH Launches Online Book Club Videos
Gordon Murray, who attracted attention recently for self-publishing success with THE INVESTMENT ANSWER, a short book of investment advice he co-authored when he learned he had terminal brain cancer, died on Saturday. The 60-year-old suffered from glioblastoma. The book will be republished by Business Plus on January 25. Random House is working with Pulpwood Queens Book Club founder and author Kathy Patrick to start an online book club featuring interviews with RH authors. The first season has 12 episodes planned, featuring authors including Pat Conroy, Fannie Flagg, Lisa See, and Susan Vreeland. A new episode will be posted weekly at […]
BISG E-Book ISBN Survey Shows Just How Much More Work Needs To Be Done
Last week the Book Industry Study Group held a meeting to review findings of a study conducted by Michael Cairns of Information Media Partners on how ISBNs are deployed with respect to e-books – or more specifically, how there is nowhere near a consistent standard or best practice for doing so. The full study will be available in a few weeks but Cairns has made the executive summary available at his blog Personanondata. Thanks to the proliferation of e-book formats and Amazon’s insistence on its own proprietary format, ASIN, the study finds that “the ISBN agency is virtually irrelevant to […]