Chronicle Books is the latest independent publisher to add an audiobook line, starting with four titles this spring and intending to release 10 to 15 “select nonfiction” titles a season, simultaneous with print book publication. Chronicle Prism managing director Mark Tauber oversees Chronicle Audio as well. As with their print book, Hachette Book Group will distribute the audiobooks as well, through Hachette Audio. Tauber says in the announcement, “As we begin to publish the audio versions of these books that our team works so hard to shape, edit, make, and market, we are very pleased to be extending and building […]
Audio
People, Etc.
Michael Gentile has been promoted to vice president, education sales and marketing, Penguin Random House, expanding his role to include oversight of education sales across all children’s and adult divisions. On the children’s side, he will report to to Felicia Frazier, senior vice president, children’s and education sales, and on the adult side to Kim Shannon, senior vice president, adult retail and education sales. Whitney Aaronson joins Random House Children’s as senior product manager for the digital marketing team. She previously worked for Simmons Research as UX product manager. Rob Roglev joins as senior developer for the digital marketing team. He […]
Audible to Settle Lawsuit with Up to 12 Million Free Audiobooks
Audible could issue as many as 12 million free audiobooks and reimburse up to 8.4 million customers for overdraft fees to fulfill the settlement terms of two recent class action lawsuits. The plaintiffs in Grant McKee et al. v. Audible, Inc. and Eric Weber and Bryan Rees v. Amazon.com, Inc., and Amazon Services LLC claim that Audible failed to communicate to customers that unredeemed credits are lost when an account cancels, and that gift membership credits expire when the gift membership does. As well, plaintiff McKee argued that the credits are a form of gift certificate, which federal banking laws requires to […]
People, Awards, Etc.
At St. Martin’s, Joe Goldschein has been promoted to senior director, marketing & sales operations; Kim Ludlam to director, creative services; Martin Quinn to associate director, marketing; Marissa Sangiacomo to senior marketing manager; Erik Platt to senior manager, digital advertising operations; Danielle Prielipp to senior marketing manager; Joe Brosnan to senior marketing manager; DJ DeSmyter to marketing manager; and Dylan Helstien to assistant manager, advertising operations. Paddy Laidley, executive vice president and head of Raincoast Books, will retire on May 31. Current vice president of sales Peter MacDougall will succeed her. Laidley joined Raincoast in 1994 as sales manager and […]
People, Etc.
Ben Ball will join Simon & Schuster Australia in the newly created role of publishing director, Scribner. He will report to managing director Dan Ruffino, leading the recently launched Australian arm of the imprint. He was previously with Penguin Group Australia for 12 years, most recently as publishing director, literary. Keith Riegert will rejoin Ulysses Press, as evp and publisher on April 1. He worked in marketing analytics at Hachette Book Group for the past two years. Bryce Willett is stepping down as evp, but will continue to serve as a consultant for the press. Casie Vogel has been promoted to […]
Audio: Book Bub Launches Audio Deals for Direct Sale, and More
BookBub has launched a service called Chirp that highlights digital audiobook deals and sells those audiobooks directly, working as a supported retailer through distributor Findaway. The program is still in beta, and only has been rolled out to a “small percentage” of BookBub members, but they “anticipate a broader rollout over the coming year and expect the platform to evolve as we make improvements based on early user feedback.” The currently featured deals, offering about 75 audiobooks across seven categories, come from Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Blackstone, and a few independent authors. The company says they are […]