Investment firm KKR has acquired audiobook powerhouse RBmedia (previously known as Recorded Books) from Shamrock Capital. The financial details of the sale were not disclosed, though as one of the largest private equity firms with assets under management of over $150 billion, KKR focuses on investments of scale. With a catalog of 35,000 published audiobook titles across multiple imprints, RBmedia calls itself the largest independent audiobook publisher in the world. They offer audio titles from multiple publishers to consumers through Audiobooks.com by subscription, and provide a broader catalog of digital content to libraries through the RBDigital platform. Tom MacIsaac, president […]
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Taneli Ruda has joined Wiley as evp, chief strategy officer, where he will help to define and accelerate the next phase of the company’s growth. Ruda most recently served as head of corporate strategy at Thomson Reuters, with responsibility for defining the company’s portfolio and growth strategies, and driving company-wide M&A. “Taneli is an exceptional talent, and I am excited to welcome him to Wiley,” Wiley president & ceo Brian Napack said in the announcement. “He has extensive experience identifying robust and sustainable growth strategies for global organizations. Taneli’s innovative thinking and ability to translate complex strategies into action will […]
Listening to Worries About Barnes & Noble, Audible’s Growing Ambitions
The WSJ uses Book Expo to remind their readership that publishers are forever worried about the future of Barnes & Noble: “Permeating the industry is a sense of foreboding about struggling bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc., a sentiment that was palpable in recent days at the annual book show in New York…. The retailer’s continuing sharp decline raises fundamental questions for the book business, publishing executives say, including whether it will become increasingly difficult to introduce new writers and make their books visible to consumers.” BN chairman Len Riggio’s opening speech teed up that lede, as he spoke to the […]
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Annette Pollert-Morgan has been promoted to editorial director of Sourcebooks Fire. Dave Horvath, senior marketing manager for Rowman & Littlefield, is retiring on March 30 after 41 years in publishing. Chris Artis has joined Shreve Williams Public Relations as affiliated publicist. Previously he was head of editorial communications at Reuters. Correcting yesterday’s item, the new vice president of sales and marketing at Rowman & Littlefield is Karen Allman. Meredith Vieira will host PBS’s The Great American Read series, which launches May 22. Audio Macmillan Audio will start publishing the audiobooks of Nora Roberts and her pseudonym J. D. Robb in the winter of 2019. St. Martin’s has […]
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Trisha de Guzman has joined Farrar, Straus Children’s as associate editor. Previously she worked at Rodale. At Scholastic Trade, Emily Clement has been promoted to executive editor, Harry Potter, Wizarding World and special projects. Amanda Shih has joined as associate editor, nonfiction; she was previously at Tarcher Perigee. Rachel Weinert has moved over as rights and co-edition manager; she was with Scholastic International. Crystal McCoy has joined as publicity manager; she was previously at Little Bee/Sizzle Press. Stacey Kondla joined The Rights Factory as an associate agent for children’s books, based in Calgary. Previously she worked at Scholastic Canada Book Fairs and Indigo Kids. At Princeton University Press, Laurie Schlesinger […]
Now Tracking: Audio Dealmakers
We’ve made another adjustment to our big catalog of Dealmakers — tracking about 4,400 agents; 2,000 agencies; 11,000 editors; and 9,000 imprints over time on individual web pages of their transactions. We are now cataloging audio rights buyers — both individual editors and their companies — in Dealmakers lists and individual pages. The new feature includes data from the past 12 months, and covers audio rights buyers only, not sellers.