On Tuesday the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books posted the list of authors scheduled to appear at this April’s event — and in contrast to previous years, they appended “buy” links next to each author’s name, which usually lead to Amazon pages (via affiliate links). Local bookseller Skylight Books has spoken out, objecting to the Amazon links, and other booksellers are starting to do so as well. Last year, when Kobo was a sponsor of the festival, the author listings linked to informational sites rather than retailing pages. LAT director of communications Hilary Manning wrote in a statement that […]
Bookstores
Barnes & Noble Improves Profit On Lower Sales; Cut 190 Nook Jobs and Promises New Color Device, Higher Ed Tech Launch
Sales for the big holiday third quarter at Barnes & Noble fell 10.3 percent overall to $1.996 billion (down $228 million), but EBITDA improved considerably — on a reduction of Nook losses — to $173 million, compared to just $59 million a year ago, when they first took big inventory losses on unsold Nook devices (of $74 million). In coming attractions, one way or another, in their ever-shifting device strategy they “plan to launch a new Nook color device in early fiscal 2015” (which begins in late April), doing so “in collaboration with a third-party partner.” More broadly, BN says […]
Briefs: Holland’s Polare Bookstores in Bankruptcy; EC Review Delays Anti-Free Book Shipping Bill in France
Dutch bookstore chain Polare declared bankruptcy Monday afternoon. Less than a month ago, Polare temporarily closed its stores and suspended online sales as part of what they said was a “strategic organization” to stem ongoing financial woes. NLTimes reports the bankruptcy was “necessary to pay overdue wages” and that employees are guaranteed to receive their wages for a maximum of 6 weeks, paid by the Employment Insurance Agency (UWV.) Seven of Polare’s stores are also understood to have attracted interest from outside buyers, while five employees of the company’s store in Rotterdam have started a crowdfunding campaign to buy it from […]
Small Investor/Agitator Touts Unfinanced “Proposal” to Buy Control of Barnes & Noble Or Nook
Michael Glickstein’s G Asset Management — by all outward indications a one-man shop — has been agitating the Barnes & Noble board to increase shareholder value since 2011 without much success, but on Friday he discovered the power of a press release and put himself on the map. Put on the wire early Friday afternoon, G Asset Management’s announcement touted their “proposal” to acquire a controlling stake in all of Barnes & Noble or, failing that, the “Nook segment,” which does not exist currently as a freestanding piece. This is not an actual bid, or even a formal offer. G Asset […]
Bookselling: New Stores In the US, As UK Indie Store Count Falls Below 1,000
The ABA has published their annual list of new member bookstores, listing 44 stores that opened in 2013 (and, as a bonus, 4 more stores that have opened in 2014). Six were new outlets for existing ABA member businesses. Additionally, 12 existing ABA bookstores found new owners during the year — including The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, IL; Inkwood Books in Tampa, FL; Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA; and Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC. On the flip side, the UK’s Booksellers Association reports that within their membership, 67 stores closed in 2013 and […]
James Patterson Writes Checks to 55 Bookstores
James Patterson has followed up on his pledge to donate $1 million to support independent bookstores this year with an initial list of 55 stores that are receiving donations (worth $267,000 so far far). As noted in the announcement, “Some stores have submitted proposals for how the money will be used; others will simply receive an unsolicited check and a note from the author, encouraging them to use the funds to continue doing the good work they already do.” The release indicates “Patterson selected recipient stores by researching which stores are doing the very best work in their communities to […]