After being needled for not mentioning the dispute over contract terms between Amazon and Hachette Book Group that has resulted in alterations in how the etailer displays and ships HBG titles, the Washington Post has posted something…equivocal. The paper’s column finds it “understandable” that authors “are irate over the unequal treatment.” On the one hand, Amazon “is by no means unique in employing this tactic.” But “in some ways, Amazon’s decision to choke off Hachette is similar” to the net neutrality showdown, they suggest. “As Amazon gains more and more market share, its power to do so will only increase.” While […]
Bookstores
People: Lynch to Ecco, Penguin Random’s Marketing/Operations Team, Sophie Hicks’ Agency
Megan Lynch will join Ecco as editorial director on May 28, reporting to Daniel Halpern, who says “I can’t imagine anyone more suited to taking over the fiction reins at Ecco.” Ryan Willard will report to Lynch, and Hillary Redmon will continue to report to Halpern. Lynch is currently senior editor at Riverhead, where she spent the previous 11 years. Penguin Random House has created a companywide Consumer Marketing Development and Operations group. SVP, director Amanda Close — who has led the predecessor, Random House’s digital marketing and channel development team — will lead the new group, reporting to US president and coo Madeline McIntosh. […]
International: Paragon Acquires Bankrupt Weltbild; Amazon Partners With Italian Bookstore Chain Giunti
German media group Weltbild, which went into bankruptcy reorganization last January, has been acquired by private equity group Paragon, Manager Magazin reports. As part of the deal, for which terms were not disclosed, Paragon will take a majority stake in Weltbild and transfer the main business in Germany as well as satellite operations in Austria and Switzerland to a new company. Since the bankruptcy, 900 of Weltbild’s employees (nearly 50 percent of the workforce) have lost their jobs and 50 of 220 stores have closed. Amazon has partnered with Italian bookstore chain Giunti, which will allow the bookseller to sell […]
Frontiers: BN College Aims to Grow; Speculation On A McGraw-Hill IPO
Barnes & Noble College ceo Max Roberts tells Reuters the unit plans to add about 300 stores over the next 5 years, bringing them to approximately 1,000 locations. The company has added about 50 college bookstores over the past two years, with almost 700 stores now. Reuters writes: “It intends to do that by getting more schools to outsource their bookstore operations with the lure of nicer, higher-grossing stores and by poaching accounts from larger rival Follett Corp.” Separately, an article in The Deal cites “sources speculating” that Apollo Global Management may be looking to float an IPO in McGraw-Hill […]
People: Lubart to HBG, and More
HarperCollins svp, sales analytics and pricing Dan Lubart has joined Hachette Book Group as svp, strategy and publishing operations, reporting to coo Joe Mangan. Lubart will oversee strategic planning, business development, digital media/distribution, and supply chain management functions of all HBG imprints. His work will include “a focus on business intelligence, enhanced reporting tools that combine sales, marketing, and publicity data, and continued improvement of demand forecasting.” He will “also help to identify new business opportunities, strategic partnerships and potential areas of growth and investment.” Mangan says in the announcement, “Dan is a high impact executive with deep skills in […]
ABA Names New Indies Introduce Titles
The American Booksellers Association announced their summer/fall 2014 list of Indies Introduce Debut Authors, picked “as the brightest debuts of the coming season.” You can start reading the highlighted novels by Malcolm Brooks and Courtney Collins right now in our free ebook, Publishers Lunch Buzz Books 2014 Spring/Summer. (We published our packed sampler a little early this year, because the ABA’s Winter Institute was earlier than usual — but the bulk of the featured 40 excerpts come to market between late April and early July. So we still feature exclusive, and substantial, pre-publication looks at about 25 potential breakouts coming to market […]